I dunno. For awhile there it was great to have two sides where you didn’t know who to root for and such. But then last page we had Penk’s rant about humans being a waste of space and today his maniacal laughter as Frigg’s foot gets burned off.
He’s…kind of creeping me out now, is what I’m saying.
Well i think the point of that is to illustrate that penk might be losing some trollhood (humanity isn’t exactly a usable term) since he has achieved such great power in a short time.
Wow. Was expecting a fireball, not lava. Magda is indeed this team’s “molecule man” – physically unimpressive, but commanding more awesome power than the rest of the team combined.
Penk, laughing at Frigg’s plight when just a second ago he was getting punked by her, is a punk. He – and Magda – deserve a butt whooping.
Magda’s actually doing okay. She’s not enjoying the suffering of her foes, like Penk is. She’s just working to bury people that have already died.
And, really, Penk’s doing nothing that Frigg hasn’t done in the past in regards to talking trash or enjoying the suffering of their opponents. Hell, even Byron’s tossed out a burn or two when clobbering kobolds.
Once you start saying that the Peacekeepers are morally superior to the Champions because the Champions are tossing lava and enjoying their opponent’s injuries, you’ve not got a leg to stand on.
Your first paragraph really disturbed me, but you’re right.
I’m not sure Frigg ever really enjoyed the suffering of her opponents to the degree that Penk is showing (for example, she wasn’t laughing when the Order of the Bloodshot Eyeball (did I remember that correctly?) fell apart after it was exposed and their superior had to explain why she did things), but it’s not unusual to feel (at least some) satisfaction when a foe tormenting you and your group is getting a comeuppance. Penk could easily have said “Gotcha!” instead.
Both sides are fighting a war. They’re fighting for survival. It’s not going to be nice. It’s not going to leave either side without misdeeds and sins, even the noblest among them.
The thing that really makes rooting for Penk difficult at the moment is his supervillain rant on the last page. Have any of the Peacekeepers (let alone the original five) ever expressed views like that?
Not any of the Peacekeepers, but his views on humans parallel most of the Gastonian’s views on trolls, goblins, gnolls, etc. The Peacekeeper’s may not hold negative views on trolls and the like, but they defend an entire government staffed with people who view the peoples of the World’s Rebellion as no more than monsters.
This is one of those instances where intolerance fuels intolerance. Gastonia as a whole views Penk’s kind as monsters with no rights. The Peacekeepers fight to protect that intolerant nation (sure, they make an effort at changing Gastonia, but the World Rebellion has no way of knowing that. To Penk and the rest of the Champions, the Peacekeepers are merely protecting a large, corrupt, oppressive entity), and thus the Peacekeepers are made just as bad as the rest of Gastonia in his mind, which fuel’s Penk’s intolerance for the Peacekeepers, and humans as a whole, who from his viewpoint are collectively oppressing him and his kind.
This further enables the Champions to view the Peacekeeper’s deaths as “Just”, and thus, even laugh at their demise. For Frigg’s foot burning off isn’t just inflicting suffering on the enemy, it’s pretty much insuring that she can never slaughter the people of the Rebellion ever again. She can no longer protect the corrupt intolerance of Gastonia. Why not laugh when your God has stripped one of your enemies of their power to continue oppressing you??
That’s not a superviallain rant though. As far as Penk understands the world, humans really ARE the bad guys. He’s tryin to be what he thinks a “Hero of the Savage Races” should be…..
The savage races came together as a direct result of Gastonian expansion remember. (Oh no, this is turing into one of those “horde/alliance” kinda debates isn’t it? BACKING AWAY NOW…)
Declaring an entire race of people to be wastes of flesh is totally a supervillain rant. And it wouldn’t be the first supervillain rant that’s “true from [the villain’s] point of view.”
The Champions are being set up as kind of a parallel to the Peacekeepers. Until the last few pages I would’ve said that both groups (or at least their leaders) essentially had their hearts in the right place, even though both groups were working for very corrupt — and in many cases very evil — people.
For the moment, though, Penk’s rant kind of stands out because there really isn’t any corresponding rant on the Peacekeeper side. Not that I think there should be — in fact I’m hoping that panel 4 is Penk realizing that he may have crossed a line. It would certainly be in keeping with Magda being suggested to be the heart of their group.
Declaring an entire race of people to be wastes of flesh is totally a supervillain rant. And it wouldn’t be the first supervillain rant that’s “true from [the villain’s] point of view.”
Well, it also happens to be a well-indoctrinated-teenager kind of thing to rant too, and remember, that is essentially what Penk is. He’s a boy in Harky’s armor, who was given a LOT of power really quickly, and told “live up to this legend, and those guys are evil”. That kind of sudden pressure doesn’t lend itself to continued critical though…..
Panel 4 is, I’m still holding out hope, a moment of “pre hero” Penk having a “growing up” moment.
Oh, that was just like an extended battle cry. He’s a fanatic, though, like Magda… but the end result isn’t any more genocidal than what everyone else is trying to achieve. Goblaurence summed it up nicely in the chapter intro.
Healing Potion in Frigg ASAP. Braggadocio and Sundar have mentioned it not working because they didn’t get it to the person who needed it in time. It sort of implies it could do a lot if it was drunk soon enough.
I thought the latest Ask an Adventurer stated that priests and clerics can only manifest with parts of their body and that crusaders can only manifest with their equipment.
Since her shoes don’t appear to be metal, but haven’t been burnt away, and her leggings (which would be cloth, or MAYBE leather) have only gotten a little bit charred, Magda’s ‘burnt to the bone’ is an obvious exaggeration. The burns are likely second degree – requiring treatment, but given the existence of magic, and assuming treatment comes promptly, that treatment is unlikely to involve amputation. She’ll probably be scarred (sadly ‘burn-scars on the foot’ are hardly badass), but the foot’s most likely intact.
Not to mention that the fortune was made at a funeral for a friend. The aforementioned English Guy is back in London; just a madman across the water, if you ask me. Just a tiny dancer singing your song that zips up the charts like a rocket, man … while love lies bleeding all around him. That’s all for now, Elton; I gotta go to the John.
Not to defend it on grounds of taste, but Elton John didn’t make any money directly off that song, and has never performed that version live again. It seems a sincere gesture.
So Magda has basically personally accounted for taking two of the Peacekeepers out of the fight. The Champion of the Fuzzy Peoples and Penk had better think about upping their game. But maybe redemption remains for one of them if they can manage to beat one tough-as-nails never say die cleric….
I guess i’m curious to see what levels both teams will go. For instance the Peacekeepers have a person who can burninate just as much (if without the variety) but he probably refuses to incinerate people. While this girl here gave our team leader 3rd degree burns, lighting her on fire and incinerated part of her enemy.
Then again, Scipio and Byron both tore some deep gashes in that berserker. And the notion of “he’s just a landshark” really doesnt fly.
Of course then you have the notion that they where all crippling wounds that a giant landshark berserker could survive. Furthermore, the Dwarf’s fire attack on Syrnj seemed more like a desperate flailing of power that just so happened to hit a very flammable person. AND Frigg can still live a life without a foot.
So i think even though the fact that these guys are taking seeming delight in their job….its important to know that most heros delight when they defeat the badguys destroying their people….AND its obvious they are ALL fighting for their lives here. Hell the biggest aggressor is basically a Nun (and not the scary kind) who is simply REALLY excited to help out people. She’s basically Rachel before her Open-Heart character development (basically).
Depends on what else she can do, this is just the start of her manifestationizing of being The Frigg’s Avatar/Champion (not that The Frigg needs a Champion)
If I had to guess by his expression I think Penk just realized his opponents are people too and not caricatures of villainy he has been told to believe in.
…and, lo, it did come to pass that Rachel the Admirer of Frigg did wax wroth, and so did she speak or refuse and defiance, and then she did take unto herself and did open and sow upon the foe a giant economy size can of righteous whupass, and they were sore afraid…
Hmmm…Maybe “…Admirer of Frig did wax wrath…” might fit the situation better. Looks like Rachel is ready to lay down some *serious* wrath about now. I don’t know if Frigg normally carries any wax & polishing cloth with her (for normal care on metal armor), but this would be a good time for Frigg to tart the waxing of Rachel’s wrath…
…Well then. That took an amusing turn.
I dunno. For awhile there it was great to have two sides where you didn’t know who to root for and such. But then last page we had Penk’s rant about humans being a waste of space and today his maniacal laughter as Frigg’s foot gets burned off.
He’s…kind of creeping me out now, is what I’m saying.
Well i think the point of that is to illustrate that penk might be losing some trollhood (humanity isn’t exactly a usable term) since he has achieved such great power in a short time.
Yeah. I’m wondering if panel 4 isn’t him realizing that he might’ve gone just a tad overboard.
Kinda what I’m thinking too…that’s a “uh oh, maybe all this propaganda isn’t exactly the best plan…what am I becoming?” look if ever I did see one.
Also…seriously? Ahwhoowhoohoohoo is now just a punching bag? Dangit, he’s the Best of the Fuzzy Peoples I guess.
Folding chair.
I don’t see many wrasslers nun-chucking sandbags at each other. Need weapons and projectiles? Chairs and midgets is the way to go.
Just because he is the ‘Best of the Fuzzies’ doesn’t mean he is the ‘Best there Is’, just the ‘Best they have to offer’ (which isn’t saying much :P)
Maybe he’s just Best.
Wow. Was expecting a fireball, not lava. Magda is indeed this team’s “molecule man” – physically unimpressive, but commanding more awesome power than the rest of the team combined.
Penk, laughing at Frigg’s plight when just a second ago he was getting punked by her, is a punk. He – and Magda – deserve a butt whooping.
Magda’s actually doing okay. She’s not enjoying the suffering of her foes, like Penk is. She’s just working to bury people that have already died.
And, really, Penk’s doing nothing that Frigg hasn’t done in the past in regards to talking trash or enjoying the suffering of their opponents. Hell, even Byron’s tossed out a burn or two when clobbering kobolds.
Once you start saying that the Peacekeepers are morally superior to the Champions because the Champions are tossing lava and enjoying their opponent’s injuries, you’ve not got a leg to stand on.
Your first paragraph really disturbed me, but you’re right.
I’m not sure Frigg ever really enjoyed the suffering of her opponents to the degree that Penk is showing (for example, she wasn’t laughing when the Order of the Bloodshot Eyeball (did I remember that correctly?) fell apart after it was exposed and their superior had to explain why she did things), but it’s not unusual to feel (at least some) satisfaction when a foe tormenting you and your group is getting a comeuppance. Penk could easily have said “Gotcha!” instead.
Both sides are fighting a war. They’re fighting for survival. It’s not going to be nice. It’s not going to leave either side without misdeeds and sins, even the noblest among them.
People who come out on top in a life or death situation tend to cheer regardless of who they are. It’s just such massive relief.
The thing that really makes rooting for Penk difficult at the moment is his supervillain rant on the last page. Have any of the Peacekeepers (let alone the original five) ever expressed views like that?
Not any of the Peacekeepers, but his views on humans parallel most of the Gastonian’s views on trolls, goblins, gnolls, etc. The Peacekeeper’s may not hold negative views on trolls and the like, but they defend an entire government staffed with people who view the peoples of the World’s Rebellion as no more than monsters.
This is one of those instances where intolerance fuels intolerance. Gastonia as a whole views Penk’s kind as monsters with no rights. The Peacekeepers fight to protect that intolerant nation (sure, they make an effort at changing Gastonia, but the World Rebellion has no way of knowing that. To Penk and the rest of the Champions, the Peacekeepers are merely protecting a large, corrupt, oppressive entity), and thus the Peacekeepers are made just as bad as the rest of Gastonia in his mind, which fuel’s Penk’s intolerance for the Peacekeepers, and humans as a whole, who from his viewpoint are collectively oppressing him and his kind.
This further enables the Champions to view the Peacekeeper’s deaths as “Just”, and thus, even laugh at their demise. For Frigg’s foot burning off isn’t just inflicting suffering on the enemy, it’s pretty much insuring that she can never slaughter the people of the Rebellion ever again. She can no longer protect the corrupt intolerance of Gastonia. Why not laugh when your God has stripped one of your enemies of their power to continue oppressing you??
That’s not a superviallain rant though. As far as Penk understands the world, humans really ARE the bad guys. He’s tryin to be what he thinks a “Hero of the Savage Races” should be…..
The savage races came together as a direct result of Gastonian expansion remember. (Oh no, this is turing into one of those “horde/alliance” kinda debates isn’t it? BACKING AWAY NOW…)
Declaring an entire race of people to be wastes of flesh is totally a supervillain rant. And it wouldn’t be the first supervillain rant that’s “true from [the villain’s] point of view.”
The Champions are being set up as kind of a parallel to the Peacekeepers. Until the last few pages I would’ve said that both groups (or at least their leaders) essentially had their hearts in the right place, even though both groups were working for very corrupt — and in many cases very evil — people.
For the moment, though, Penk’s rant kind of stands out because there really isn’t any corresponding rant on the Peacekeeper side. Not that I think there should be — in fact I’m hoping that panel 4 is Penk realizing that he may have crossed a line. It would certainly be in keeping with Magda being suggested to be the heart of their group.
Declaring an entire race of people to be wastes of flesh is totally a supervillain rant. And it wouldn’t be the first supervillain rant that’s “true from [the villain’s] point of view.”
Well, it also happens to be a well-indoctrinated-teenager kind of thing to rant too, and remember, that is essentially what Penk is. He’s a boy in Harky’s armor, who was given a LOT of power really quickly, and told “live up to this legend, and those guys are evil”. That kind of sudden pressure doesn’t lend itself to continued critical though…..
Panel 4 is, I’m still holding out hope, a moment of “pre hero” Penk having a “growing up” moment.
Oh, that was just like an extended battle cry. He’s a fanatic, though, like Magda… but the end result isn’t any more genocidal than what everyone else is trying to achieve. Goblaurence summed it up nicely in the chapter intro.
I see what you did there.
…you jerk.
Funny, but still, you jerk!
If you can’t beat ’em, burn ’em.
They have NOT done their research if they think burning a foot off will stop Frigg.
Is it bad I heard the Digimon *digivolution!* music start playing in that last panel?
Yeah, she’ll just be hopping mad!
… I think we do stuff like that here, right?
…and Frigg makes glowy-hammershit feet, and runs at them screaming “I SMELL DELICIOUS”
I wonder if she can make herself a permanent new foot out of holy light. Would be impressive.
Though, Frigg with a pegleg would *also* be badass.
no no, it would be a foot, so she could break it off in others people’s assets…ah hem hem…
That would be AWESOME. Horribly punny, but awesome!
Healing Potion in Frigg ASAP. Braggadocio and Sundar have mentioned it not working because they didn’t get it to the person who needed it in time. It sort of implies it could do a lot if it was drunk soon enough.
I thought the latest Ask an Adventurer stated that priests and clerics can only manifest with parts of their body and that crusaders can only manifest with their equipment.
She could manifest an armoured boot? Or maybe even an entire suit of armour – that would be cool.
Or just hop.
Since her shoes don’t appear to be metal, but haven’t been burnt away, and her leggings (which would be cloth, or MAYBE leather) have only gotten a little bit charred, Magda’s ‘burnt to the bone’ is an obvious exaggeration. The burns are likely second degree – requiring treatment, but given the existence of magic, and assuming treatment comes promptly, that treatment is unlikely to involve amputation. She’ll probably be scarred (sadly ‘burn-scars on the foot’ are hardly badass), but the foot’s most likely intact.
Although it’s going to be horrific surface burns, seeing as the entire boot will have heated up.
I’m already a fan of Rachel, but now I see more and more why E-Merl is so in love with her.
*Back for More by Five Finger Death Punch* uhp, time for a total badass moment
Why do I have the feeling that Rachel is gonna burn out like a candle in the wind? And if so, I reserve the right to say, “Totally called it.”
All I see now is an old English guy with glasses playing piano, and once again making a fortune at somenody elses funeral…
Not cool
Neither was re-working a song for someone else, totally ruins it for me, and, imo, does a disservice to both great ladies
Not to mention that the fortune was made at a funeral for a friend. The aforementioned English Guy is back in London; just a madman across the water, if you ask me. Just a tiny dancer singing your song that zips up the charts like a rocket, man … while love lies bleeding all around him. That’s all for now, Elton; I gotta go to the John.
Not to defend it on grounds of taste, but Elton John didn’t make any money directly off that song, and has never performed that version live again. It seems a sincere gesture.
For my source, see the last par of http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=candle-in-the-wind, found via Wikipedia.
With that avatar, I kinda feel I should have said that in a meaner tone!
I was just being punny. I’m an inaugural member of the EJ fan club. No, really, I’ve got like 40 different decorative fans with his pix on ’em.
So Magda has basically personally accounted for taking two of the Peacekeepers out of the fight. The Champion of the Fuzzy Peoples and Penk had better think about upping their game. But maybe redemption remains for one of them if they can manage to beat one tough-as-nails never say die cleric….
Peacekeeper vs. Champion… FIGHT!
bit soon to say that either Syringe or The Frigg are out of the fight yet
I guess i’m curious to see what levels both teams will go. For instance the Peacekeepers have a person who can burninate just as much (if without the variety) but he probably refuses to incinerate people. While this girl here gave our team leader 3rd degree burns, lighting her on fire and incinerated part of her enemy.
Then again, Scipio and Byron both tore some deep gashes in that berserker. And the notion of “he’s just a landshark” really doesnt fly.
Of course then you have the notion that they where all crippling wounds that a giant landshark berserker could survive. Furthermore, the Dwarf’s fire attack on Syrnj seemed more like a desperate flailing of power that just so happened to hit a very flammable person. AND Frigg can still live a life without a foot.
So i think even though the fact that these guys are taking seeming delight in their job….its important to know that most heros delight when they defeat the badguys destroying their people….AND its obvious they are ALL fighting for their lives here. Hell the biggest aggressor is basically a Nun (and not the scary kind) who is simply REALLY excited to help out people. She’s basically Rachel before her Open-Heart character development (basically).
And where the heck is Gravedust when you need him?
Hanging out with Goblaurence
This is why you always target the spell casters in the first 2 rounds.
If you don’t you may not get a third round…
attacking the entire enemy team with only your fists is slightly less impressive when you have holy punching powers (but only slightly)
Depends on what else she can do, this is just the start of her manifestationizing of being The Frigg’s Avatar/Champion (not that The Frigg needs a Champion)
Well, obviously Frigg didn’t need that particular Champion to burn her foot, so I’d have to agree with you.
Just for the record, this chapter is great so far. I am really liking the combat scenario, the art, and the trash-talking!
If I had to guess by his expression I think Penk just realized his opponents are people too and not caricatures of villainy he has been told to believe in.
…and, lo, it did come to pass that Rachel the Admirer of Frigg did wax wroth, and so did she speak or refuse and defiance, and then she did take unto herself and did open and sow upon the foe a giant economy size can of righteous whupass, and they were sore afraid…
Dammit. “…speak of refuse…”
Hmmm…Maybe “…Admirer of Frig did wax wrath…” might fit the situation better. Looks like Rachel is ready to lay down some *serious* wrath about now. I don’t know if Frigg normally carries any wax & polishing cloth with her (for normal care on metal armor), but this would be a good time for Frigg to tart the waxing of Rachel’s wrath…
Arrrrgh! START the waxing, not tart the waxing. Damn typos.
Yeah, now is not the time to tart the waxing. If they’re gonna do that, they should wait till later, when they’re alone. xD
(*wants to see that, just to find out what “tarting the waxing” actually means*)