davebarrack
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Grrl Power #920 - Hench 'ya later!
🕑 Added 2021-02-18 11:01:00 +0000 UTCThanks so much for your support!
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I guess HenchWench vividly described her plans to Maxima during the side-flash to Super-super max, otherwise how did Max know she was assuming it would be co-ed?
Okay, so here's a question. If Henchwench's powers only work with supervillains, her ability to gain powers from someone makes her a reliable supervillain detector, right? That wouldn't give you prosecutable evidence, but it'd be like warrantless wiretapping. Once you know you've got the right guy, you start working backwards until you have something admissible, or at least know to increase surveillance on them.
This all assumes you'd trust Henchwench not to suddenly abuse "Mind Controlling Teleport Guy's" powerset the instant she receives it. Which I wouldn't. It also hinges heavily on exactly how her powers determine what constitutes a "Supervillain" and if that matches a legal definition.
By "every science fiction movie ever" Maxima is referring specifically to Deadpool 2 and The Chronicles of Riddick, both of which have mixed gender common areas in their prisons. I'm sure there are other examples, but those two stick in my mind. I don't know why they do that in movies. I assume it's for casting diversity maybe? Or in Riddick's case, it was so they could reunite him with a character he'd previously met, played by a different actress and who looked and acted totally different, and all that so Riddick wouldn't have to worry about opening 1 extra gate that separated the boy's side of the prison from the girl's side during the escape scene.
Not to be indelicate, but wouldn't mixed gender prisons be like locking Chris Nolan's Joker up in a vault full of money, handing him a lighter and hoping he doesn't do something inappropriate? Like the prison guards don't already have enough to do. Oh by the way, we've locked a bunch of axe murderers up in an AXE WAREHOUSE which is also hosting the National Sorority Slumber Party Championships. So, you know, be on alert.
Well, heck, now I'm stuck imagining what the NSSPC would be like. I assume it would be televised. (Secretly televised, so it matches the uncomfortable creep factor of old R-rated college movies like Porky’s and Revenge of the Nerds.) It'd be all the stuff from slasher and party movies condensed into formalized competitions, like Truth or Dare that immediately escalates to kissing, pillow fights, tickle fights, super-soakers full of baby oil fights, making the peeping virgin mess his pants with industrial strength shower fraternization, etc. Not sure how you’d judge most of that. It’d probably be mostly capricious, like bodybuilding competitions, instead of a rigorous point system.
FYI, I’m in the north Dallas area, and it’s been between about 6 degrees and 19 (F) since Sunday, andante we’ve gotten something like 8” of snow that’s actually stuck to the ground instead of instantly melting. While that sounds pretty mild to some of you, Texas simply isn’t equipped for that, especially one or more of the power providers, who have known for over a decade that sub-freezing temperatures would severely fuck them up. So since Sunday evening, a god deal of North Texas has been dealing with managed blackouts. 30 to 60 minutes without power, 30-90 with. It’s better than having no power at all, but it’s a heck of a time to discover that the battery in my UPS is dead. So I’ve been working on the next two pages on my iPad, which is not ideal, but it technically works. At least for penciling. Not sure the iPad can handle all the layers I use when I get to coloring. Hopefully power will be back soon, as will my replacement UPS. If not, then brace yourself for some flat colored art a few pages from now.
Comments
Marc Vun Kannon
Those aren't orbs.
Mark Whipple
Universal Code Girl should be able to find a link between Henchwench and her portal friend. I know people spoke about how she could change things but I think her power would be just awesome at monitoring super activity and safely figuring out super villain powers. Did we ever see what she figured out about Halo's orbs? No, not those orbs!
Andrew Park
Hence the every science fiction movie ever comment...
Zip Zop
Guardians of the galaxy had mixed sleeping on the floor
Martin Croft
Your problem is that you didn't go far enough south, I live in New Zealand, and it is definitely NOT snowing here. Although admittedly the roads from the US to here are prone to flooding
Marc Vun Kannon
That's a good one from an action-adventure standpoint. I liked Mountains of Mourning (I think that's what it was called) since that's where Miles comes up with this notion of himself as a knight-errant in service to the memory of a girl murdered for being different. His entire worldview gets shaped by that.
Richard Riley
The answer depends heavily on the hand-to-neck size ratio. HenchWench does have a thin neck, but I suspect Max's hand size is slightly exaggerated here for comic effect. The "Gurk" is definitely appropriate.
Richard Riley
"Supermax" = high end of the security scale Maximum Security prison. "Super-Super-Max" is therefore the super-powered version of that. "Gen-Pop" = General Population, which refers to the group of inmates in a prison who are not given any specific or special treatment. Among other things, they generally have opportunities to interact with each other during meals and exercise. "Fadeaway sign-off " - usually to wave goodbye while slowly disappearing, a holdover from poor special effects options in old shows and movies. It is similar to "fade to black" scene transitions in plays and movies, but usually involves just one character disappearing.
Evgeny Sandu
If HenchWench can survive being caught by the throat like this, does this mean that she still has some super powers? Because normal humans die when you do that with them (or so I heard)
Evgeny Sandu
Sorry, I'm not native to the [US] English. What's a super-super Max and what's Gen-pop? Oh, and what's a Fadeaway sign-off? Those two terms does not add for me at all.
Anti-No
Henchwench does seem to have the creativity and strategy sense that Sydney has, but even less wisdom (ability to question why she wants to do something in the first place, considering sideefects etc) than Sydney. Considering this "Lots of strategy, zero wisdom" approach, Henchwench has done reasonably well for herself. Yes, she's working hard at getting everyone and their dog to shank her, but it hasn't happened more than once (onscreen) yet. I consider this (temporary) fact a major victory for Henchwench.
Sean Murphy
I've been hearin about how the Texas self-sufficiency did not work out as planned during this Climate Change Moment. Good to know those claims have been exaggerated! Fortunately I grew up in southern NY, and am now living in Canada, so this weather is no big deal. (Which actually has literally nothing whatsoever to do with where I grew up or live now.)
William Elliott
Stay warm up there...down here near San Antonio...one busted pipe but getting by otherwise myself, but yall up there got it worse. BEC got us back up pretty fast but others have been out of power for days.
Jeremy Mullin
That’s so cute, her thinking she wasn’t gonna be put in solitary. And even if she was placed in gen-pop, the only “contract” she’d get would to be someone’s bitch. Or she’d get shanked within the first week after pissing off just about everybody, whichever came first. Anyone else thinking Henchwench is the super villain version of Sydney?
Anton Schleef
For your mixed gender sci-fi prisons you forgot Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Max did an excellent job of keeping Henchwench around, though what did she expect? Lastly, sorry about the snow. Trying to escape the sub-zero temps back home I asked my dispatcher for a South-bound load over last weekend. Winter followed me South, further South, and then even more South to a ridiculous extent. I was actually glad for a North-bound load after that one since they're ready to deal with snow and ice up North.
Stephen Gilberg
A god deal, eh? I can think of several video game examples too. In that case, it's probably for simplicity. Heck, half the time, those prisons let you keep your equipment, and they almost never issue a uniform.
William Elliott
wasn't "The Kyln" a Nova Corps afiliated prison and not Kree?
StLOrca
A couple more mixed-gender gen-pop SF prisons: 1991’s “Wedlock” (later renamed “Deadlock” for some reason) and “Guardians of the Galaxy”’s Kree prison.
Noise
A supervillain prison would probably be something like ADX Florence in Colorado. Mostly solitary confinement, with minimal prisoner interaction.
Foradain
So, if you recall last month, when a significant chunk of the commentary was about Miles Vorkosigan's weird biochemistry? Well, your commentary on mixed prisons brought to mind the novella "Borders of Infinity". Two major differences between that situation and those sci-fi prison movies you were thinking of: First, the prisoners were prisoners of war, not criminals. And second, the Cetagandans *wanted* all that bad stuff to happen, to break a group of soldiers into a mob, all the while claiming their own innocence to the galaxy-at-large. Saving money on interior walls and guards (none of either to be seen, at least not in any area where there are prisoners) was gravy. A good first taste for someone who's not sure if they want to read the whole series.
akrasia
Intelligence is not wisdom. She's obviously smart enough to make cunning legal contracts AND unwise enough to run her mouth directly to the opposition.
akrasia
It's possible the ability is symmetrical, and she can borrow talents from people that work FOR her? (I guess that was actually kinda the case, given how her LLC was set up?)
Ghostpony
Ouch, hope things get better for you.
Marc Vun Kannon
'Moron' is too good for her. Who tells the police all the different ways she has to escape? First she needs to kept tranqed until they find all of her contracts, then she has to be kept in isolation forever, or she has to exclusively contractually obligated to a non-super. That internship with Arianna looks pretty good now, doesn't it?
Michael Obert
Would a coward do this . . . By-gurk!
Shan Wickremesinghe
I remember Fortress (1992) didn't have a mixed population prison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U6oLx3xy8s, No Escape from 1994 (or Escape from Absolom as it was known in Australia) which didn't have a mixed island population - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAuAlxsnPJg and then of course there was Face/Off in 1997 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmpCFwYYEJM
Mark Nach
Well, we know where she eill be held now. That pressurised cell that her portal making friend was placed in last time.
Martin Drkoš
If due to her career she could not get hired by anyone ever, would she be neutralized forever?
Alex H
Stay safe down there in the TX!
Alenil
That expression in panel 8 is pure perfection
Stan
I wonder if Max is thinking about "Snap!" problem solved both now and in the future. Sorry you got caught up in the blackouts Dave. I'd also consider Escape From New York and Escape From L.A. both mixed gender prison movies.
