Yeah honestly the way the local commenters respond to it, I’d do a first post if I happened on the opportunity. I’ve never bothered elsewhere, but I’m empathizing with the Troll a bit when I see how people get their britches knackered in response to it here.
Maybe you should try to be LAST! It’s more challenging cuz everytime someone replies you have to reply again as well or you won’t be last anymore…
Good luck!
BakaGrappler
4 years ago
Like always, Ethan’s reckless idealism has to have a reality check with the weight of a metric ton of bricks.
Nono
4 years ago
So, here’s my minor issue in regards to the story.
Ethan always wins. In most respects, Lucas is the levelheaded one. He makes sound arguments, he’s suitably cautious while accepting risks, and if it were up to him, there would be no wacky hijinks, Captain Prime would just handle it and be done.
Of course, because this is a webcomic about wacky hijinks (and also because Lucas has a soft spot when it comes to Ethan), voices of reason usually lose out to Ethan.
In my opinion that is while Lucas has an important role, Ethan is the main character. While having his own personality, Lucas is mostly there to balance out Ethan actions and steer the storyline without breaking the fourth wall. Again, just my opinion, but it is what I observed since I started following this comic back in… yikes… 2003?!
Ethan didn’t coerce Lucas into being a super hero… he was (and is) fully on board with using their powers to do some good. Though they sometimes differ as to the scope of their responsibility in that role (as seen here). I feel like in the discussion over what to do with X1, they ALL made sound arguments, and came to a compromise they could all agree on. X1 was kept alive, which was what Ethan wanted, but I wouldn’t say he “won out” over voices of reason. And Ethan hasn’t won anything in this current discussion. If anything Lucas… Read more »
I can’t give a good example, but I do agree that it _feels_ like Ethan’s antics (i.e. the rule of cool) tend to carry more weight than reason. In particular, it seems like Ethan mostly gets his way any time the stakes are manageable; it takes a really serious situation for anyone to earnestly attempt moderating his behavior.
To be fair, Ethan can’t effectively die and Lucas’ arrows can prevent a LOT of potentially lethal situations. It’s just a matter of reminding Ethan that death sticks for everyone else.
Ethan’s actions tend to change things more simply because he’s, by nature, the more chaotic of the two. More likely to take risks, act on emotion, etc. When you have one who plays it safe, and one who jumps ahead, the jumper causes the scene to change. It’s also the way that comedy works with a straight man. Think of Abbot and Costello, Bert and Ernie, or Big Bang’s Leonard and Sheldon. The wacky one often gets the spotlight. But it’s important to remember that Ethan absolutely doesn’t always get his way. His entire relationship with Emily happened BECAUSE Lucas… Read more »
The logical tug-of-war between Ethan and Lucas is a fun dynamic, but what I’m really taking away from all of this is Scott’s application of Survivor’s Guilt to being Lucas and Ethan’s Guy in the Chair. He supports them to make up for his perceived inability to save Carlie. It’s sad to see he lives with SG, but at least he’s able to find a cause to offset that, to keep his conscience relatively clear.
Oh, I wouldn’t say that Lucas isn’t backed up by his arguments. He makes solid points and they are taken into account. It’s not a criticism of how the characters are written in any way. It’s more in that in a meta or narrative sense, we know that Ethan’s ‘antics’ or ‘suggestions’ are going to be more likely to get implemented, because it’s a webcomic and we follow a loose sense of ‘least boring’. There are rarely webcomics where it goes something like ‘we should do this sensible thing instead of the dangerous thing.’ ‘Oh okay.’ and they leave it… Read more »
MRD
4 years ago
So possible plot hole here (and I’m happy to ignore it if need be). If they give the other heroes of the city information that only they could get through Zeke, wouldn’t that make it pretty obvious to Eugene what had happened? Wouldn’t he go after them all the same?
There is a good chance weebmaster doesn’t know Zeke is still “alive”. For all he knows, they trashed Zeke, took home his head and Scott downloaded that information from it. Or they found out what parts Zeke was made of and tracked down where the more rare and exotic parts were delivered and cross referenced to get that info. Any of those options could be the case.
Doesn’t change the fact though, that weebmaster needs a sound kick in the bollocks.
He definitely thought X01 is dead as of page 3. Ethan remarks, “oh, he thought the failsafe went off” and Lucas’s response implies Ethan let the cat out of the bag, but he continues on like neither of them said anything (“it was merely a flawed prototype” could apply equally well to X01 being dead or gone rogue). Likely he was so into his villain speech that he completely failed to process what they were saying.
MRD’s argument doesn’t hinge on Zeke, though. If Captain Prime and other heros all of a sudden starts going after Eugene, it’s likely he’ll conclude Ethan and Lucas tipped them off. And moreover, he’ll have nothing to lose by revealing their identities.
Hugh
4 years ago
Dear Ethan and Lucas: also think explicitly of the impact on your dating lives if you go public!
Pretty sure that *is* what Ethan is thinking about. Even Lucas seems to be implying that Lilah may be part of the reason why Ethan wants his identity public.
Kuraimizu
4 years ago
Super powers don’t just happen. Given the hacking skills scott has i think he found the cause of superpowers. And he used that info to give ethan and lucas super powers to make up for him being too weak to save Carlie.
I don’t know what sort of hacking skills can arrange to have them playing a mystical Japanese arcade game while a guy spills super secret chemicals on them at the exact moment they’re struck by lightning… XD
Except we saw how Ethan and Lucas gained their powers in a previous series of flashback strips. As far as we know Scott had nothing to do with it because he’s nowhere to be found during any part of that flashback.
apparently I have no memory of having read this. how did I miss this?
Drat, and I thought it was a good theory.
Glad to now know the actual origin at least.
I dunno, I mean, Mad Scientists are so good at hacking the weather that they literally use it for giggles. They start laughing maniacally and all of a sudden lightning splits the sky!
Coincidence? I think NOT!
Kaitensatsuma
4 years ago
This reminds of that part from Irredeemable except, obviously, without the psychopathy and suggestions of aggressive unconsented use of hot knives.
Dan
4 years ago
Nope. Scott was paralyzed from being stabbed by a penguin. That’s canon, and you can’t change it.
You don’t have to do everything yourself to be a hero. I think a good compromise would be to get help from a registered hero they know they can trust. It’s not as fast or easy an answer as the other two and seems least likely but that’s my take.
Frankly, I side with Ethan. In the end, it’s a hero’s job t.o be a hero. Nothing more, nothing less. Threats, consequences, playing it safe, none of that should stop a hero….
Rolando
4 years ago
We all knew Scott had issues, and probably justified ones too. Now, his character makes even more sense.
I hope that’s also his way of realising how shaky a ground he’s on, as far as taking big decisions goes. Pain and guilt often give supremely bad advice.
I’ll keep siding with Lucas, for this reason as well. He’s less burdened with Carlie’s death, than Scott or Ethan.
WhiteKnight
4 years ago
Well done. I like this exploration of the superhero reality.
Ken
4 years ago
And this is where X1 chimes in from the doorway with “Wanna know what I think? If Eugene has your info it’s probably already out there, all you can do now is try to limit the damage. I can help you with that…but first you get this bomb out of me.”
NiteZ
4 years ago
So… is it time to “return to sender” the sentient murder-bot?
24
First.
Literally no one cares.
I care. Good job, Pal
Sorry to say, but it can’t be “literally no one”, because then it wouldn’t show 62 down-votes.
Why do you do this ‘first ‘ thing??
Some people have nothing else going on, I guess.
Not necessarily in this case but seen in others by validation of existence from others by storm of downvotes.
Yeah honestly the way the local commenters respond to it, I’d do a first post if I happened on the opportunity. I’ve never bothered elsewhere, but I’m empathizing with the Troll a bit when I see how people get their britches knackered in response to it here.
Congratulations. Everything from here is downhill.
Maybe you should try to be LAST! It’s more challenging cuz everytime someone replies you have to reply again as well or you won’t be last anymore…
Good luck!
Like always, Ethan’s reckless idealism has to have a reality check with the weight of a metric ton of bricks.
So, here’s my minor issue in regards to the story.
Ethan always wins. In most respects, Lucas is the levelheaded one. He makes sound arguments, he’s suitably cautious while accepting risks, and if it were up to him, there would be no wacky hijinks, Captain Prime would just handle it and be done.
Of course, because this is a webcomic about wacky hijinks (and also because Lucas has a soft spot when it comes to Ethan), voices of reason usually lose out to Ethan.
In my opinion that is while Lucas has an important role, Ethan is the main character. While having his own personality, Lucas is mostly there to balance out Ethan actions and steer the storyline without breaking the fourth wall. Again, just my opinion, but it is what I observed since I started following this comic back in… yikes… 2003?!
Ethan didn’t coerce Lucas into being a super hero… he was (and is) fully on board with using their powers to do some good. Though they sometimes differ as to the scope of their responsibility in that role (as seen here). I feel like in the discussion over what to do with X1, they ALL made sound arguments, and came to a compromise they could all agree on. X1 was kept alive, which was what Ethan wanted, but I wouldn’t say he “won out” over voices of reason. And Ethan hasn’t won anything in this current discussion. If anything Lucas… Read more »
I can’t give a good example, but I do agree that it _feels_ like Ethan’s antics (i.e. the rule of cool) tend to carry more weight than reason. In particular, it seems like Ethan mostly gets his way any time the stakes are manageable; it takes a really serious situation for anyone to earnestly attempt moderating his behavior.
To be fair, Ethan can’t effectively die and Lucas’ arrows can prevent a LOT of potentially lethal situations. It’s just a matter of reminding Ethan that death sticks for everyone else.
Ethan’s actions tend to change things more simply because he’s, by nature, the more chaotic of the two. More likely to take risks, act on emotion, etc. When you have one who plays it safe, and one who jumps ahead, the jumper causes the scene to change. It’s also the way that comedy works with a straight man. Think of Abbot and Costello, Bert and Ernie, or Big Bang’s Leonard and Sheldon. The wacky one often gets the spotlight. But it’s important to remember that Ethan absolutely doesn’t always get his way. His entire relationship with Emily happened BECAUSE Lucas… Read more »
The logical tug-of-war between Ethan and Lucas is a fun dynamic, but what I’m really taking away from all of this is Scott’s application of Survivor’s Guilt to being Lucas and Ethan’s Guy in the Chair. He supports them to make up for his perceived inability to save Carlie. It’s sad to see he lives with SG, but at least he’s able to find a cause to offset that, to keep his conscience relatively clear.
Oh, I wouldn’t say that Lucas isn’t backed up by his arguments. He makes solid points and they are taken into account. It’s not a criticism of how the characters are written in any way. It’s more in that in a meta or narrative sense, we know that Ethan’s ‘antics’ or ‘suggestions’ are going to be more likely to get implemented, because it’s a webcomic and we follow a loose sense of ‘least boring’. There are rarely webcomics where it goes something like ‘we should do this sensible thing instead of the dangerous thing.’ ‘Oh okay.’ and they leave it… Read more »
So possible plot hole here (and I’m happy to ignore it if need be). If they give the other heroes of the city information that only they could get through Zeke, wouldn’t that make it pretty obvious to Eugene what had happened? Wouldn’t he go after them all the same?
There is a good chance weebmaster doesn’t know Zeke is still “alive”. For all he knows, they trashed Zeke, took home his head and Scott downloaded that information from it. Or they found out what parts Zeke was made of and tracked down where the more rare and exotic parts were delivered and cross referenced to get that info. Any of those options could be the case.
Doesn’t change the fact though, that weebmaster needs a sound kick in the bollocks.
Except Ethan just told him X01 is still alive.
He definitely thought X01 is dead as of page 3. Ethan remarks, “oh, he thought the failsafe went off” and Lucas’s response implies Ethan let the cat out of the bag, but he continues on like neither of them said anything (“it was merely a flawed prototype” could apply equally well to X01 being dead or gone rogue). Likely he was so into his villain speech that he completely failed to process what they were saying.
MRD’s argument doesn’t hinge on Zeke, though. If Captain Prime and other heros all of a sudden starts going after Eugene, it’s likely he’ll conclude Ethan and Lucas tipped them off. And moreover, he’ll have nothing to lose by revealing their identities.
Dear Ethan and Lucas: also think explicitly of the impact on your dating lives if you go public!
Pretty sure that *is* what Ethan is thinking about. Even Lucas seems to be implying that Lilah may be part of the reason why Ethan wants his identity public.
Super powers don’t just happen. Given the hacking skills scott has i think he found the cause of superpowers. And he used that info to give ethan and lucas super powers to make up for him being too weak to save Carlie.
I don’t know what sort of hacking skills can arrange to have them playing a mystical Japanese arcade game while a guy spills super secret chemicals on them at the exact moment they’re struck by lightning… XD
[insert penguin mastermind here]
That makes no sense, He’d have given himself powers too if he had the ability to do it.
You can’t stack gift-superpowers onto somebody. Only freak-accident-superpowers may be combined.
Also you can’t give them to yourself, there will be a horrible accident.
Except we saw how Ethan and Lucas gained their powers in a previous series of flashback strips. As far as we know Scott had nothing to do with it because he’s nowhere to be found during any part of that flashback.
When did we see that?
In Issue 4, starting here: https://cad-comic.com/comic/analog-and-d-pad-04-03/
apparently I have no memory of having read this. how did I miss this?
Drat, and I thought it was a good theory.
Glad to now know the actual origin at least.
You give hackers too much credit if you think they can summon lightning.
Lightning summoned by a “smart” van de graaff generator, perhaps!
They can. There is a site where they shoot rockets with a wire into clouds.
I dunno, I mean, Mad Scientists are so good at hacking the weather that they literally use it for giggles. They start laughing maniacally and all of a sudden lightning splits the sky!
Coincidence? I think NOT!
This reminds of that part from Irredeemable except, obviously, without the psychopathy and suggestions of aggressive unconsented use of hot knives.
Nope. Scott was paralyzed from being stabbed by a penguin. That’s canon, and you can’t change it.
in this continuity, he was *shot* by a penguin
Being a hero isn’t always about the benefits…..
You don’t have to do everything yourself to be a hero. I think a good compromise would be to get help from a registered hero they know they can trust. It’s not as fast or easy an answer as the other two and seems least likely but that’s my take.
Frankly, I side with Ethan. In the end, it’s a hero’s job t.o be a hero. Nothing more, nothing less. Threats, consequences, playing it safe, none of that should stop a hero….
We all knew Scott had issues, and probably justified ones too. Now, his character makes even more sense.
I hope that’s also his way of realising how shaky a ground he’s on, as far as taking big decisions goes. Pain and guilt often give supremely bad advice.
I’ll keep siding with Lucas, for this reason as well. He’s less burdened with Carlie’s death, than Scott or Ethan.
Well done. I like this exploration of the superhero reality.
And this is where X1 chimes in from the doorway with “Wanna know what I think? If Eugene has your info it’s probably already out there, all you can do now is try to limit the damage. I can help you with that…but first you get this bomb out of me.”
So… is it time to “return to sender” the sentient murder-bot?
Last
I won’t steal the privilege of being the last, my dear frie…
Damn it.