With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

[Maxx Crowley]

To be honest, many of the Guards at the concentration camps were killed on sight.... Even those already in custody as POW's.

As far as I can remember, no one got in trouble for it. At most, some finger wagging. The Officers were 'usually' kept alive because they were kept separately from enlisted and were needed for intelligence purposes, but it was not a guarantee.

I love the diplomatic route, and I am sad that they were unable to go down it, but I don't blame Barry Allen at all.

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Let's remember that sometimes...people don't want a peaceful, diplomatic solution.

They want to paint the walls with the fucker's guts.


Honestly? In a way, this is partly Malvolio's fault. His blocking OL led our lead Lantern into not being able to watch everything with his empathic vision. Had he been doing that, he probably would have seen what is churning around inside of Flash.

 

[Stsword]

In the YJ canon, ignoring Lanterns, I believe Flash is the fastest, followed by Jay Garrick, then, Shazam, then Superman (per the Shazam wiki page - show creator). I would think WW would come after Superman.

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I don't think YJ WW has superspeed.

When asked how Blockbuster would do against the League, Greg said that Superman's array of powers would leave Blockbuster generally outmatched, but that Blockbuster could fight WW one to one and have a 50% of winning.

To me, that implies lack of superspeed. Superman could speedblitz him, while WW would actually have to slug it out with him which is BB's forte.

Plus, when asked what Wonder Girl's powers were, Greg stated "Cassie can fly, and she's very strong - but not as strong as Conner. She can bounce bullets off her bracelets, but she's NOT invulnerable - else why would she NEED to bounce bullets off her bracelets. She's also very proficient with her unbreakable lasso."

Cassie generally gets the base WW power set, just not the esoteric stuff like "talks to animals" or "superhuman empathy."

Plus other Words of Greg had mirrored the other comments- That WW isn't as strong Superman, and that WW isn't invulnerable, because that's what the bouncing the bullets off the bracelets is for.

So I believe Cass followed that trend and has the WW power set in YJ.

Although obviously lack of superhuman speed doesn't mean lack of superhuman reflexes because bullets bouncing off of bracelets doesn't work otherwise.

 

[Maxx Crowley]

WW isn't invulnerable, because that's what the bouncing the bullets off the bracelets is for.

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I should point out, that according to OL in the story, Diana could, and something along the lines of "Tank cannon shells naked"

 

[Pez]

I don't think YJ WW has superspeed.

SNIP

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You're right that she's never exhibited anything close to super speed in the show. Of course, we see very little of what most of the League can actually do, but when we do, she doesn't move too fast.

With that said, similar to the quote below, the WW in this story is different than canon. Early in the story, OL races her, so we see how fast she is capable of flying (which isn't the same as running speed).

I should point out, that according to OL in the story, Diana could, and something along the lines of "Tank cannon shells naked"

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I believe I remember that as well. I know some iterations of WW are more bullet resistant/proof, and others aren't. I think they tend to deal with her parentage, or what blessings she has.

 

[Stsword]

I should point out, that according to OL in the story, Diana could, and something along the lines of "Tank cannon shells naked"

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The discussion was very specifically about YJ Wonder Woman, of which stuff Zoat makes up has no relevance whatsoever.

Nor is this a case of Zoat going to the comics, because being bulletproof is not the norm for WW in the comics either. Wonder Woman became bulletproof when Neron killed her in 1997 and Zeus turned her into an Olympian. When he later stripped her of her Olympian powers, Zeus let her retain the improved invulnerability.

So in a career that has spanned 78 years, WW was bulletproof for 14 of them. Not even 18% of her career. The Speedforce that is too newfangled an idea for some DC fans not only predates WW's bulletproofness (being introduced in 94), but outlived it, because the current WW has been seriously injured by bullets that bounced off of Superman.

 

[Someguy Somewhere]

With regards to why wonder woman uses her bracelets

Spoiler: It makes perfect sense.

 

[Darko]

Another reason Diana uses her bracelets could be in case something someone shoots her with may be capable of hurting her, even if she is bulletproof, so the bracelets are just extra protection.

The fact that she's sometimes been thrown through walls in the comics, or punched by someone with super strength, without getting a scratch and yet is somehow still vulnerable to bullets is just bullshit.

Though I guess with magic and some divines in mythology having weird weaknesses it wouldn't be the weirdest one.

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th June 2012
17:02 GMT -5

I blink, and I can see the green explosion as Jordan hits the ground and keeps going, the-.

He's either okay or he's not. Scan the area. Is anyone-? Was anyone living down-?

Miles of blasted terrain. No one there now, whoever was there before. Next cluster of station inhabitants-.

"You would-"

Constructarmourandwarpdodge.

"-be well advised-"

The green aura has spread, filling local space as Lord Malvolio leaves the station. Diana's in pursuit, no sign of Mr. All-. No, there he is, moving station inhabitants into escape pods and launching them. Bit of a problem with his skill set: his inability to fight in space. He's still got his air mask, but we're going to have to transport him off the station before too long or he'll be a sitting duck.

"-to focus-"

Diana slices at him, causing him to raise his right hand to parry her sword with his, which fades as he half-turns to punch her in the solar plexus. Ah, moment by moment construct creation! Skilled in combat as well as powerful. Diana's armour takes it but she's knocked back, and he fires a fat energy beam at her as a follow up.

"-on the-"

I could shoot him, but we came to his home and killed his guests, and Diana doesn't look like she's in mortal danger. Escape pods start launching, blasting away from the station and orientating on the planet. If Flash has finished-.

I fly towards the launch bay, where Flash appears to be attempting to seal the area's hull breaches with the station's emergency patching supplies.

"Do you-?"

"-fight!"

A lance construct comes through the wall, impaling me through my construct armour! I'm slammed into the deck, and as I swing a crumbler around-. Gone. I turn, raise a construct shield and brace.

"Do you need a lift?"

"To where?"

"The Castle Revolving? One of the planets?"

He nods. "Get me to the Castle. Maybe Mist managed to-"

I attach filaments to him and-. The station's a write-off anyway, I create a crumbler construct and fly through all obstacles in the direction of the Castle Revolving.

"-reopen the portal."

"And you might be able to use the Sheeda still there-"

We're out of the decidedly sorry-looking station and flying through local space. I get a quick look at Diana and she's.. managing. In fact, she feels… Odd? Oh, don't tell me that she's actually using her divine abilities to keep up? Will wonders never cease.

"-as shields."

I keep a hefty shield construct pointed in their direction, but the journey is quick and it doesn't look like he can afford to move away from Diana-. Oh, she's lassoed him again so that he can't. That would explain it.

"I don't regret it."

"Good for you."

"Where's Hal?"

We fly into one of the more intact fly-aeries and I drop him off.

"Malvolio blasted him into the planet. If it didn't kill him, he's probably digging himself out. Excuse me."

And out of the ship again.

"Jordan, you alive?"

"Shaken up, but yeah. I think I went… Through the planet. Diana?"

"Coping. Can you help her?"

"What about you?"

"Flash is on the Sheeda ship in case Mist opens a portal. I want a closer look at what this 'void' actually is. If we can just fly out-."

"He can fly after us."

"With no stellar navigation assistance? Difficult."

"He could just aim at a nearby star."

"And we can get the full story out of the Guardians."

"Okay. Watch Diana's back until I get there, then switch out."

"Right."

Malvolio uses a trident construct to hold Diana's sword arm away and punches her in the faceplate. That could actually work; the nature of the attachment meant that we had to include weak points so that the wearer could speak and-.

Diana's head jerks back as he follows up on his shot with an energy blast, her grip momentarily weakening and the rope of the lasso slacking. Malvolio immediately-

Green laser construct.

-gasps in pain as I shoot him in the back of the head with a laser that passes right through his environmental shield. He switches his attention from Diana to me, but the distance between us makes dodging his slower than light constructs a simple matter. Though I'm careful to ensure that there isn't anything behind me as I dodge; the last thing I want is for him to hit the Castle Revolving because he got too single-minded. He grits his teeth and tries to fly at me, but Diana's recovered and tugs him back, forcing him to block her sword with a construct shield and just take the strike from the edge of her shield.

My laser isn't doing any damage that I can see; human flesh would have been incinerated by now while I can't even see sunburn on him. But he clearly finds it uncomfortable so I keep doing it. Can I burn his mask? No, though shooting him in the eyes got-.

My construct gets destroyed, and I notice that he used his left hand to draw his side arm. I-.

"Tag."

"Keep him away from the ship."

Jordan flies past, generating a hammer construct and I can't watch. Instead, I try a full intensity scan in the general direction of 'away from the star'. Returns after a certain point… Dim, and then cut out. It's actually inside where the normal Oort cloud would be, so that's where I'm going.

Space bends around me, and I leave the fight behind.

 

[Darko]

him to raise his right to parry

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maybe 'right hand'

Diana's armour take it but she's knocked back

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'takes it'

"I don't regret it."

"Good for you."

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Was Paul being sarcastic or genuine?

Is Gloriana permanently dead, or will she come back somehow?

 

[dxdragon]

Well now, I'm surprised.

Flash using relativistic weapons is one thing, he probably had plenty of practice against the Sheeda. But Wonder Woman tapping into her divinity to boost her combat ability?

Did the League actually take their performance evaluations seriously and work to fixing themselves???

If so, Paul now has one less thing to harp on them about.

 

[MagnumForce]

I don't actually remember the combat evaluations, could somebody mind linking them to me?

 

[moralrelativity]

Returns after a certain point… Dim, and then cut out. It's actually inside where the normal Oort cloud would be, so that's where I'm going.

Space bends around me, and I leave the fight behind.

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And where's OL off to, I wonder?

 

[Stsword]

Flash using relativistic weapons is one thing, he probably had plenty of practice against the Sheeda. But Wonder Woman tapping into her divinity to boost her combat ability?

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What exactly leads you to believe that Diana is using her divinity to boost her combat ability?

Unless Zoat is being creative, her domain would be truth (just as she was the goddess of truth as an olympian when Neron killed her in the comics), which applied to combat would I could see seeing through feints and diversions, making her the opposite of the swordsman the Prince of Lies/Eminence of Blades.

That's not what I noticed in this combat. What I noticed is what I would expect from a warrior with superhuman durability, reflexes, and strength with a magic sword, shield, and armor with advanced combat training.

So what did I miss?

 

[Handlewithcare]

So is Malvolios collateral damage kill count due to the Green Light or due to him being a "Lord" ruling over "peasents"?

 

[Darko]

What exactly leads you to believe that Diana is using her divinity to boost her combat ability?

Unless Zoat is being creative, her domain would be truth (just as she was the goddess of truth as an olympian when Neron killed her in the comics), which applied to combat would I could see seeing through feints and diversions, making her the opposite of the swordsman the Prince of Lies/Eminence of Blades.

That's not what I noticed in this combat. What I noticed is what I would expect from a warrior with superhuman durability, reflexes, and strength with a magic sword, shield, and armor with advanced combat training.

So what did I miss?

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Paul thought that she felt odd when he saw her fighting him.

Paul also has a very powerful soul and can use magic to some degree, so he may have sensed her using some of her divine power to boost herself, or maybe fight like New Gods tend to.

He also knows how the League and its members fight so he would have prior knowledge of how she fights.

And Diana's been practicing her more esoteric power set, and Malvolio is not an easy opponent so some extra spark may be needed to fight him.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

26th June 2012
17:02 GMT -5

I blink, and I can see the green explosion as Jordan hits the ground and keeps going, the-.

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And now we're Dragon Ball Z. Genre to genre and it never gets boring, if nothing else.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

He's either okay or he's not. Scan the area. Is anyone-? Was anyone living down-?

Miles of blasted terrain. No one there now, whoever was there before. Next cluster of station inhabitants-.

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Yeowch. Clearly Malvolio has no concern for any of his 'subjects', if he's tossing off casual destruction like that. Seriously, he just turned Hal into a living Kinetic Kill Vehicle...

"You would-"

Constructarmourandwarpdodge.

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Yeah, that would be my likely reaction too if I realised Malvolio was looking my way. Though mine would probably involve more expletives. And a never-ending thankfulness for a ring's bodily control capabilities...

"-be well advised-"

The green aura has spread, filling local space as Lord Malvolio leaves the station. Diana's in pursuit, no sign of Mr. All-. No, there he is, moving station inhabitants into escape pods and launching them. Bit of a problem with his skill set; his inability to fight in space. He's still got his air mask, but we're going to have to transport him off the station before too long or he'll be a sitting duck.

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Yeah, if he goes tumbling, he's not got many options. Even with superspeed AMBAC, he's going to be facing a long wait for rescue...

"-to focus-"

Diana slices at him, causing him to raise his right to parry her sword with his, which fades as he half-turns to punch her in the solar plexus. Ah, moment by moment construct creation! Skilled in combat as well as powerful. Diana's armour take it but she's knocked back, and he fires a fat energy beam at her as a follow up.

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And multitasking too, given the yelling at his opponents with Green Light transmissions if I understand that right. Bit over-reliant on destruction pulses though...

"-on the-"

I could shoot him, but we came to his home and killed his guests, and Diana doesn't look like she's in mortal danger. Escape pods start launching, blasting away from the station and orientating on the planet. If Flash has finished-.

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Presumably anyone getting off has already done so now. If not, well... A tumbling space station generally only has one direction it can eventually go... One with a sudden stop at the end.

I fly towards the launch bay, where Flash appears to be attempting to seal the area's hull breaches with the station's emergency patching supplies.

"Do you-?"

"-fight!"

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Good chance to have a well-earned discussion with him, given he's not going to be much use in the fighting. Remember to ask him what the flaming fuck he was thinking?

A lance construct comes through the wall, impaling me through my construct armour! I'm slammed into the deck, and as I swing a crumbler around-. Gone. I turn, raise a construct shield and brace.

"Do you need a lift?"

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Bloody hell, Malvolio's persistent. Has he got something out for OL or what? Or was that aimed at Diana, who dodged at the worst moment?

"To where?"

"The Castle Revolving? One of the planets?"

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...'One of'? I don't remember them having more than one celestial body present... Must have missed that...

He nods. "Get me to the Castle. Maybe Mist managed to-"

I attach filaments to him and-. The station's a write-off anyway, I create a crumbler construct and fly through all obstacles in the direction of the Castle Revolving.

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Optimistic, isn't he? No wonder he got a Blue Lantern during Blackest Night.

"-to reopen the portal."

"And you might be able to use the Sheeda still there-"

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If Mist had the portal open, there'd be a lot more people trying to face-punch Malvolio by now.

We're out of the decidedly sorry-looking station and flying through local space. I get a quick look at Diana and she's.. managing. In fact, she feels… Odd? Oh, don't tell me that she's actually using her divine abilities to keep up? Will wonders never cease.

"-as shields."

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Ouch, OL... Not sure which is worse, the well-deserved poke at Mr Allen, or the one at Diana... I'd say it's almost catty. But then I'd remind myself of Best Kitty...

I keep a hefty shield construct pointed in their direction, but the journey is quick and it doesn't look like he can afford to move away from Diana-. Oh, she's lassoed him again so that he can't. That would explain it.

"I don't regret it."

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Who are you trying to convince, Barry? OL, or yourself? Not so easy once the heat of rage fades, is it?

"Good for you."

"Where's Hal?"

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Digging himself out of the planetary Mantle, most likely.

We fly into one of the more intact fly-aeries and I drop him off.

"Malvolio blasted him into the planet. If it didn't kill him, he's probably digging himself out. Excuse me."

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...I was kidding. Is the only reason the planet isn't cracking right now because Malvolio is holding it firmly? While trying to beat Diana's face through the back of her head? Dayum...

And out of the ship again.

"Jordan, you alive?"

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Well, we haven't seen a Ring flying off in search of a new user yet... All signs point to 'yes'.

"Shaken up, but yeah. I think I went… Through the planet. Diana?"

"Coping. Can you help her?"

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I am honestly impressed his shields held up to that. Man has an Iron Will.

"What about you?"

"Flash is on the Sheeda ship in case Mist opens a portal. I want a closer look at what this 'void' actually is. If we can just fly out-."

"He can fly after us."

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At least then he'd be clear of the planet. I don't think it'll handle too many more impacts like that...

"With no stellar navigation assistance? Difficult."

"He could just aim at a nearby star."

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2nd star on the right, and straight on til' morning?

"And we can get the full story out of the Guardians."

"Okay. Watch Diana's back until I get there, then switch out."

"Right."

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Yay. Running interference with the will-god. The thankless life of an Orange Lantern.

Malvolio uses a trident construct to hold Diana's sword arm away and punches her in the faceplate. That could actually work; the nature of the attachment meant that we had to include weak points so that the wearer could speak and-.

Diana's head jerks back as he follows up on his shot with an energy blast, her grip momentarily weakening and the rope of the lasso slacking. Malvolio immediately-

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Bad, bad, bad, the tank's losing aggro!

Green laser construct.

-gasps in pain as I shoot him in the back of the head with a laser that passes right through his environmental shield. He switches his attention from Diana to me, but the distance between us makes dodging his slower than light constructs a simple matter. Though I'm careful to ensure that there isn't anything behind me as I dodge; the last thing I want is for him to hit the Castle Revolving because he got too single-minded. He grits his teeth and tries to fly at me, but Diana's recovered and tugs him back, forcing him to block her sword with a construct shield and just take the strike from the edge of her shield.

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Yes, always good to be aware of your backstop.

My laser isn't doing any damage that I can see; human flesh would have been incinerated by now while I can't even see sunburn on him. But he clearly finds it uncomfortable so I keep doing it. Can I burn his mask? No, though shooting him in the eyes got-.

My construct gets destroyed, and I notice that he used his left hand to draw his side arm. I-.

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Interesting. He's reinforcing himself with green light, clearly. And regenerating any damage suffered as fast as it's taken... Wonder if his sidearm resembles a flintlock pistol? Or maybe a wheellock...

"Tag."

"Keep him away from the ship."

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Well, time to poke the bars of the cell, see if you can get the attention of the gaoler.

Jordan flies past, generating a hammer construct and I can't watch. Instead, I try a full intensity scan in the general direction of 'away from the star'. Returns after a certain point… Dim, and then cut out. It's actually inside where the normal Oort cloud would be, so that's where I'm going.

Space bends around me, and I leave the fight behind.

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Presumably it's just a null at the edge, rather than a spatial loop. That would get mind-bending, being able to turn a telescope onto infinity and see the back of your own head.

Well, I guess the Malvolio battle will end up getting resolved off-screen, while OL goes to find a place to cast 'Summon Bigger Fish'... Which increases the likelihood of it turning out as Earth-1 canon did. At least Diana's presence will make it harder for Malvolio to pull that fake Thanatos gambit...

 

[Lord Ernest]

Is it me or is the Illustres in full "snarky, no fucks given" mode? I mean, lately he's been generally pretty passive, or passive aggressive at most, but the only way I can ready phrases like "Will wonders never cease." and "Good for you." is with a hundred percent high quality sarcastic tone. And for a guy that sometimes reads/sounds as robotic as Red Tornado, that's a lot.

 

[Vaermina]

26th June 2012
17:02 GMT -5

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So... When are we going to find out what the real Sheeda Queen is doing?

 

[Darko]

And now we're Dragon Ball Z. Genre to genre and it never gets boring, if nothing else.

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Now all we need is Nappa and we can quote whatever he says.

DBZ Abridged is canon as far I'm concerned.

Bit over-reliant on destruction pulses though...

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If they work then why not use them,.

Remember to ask him what the flaming fuck he was thinking?

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That he wasn't about to let a bunch of monsters get away with their crimes and was tired of them still having the gall to be alive.

Bloody hell, Malvolio's persistent. Has he got something out for OL or what? Or was that aimed at Diana, who dodged at the worst moment?

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The guy is a Green Lantern, so being persistent is part of it.

Optimistic, isn't he?

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Mist is a very powerful magician, so it isn't all that unreal that he would have done it.

If Mist had the portal open, there'd be a lot more people trying to face-punch Malvolio by now.

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Unless he's just opening it, or the Leaguers that came through don't know what's happening.

Who are you trying to convince, Barry? OL, or yourself? Not so easy once the heat of rage fades, is it?

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I don't think he's trying to convince anyone, just stating how he feels.

...I was kidding. Is the only reason the planet isn't cracking right now because Malvolio is holding it firmly? While trying to beat Diana's face through the back of her head? Dayum...

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One guy flying through a planet isn't going to destroy that planet.

I am honestly impressed his shields held up to that. Man has an Iron Will.

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Yes he does.

At least Diana's presence will make it harder for Malvolio to pull that fake Thanatos gambit...

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Ehh, her powers may not work like that, or are not developed to that level even if they did.

Also Malvolio has been practicing with his powers for centuries so he may be able to fool her.

 

[Agent Orange]

Malvolios collateral damage kill count

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He just punched Hal through the planet... Either the punch caused Hal to phase through all of the matter (making it pointless) or the planet is totalled. I mean I dunno how much kinetic energy you'd need to punch a person sized figure through the planet but I'm gonna guess 'a lot'. How much of it leaked into the environment? Did Hal's transition at 'ludicrous speed' set the atmosphere on fire? Did it cause a blast wave? What about him hitting the surface at high enough velocity to keep going through it, the core of the planet and almost out of the other side? That comet that killed the dinosaurs? It has nothing on Mal&Hal

Of course that would mean being even remotely realistic about the consequences so I'm sure the "bullet hole" will be an amusing, Hal-shaped tunnel that doesn't affected the planet or its inhabitants in any way.

 

[Sceptic]

So... When are we going to find out what the real Sheeda Queen is doing?

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Evidence suggests either tomorrow or not in this episode. Of course, evidence is probably misleading.

He just punched Hal through the planet.

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Into, not through. Damaging to those on that side of the planet, but not to those on the opposite side. Yet.

 

[PrinceJonathan]

And now we're Dragon Ball Z. Genre to genre and it never gets boring, if nothing else.

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Except when they spend five episodes doing nothing but powering up by screaming like they're trying to pass a greyhound bus through their colon.

Are they still on Namek? Oh wouldn't that be a plot twist? Thirty/forty years and they've actually been trapped on that fake Namek this whole time because the illusion the aliens used changed to make them think they left. Then they have a whole team of alien writers to make up stories to put them in and record their fights for entertainment.

 

[Mr Zoat]

maybe 'right hand'
'takes it'

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Thank you, corrected.

Was Paul being sarcastic or genuine?

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Little from column A, little from column B.

Is Gloriana permanently dead, or will she come back somehow?

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There's no such thing as 'permanently dead' in this setting.

 

[Mquz]

Except when they spend five episodes doing nothing but powering up by screaming like they're trying to pass a greyhound bus through their colon.

Are they still on Namek? Oh wouldn't that be a plot twist? Thirty/forty years and they've actually been trapped on that fake Namek this whole time because the illusion the aliens used changed to make them think they left. Then they have a whole team of alien writers to make up stories to put them in and record their fights for entertainment.

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Hm... I kinda want a fanfic of this. There are no super saiyans or transformations. The super saiyan was just a legend Vegeta brought up that one time. Vegeta never got put in the simulation. He's just dead after his arc and part of the simulation as Goku's biggest actual fight. He's a G-man / agent smith from the matrix. Since this is Goku, the best way to keep him from questioning his reality is to give him a rival. How do you keep Krillin entertained? Give him a girlfriend. Everything has just been a simulation. Pure wish fulfillment, just made to be believable. When they get out and try their super forms, none of them work. It's basically the matrix, but with Goku and the crew. As for why they put him there - they want his Oozaru form power.

 

[Maxx Crowley]

As for Diana's durability. Well it's all over the damn place. I mean take the Justice League cartoon show. She's still shown blocking bullets with her bracers, but she also took punches from Superman and Mongol. Both of whom hit way harder than any bullet.

At this point I figure the brace or thing is more tradition than anything. With Diana's durability basically being plot based more than most characters. Plus for whatever reason in all of fiction massive blunt force trauma doesn't really matter. I mean Thor can Club you in the head with his hammer hard enough to knock you across the city and you get up just fine. But have someone cut you with a plain old sword and you're bleeding all over the place.

Is it me or is the Illustres in full "snarky, no fucks given" mode? I mean, lately he's been generally pretty passive, or passive aggressive at most, but the only way I can ready phrases like "Will wonders never cease." and "Good for you." is with a hundred percent high quality sarcastic tone. And for a guy that sometimes reads/sounds as robotic as Red Tornado, that's a lot.

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yeah, it's actually slightly annoying. Like, I get it, he's going oh man you stupid comic book characters.

And it's kind of amusing, the fact that he is just so utterly uninterested in what's going on right now. Like Diana's fighting this guy and OL is just like meh, you kind of got it coming.

But he didnt do anything until malvolio took a shot at him, and that's just equal parts funny and exasperating. Now he might be going for his whole, I don't really want to fight, so I'm going to go summon another person to help do the work for me.

 

[Pez]

Is it me or is the Illustres in full "snarky, no fucks given" mode? I mean, lately he's been generally pretty passive, or passive aggressive at most, but the only way I can ready phrases like "Will wonders never cease." and "Good for you." is with a hundred percent high quality sarcastic tone. And for a guy that sometimes reads/sounds as robotic as Red Tornado, that's a lot.

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But he didnt do anything until malvolio took a shot at him, and that's just equal parts funny and exasperating. Now he might be going for his whole, I don't really want to fight, so I'm going to go summon another person to help do the work for me.

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If the Queen is dead, OL sees their mission as completed His desire was to stop the Sheeda. If that's been accomplished, then fighting Malvolio, who won't be able to follow them home, is a pointless fight.

I would like to see Paul actually open up on Malvolio, just to see how his planning and creativity stacks up against Malvolio's experience and power, but Paul can't do everything. What's the point of having the people he's criticized actually grow if he just constantly solves their problems for them.

As for Diana's durability. Well it's all over the damn place. I mean take the Justice League cartoon show. She's still shown blocking bullets with her bracers, but she also took punches from Superman and Mongol. Both of whom hit way harder than any bullet.

At this point I figure the brace or thing is more tradition than anything. With Diana's durability basically being plot based more than most characters. Plus for whatever reason in all of fiction massive blunt force trauma doesn't really matter. I mean Thor can Club you in the head with his hammer hard enough to knock you across the city and you get up just fine. But have someone cut you with a plain old sword and you're bleeding all over the place.

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Comic-world physics are bullshit. The shockwave from a lot of these insanely powerful attacks should be turning internal organs to mush. Just like your example, they can tank through the kinetic damage that can shatter planets, but a minor piercing would, and the baddies have access to enough clone materials to create an army.

While I would prefer better power scaling, and more consistency from characters, I just remind myself that they are comic characters, try to not to keep my expectations high, and take whatever enjoyment I can.

 

[Mastigos2]

But he didnt do anything until malvolio took a shot at him, and that's just equal parts funny and exasperating. Now he might be going for his whole, I don't really want to fight, so I'm going to go summon another person to help do the work for me.

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He was rescuing the civilians. Plus the reason he disn't join the fight until Malovio attacked him was that as far as Paul was concerned, the JL members were the ones in the wrong. As guests/ambassadors they had just openly murdered another set of guests/ambassadors in front of the leader of the sovereign nation. After asking for but not waiting for his adjudication. And then proceeded to fight said leader.

Paul was trying to be a fourth party loosely aligned with the JL but not a member. A fourth party that was actively trying to minimize the damage to Malovio's subjects, not fighting Malovio, and not supporting the murderers

I'm not saying Paul planned on just outright backstabing the JL, just that he was positioning himself diplomatically. And then Malovio atacked him anyway

 

[DrThoth]

This whole incident really feels like jumping the shark a bit to me. Should Flash hate the Sheeda so viscerally? Of course, that makes sense given what they've done (though as I said before, we barely see any of their current Harrowing on Earth so narratively the impact of his anger is really diluted). But where was this righteous anger when Klarion became what I believe is the biggest mass murderer in human history? When tyrants and dictators (and any government, really) commit similar atrocities to the Sheeda, just on a smaller scale? Are those situations logistically and politically complicated in ways that can't be simply solved by lethal force? Of course. So was this one.

The League accepting Nabu can make sense in terms of viewing Zatara's actions as heroic and noble self-sacrifice. But in general heroism should be about not taking the easy way, and this whole thing with Flash seems to come out of nowhere- saying he doesn't regret it while he's rescuing people who are in danger as a consequence of his actions is especially jarring. I found this development far more credible with Renegade-M'gann because actual time and context was spent on it (though I can't remember whether she actually killed people or not).

I hope there are actual consequences to Flash's actions, both in-universe and in the story and the League doesn't just brush this aside (sacred hospitality/xenia is probably an important value to Diana at the very least). People have been speculating some variety of mind control (which just made me think of Boss Smiley possibly being involved), but that feels a bit cheap, similar to Brion at the end of canon season 3.

 

[Mastigos2]

This whole incident really feels like jumping the shark a bit to me. Should Flash hate the Sheeda so viscerally? Of course, that makes sense given what they've done (though as I said before, we barely see any of their current Harrowing on Earth so narratively the impact of his anger is really diluted). But where was this righteous anger when Klarion became what I believe is the biggest mass murderer in human history? When tyrants and dictators (and any government, really) commit similar atrocities to the Sheeda, just on a smaller scale? Are those situations logistically and politically complicated in ways that can't be simply solved by lethal force? Of course. So was this one.

The League accepting Nabu can make sense in terms of viewing Zatara's actions as heroic and noble self-sacrifice. But in general heroism should be about not taking the easy way, and this whole thing with Flash seems to come out of nowhere- saying he doesn't regret it while he's rescuing people who are in danger as a consequence of his actions is especially jarring. I found this development far more credible with Renegade-M'gann because actual time and context was spent on it (though I can't remember whether she actually killed people or not).

I hope there are actual consequences to Flash's actions, both in-universe and in the story and the League doesn't just brush this aside (sacred hospitality/xenia is probably an important value to Diana at the very least). People have been speculating some variety of mind control (which just made me think of Boss Smiley possibly being involved), but that feels a bit cheap, similar to Brion at the end of canon season 3.

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To be fair, people have been speculating about Flash being mind controlled from the moment he barged in on the assault mission

 

[Darko]

Where was this righteous anger when Klarion became what I believe is the biggest mass murderer in human history?

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He probably felt it but we just didn't see him express it.

I don't even think he fought Klarion, but I may be wrong on this.

When tyrants and dictators (and any government, really) commit similar atrocities to the Sheeda, just on a smaller scale?

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I don't think anyone on Earth can compare to what the Sheeda do.

Flash also probably doesn't spend a lot of time in places where atrocities happen, since I'm betting that they haven't signed the Charter and it may be difficult to stay incognito.

He spent weeks seeing what the Sheeda do, so that most likely put them on the top of his shit list.

He also may dislike and hate what tyrants do, but we just never saw him express that.