Di hands down wins the award for most impressive performance in this battle. Compare this fight to Rumy vs. Hyperman…and remember that Hyperman was doing his best *not* to hurt Rumy!
Not just Jesus Rikk, but also Paladin Rikk using lay-on-hands to cure (although the lay-on-hands is mostly for effect seeing as the actual cure comes from brushing some of the blood off onto her).
Now freeze some of that stuff, Rikk!
Also: did Di just kick Wheaties’ brain out through the back of his skull?
Interesting. Wheaties morphing into his alien form and then dying on camera removes any doubt I had that Hyperman might have survived the blast even in his alien form. So, all hostiles down! Ten pages left, though.
Hmm.
Time for Bellhop to go back to his original goals, or perhaps for Mechtech to return? Or will the rest of the chapter be spent on cleanup duty?
But did Bellhop really kill his half-brother? Or did he kill the half-brother that never will be, since Team Alpha seems to have averted the horrible future where the Hand takes over.
Just make sure to throw ALL the pieces into the blast furnace. Don’t save an arm as a trophy, or for research purposes.
I’m waiting to see some interaction between Marc and Link in Tiki Wiki’s Virtual Wonderland. I don’t think there’s any risk of Link breaking free, but there might be a chance of Marc kicking his proverbial ass (since his physical ass is already dissolved).
Now I’m lost. If Wheaties is the same shapeshifter race as Ult then does that mean they were all shapeshifters or were they all mindforms like Link said?
maybe the mind form is a type of shape shifter. that would meant that they decides upon a body and build it. Hyper-man tried the hero’s flying brick body. Wheaties and Animal tried to make an indestructible an endlessly regenerative bodies. Wheaties body was of the kind that could adapt and defend against any kind of punishment that didn’t kill it (as long as he was concerting but if you hit a mountain enough in the same spot you will break either it your you hammer) that’s why Di was aiming for the head. to break his concentration and make him lose focus. and animals body that could heal any injury even a fatal one. it was sort of a wolverine package but not a cell one. if you destroy the main body of animals body by say exploding it the chance of him surviving is slight at best.
Looks like Commiekeebler was right with that “revert to true form” idea.
How does this sound for a theory: when the Cuckoos travel through space, they’re fine as mindforms. But as was expositioned in the Oval Office confrontation, they need a body to survive when on a planet inhabited by other minds. Link and Mechtech invest as little as possible of themselves in their bodies, so those bodies simply break when damaged. “Body-addicted throwbacks” like Ult, Animal, and Wheaties, however, identify much more strongly with their bodies, so those bodies revert to their original forms when they lose concentration.
Considering the fall-out this ought to bring with, I can easily see ten pages spend on wrap up only. There are way to many loose strings left as of yet.
I think my confusion began here: http://www.faans.com/backstory-24-of-24/
When Link says “We descended upon other worlds; assumed new bodies; new powers,” I took that to mean that they were taking over the bodies of the native inhabitants. But what was really meant was that they were all shapeshifters and chose their bodies/powers at will. In that light it makes a lot more sense, though it’s still strange that if they could just choose any powers they wanted, Mechtech needed to absorb Cloud to become more powerful.
Bunny: there are limits to exactly what powers they can assume-for example, Julie mentions that Animal and Wheaties had to work very hard to make their bodies as strong as they were.
Locke – c’mon. Rikk is a Christian, but he’s not acting like Jesus. He’s just healing Shanna by the laying on of his hands; and really, her life was redeemed by the shedding of blood….
Here, http://www.faans.com/beginnings-12-of-33/, Bellhop is explicitly thinking about ‘accidentally’ killing Rikk and Ally. T’s writing makes you read between the lines a lot. My interpretation is that Bellhop’s accidental killing was not an accident. He said it was, but we didn’t get to see him ‘think’ it. And Rumy very clearly figured out that her son, even if from an alternate future, was killed by her other son. Whatever is going on now in Bellhop’s heart, his reunion with Rumy is going to be rough.
You know. Shanna’s probably been the single most interesting character in this comic from the very beginning. She was given a name in the very first page of the comic, she had the most lines for the first several page, and she was the only one to get a 2D personality in the first year, much less the first month. She’s dynamic, unusually deep, and popular.
The kind of character that the author would never throw away.
And yet I really honestly thought Shanna was about to die. GOOD STORYTELLING, BRO.
Well, the series is coming to an end… he could have killed her off. and it would have been an awfully poignant way to end the series, because I really feel that even over Rikk Shanna’s been the core of this series. Her struggles have really been front-and-center issues that we as the readers can relate to, and she’s been an important part of nearly every story right from the start.
That’s been known for a while now, but if you want proof, from page 17 of the chapter: “Tonight’s ran late due to low-grade fever. I’ve tried to change my system so that it’s not vulnerable to such short-term concerns, but I think that’s going to have to wait until Fans is done at this point. Which won’t be long now…”
@Aldiar, T also stated somewhere in the forums that this is the last year for the strip. I can’t remember what thread exactly, but we’re in the final stretch now for certain.
Shanna: “uh…Rikk.. now that my life is saved… remember those overdeveloped female bodies in North Korea? From too much Animal blood exposure?… could you smear a just little more orange stuff on my chest, pls?
Yay Shanna!
Wouldn’t it be neat if somehow Rikk kept the healing abilities? It would suit him.
Just what Rikk needs, more ties to a Jesus complex
But it is good to see more everyone seems to come out of this ok..
which means there is bad things still to come
More bad things? Well it did seem that Bellhop knowingly killed his half brother. So there is that, when it comes out.
Di hands down wins the award for most impressive performance in this battle. Compare this fight to Rumy vs. Hyperman…and remember that Hyperman was doing his best *not* to hurt Rumy!
Not just Jesus Rikk, but also Paladin Rikk using lay-on-hands to cure (although the lay-on-hands is mostly for effect seeing as the actual cure comes from brushing some of the blood off onto her).
Now freeze some of that stuff, Rikk!
Also: did Di just kick Wheaties’ brain out through the back of his skull?
Every time a faan doesn’t die, I feel all squoogy inside. <3
Did you feel like Jesus?
Did you realize that you were a champion in their eyes?–Steely Dan
Squishy, yet satisfying.
Interesting. Wheaties morphing into his alien form and then dying on camera removes any doubt I had that Hyperman might have survived the blast even in his alien form. So, all hostiles down! Ten pages left, though.
Hmm.
Time for Bellhop to go back to his original goals, or perhaps for Mechtech to return? Or will the rest of the chapter be spent on cleanup duty?
But did Bellhop really kill his half-brother? Or did he kill the half-brother that never will be, since Team Alpha seems to have averted the horrible future where the Hand takes over.
Just make sure to throw ALL the pieces into the blast furnace. Don’t save an arm as a trophy, or for research purposes.
Did the whole healing thing happened in the Oval Office? And if so, are the cameras still working, because that would be a hell of a live…
Great strip. Period.
I’m waiting to see some interaction between Marc and Link in Tiki Wiki’s Virtual Wonderland. I don’t think there’s any risk of Link breaking free, but there might be a chance of Marc kicking his proverbial ass (since his physical ass is already dissolved).
Nice job here, Soulson.
Welcome to the human race.
This is a good day.
Bell hop did kill his half brother but form a different future. i didn’t mean to but he opened a portal that cut him in half. http://www.faans.com/betrayal-20-of-24/ he immediately said he didn’t mean to do it. http://www.faans.com/betrayal-21-of-24/
Is Wheaties alien head very close to soulson’s?
No. It’s 1 for 1 like Ult’s though.
Now I’m lost. If Wheaties is the same shapeshifter race as Ult then does that mean they were all shapeshifters or were they all mindforms like Link said?
maybe the mind form is a type of shape shifter. that would meant that they decides upon a body and build it. Hyper-man tried the hero’s flying brick body. Wheaties and Animal tried to make an indestructible an endlessly regenerative bodies. Wheaties body was of the kind that could adapt and defend against any kind of punishment that didn’t kill it (as long as he was concerting but if you hit a mountain enough in the same spot you will break either it your you hammer) that’s why Di was aiming for the head. to break his concentration and make him lose focus. and animals body that could heal any injury even a fatal one. it was sort of a wolverine package but not a cell one. if you destroy the main body of animals body by say exploding it the chance of him surviving is slight at best.
In the end, entropy will always triumph.
Looks like Commiekeebler was right with that “revert to true form” idea.
How does this sound for a theory: when the Cuckoos travel through space, they’re fine as mindforms. But as was expositioned in the Oval Office confrontation, they need a body to survive when on a planet inhabited by other minds. Link and Mechtech invest as little as possible of themselves in their bodies, so those bodies simply break when damaged. “Body-addicted throwbacks” like Ult, Animal, and Wheaties, however, identify much more strongly with their bodies, so those bodies revert to their original forms when they lose concentration.
Shapeshifter = Mindform.
Considering the fall-out this ought to bring with, I can easily see ten pages spend on wrap up only. There are way to many loose strings left as of yet.
Two HUZZAHs on one page! Go Di! And Shanna lives!
I think my confusion began here: http://www.faans.com/backstory-24-of-24/
When Link says “We descended upon other worlds; assumed new bodies; new powers,” I took that to mean that they were taking over the bodies of the native inhabitants. But what was really meant was that they were all shapeshifters and chose their bodies/powers at will. In that light it makes a lot more sense, though it’s still strange that if they could just choose any powers they wanted, Mechtech needed to absorb Cloud to become more powerful.
Bunny: there are limits to exactly what powers they can assume-for example, Julie mentions that Animal and Wheaties had to work very hard to make their bodies as strong as they were.
Thray: Touche
Alternate fight panel interpretation: Di isn’t actually kicking Wheaties’ head in, he’s turbo nomming on her foot! In Fans, Wheaties eats you!
(kidding)
(maybe)
Incidentally… Shanna’s lines in the last panel are beyond touching.
And the day is solved by Captain Mullet-Jesus.
Still, a nice resolution. I’m glad Shannah didn’t die. That’d have been the downer of the decade.
Aww…that was nice…
Locke – c’mon. Rikk is a Christian, but he’s not acting like Jesus. He’s just healing Shanna by the laying on of his hands; and really, her life was redeemed by the shedding of blood….
waitaminit
I confess … I sort of hoped Animal would pull a Lobo … each drop of blood forming into a new Animal.
All this talk about the alien mindforms, shapechanging, etc. … I’m getting an Elfquest vibe, now.
Here, http://www.faans.com/beginnings-12-of-33/, Bellhop is explicitly thinking about ‘accidentally’ killing Rikk and Ally. T’s writing makes you read between the lines a lot. My interpretation is that Bellhop’s accidental killing was not an accident. He said it was, but we didn’t get to see him ‘think’ it. And Rumy very clearly figured out that her son, even if from an alternate future, was killed by her other son. Whatever is going on now in Bellhop’s heart, his reunion with Rumy is going to be rough.
@bigmac Yeah, you’re right. Rikk is more like a priest.
Animal is the real Jesus.
You know. Shanna’s probably been the single most interesting character in this comic from the very beginning. She was given a name in the very first page of the comic, she had the most lines for the first several page, and she was the only one to get a 2D personality in the first year, much less the first month. She’s dynamic, unusually deep, and popular.
The kind of character that the author would never throw away.
And yet I really honestly thought Shanna was about to die. GOOD STORYTELLING, BRO.
Well, the series is coming to an end… he could have killed her off. and it would have been an awfully poignant way to end the series, because I really feel that even over Rikk Shanna’s been the core of this series. Her struggles have really been front-and-center issues that we as the readers can relate to, and she’s been an important part of nearly every story right from the start.
Aydr, where did you get the information that the series is ending? I don’t recall any blog posts to that effect.
That’s been known for a while now, but if you want proof, from page 17 of the chapter: “Tonight’s ran late due to low-grade fever. I’ve tried to change my system so that it’s not vulnerable to such short-term concerns, but I think that’s going to have to wait until Fans is done at this point. Which won’t be long now…”
Shanna, the line is “I’m getting too old for this shit!”
Wheaties… that’s gonna leave a mark. Yay, Di!
ANIMAL DIED FOR OUR SINS
@Aldiar, T also stated somewhere in the forums that this is the last year for the strip. I can’t remember what thread exactly, but we’re in the final stretch now for certain.
Shanna: “uh…Rikk.. now that my life is saved… remember those overdeveloped female bodies in North Korea? From too much Animal blood exposure?… could you smear a just little more orange stuff on my chest, pls?