davidj
Sidekick in Training
Posts: 135
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Family
Feb 13, 2013 20:01:44 GMT -5
Post by davidj on Feb 13, 2013 20:01:44 GMT -5
It's been a little bit of a mystery why Mack wasn't in fact a sidekick despite her only significant ability being "looking decorative". Family connections. Explained.
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Family
Feb 20, 2013 1:52:46 GMT -5
Post by paranoidspy on Feb 20, 2013 1:52:46 GMT -5
Fridge Brilliance!
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Family
Mar 6, 2013 16:19:50 GMT -5
Post by Freak on Mar 6, 2013 16:19:50 GMT -5
I thought it was explained way back: Illumina has a heroic build (big tits).
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davidj
Sidekick in Training
Posts: 135
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Family
Mar 6, 2013 16:49:42 GMT -5
Post by davidj on Mar 6, 2013 16:49:42 GMT -5
Having the right look is necessary but not sufficient. I mean look at the other registered superheroes. While a lot of them seem very dim or at least arrogant, they do have the muscle to back up their posturing. None of them come close to Illumina's incapacity.
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Family
Mar 6, 2013 21:36:38 GMT -5
Post by tarmagon on Mar 6, 2013 21:36:38 GMT -5
Mack's powers aren't entirely useless. When she and Val were body swapped, Val managed to prove that. They are just underdeveloped. And, Mack is starting to show more than her dizzy blonde exterior. Research, admission of knowledge of her shortcomings. Mack is growing as a person, maybe it will lead to growth as a hero as well.
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davidj
Sidekick in Training
Posts: 135
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Family
Mar 9, 2013 13:02:40 GMT -5
Post by davidj on Mar 9, 2013 13:02:40 GMT -5
That would make a great epitaph. "He Wasn't Entirely Useless". Just very nearly.
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davidj
Sidekick in Training
Posts: 135
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Family
Mar 19, 2013 12:57:04 GMT -5
Post by davidj on Mar 19, 2013 12:57:04 GMT -5
I also note that since the brother's death was reported in the media, they don't have even the semblance of a secret identity.
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coriolis
Sidekick in Training
Change is inevitable -- except from vending machines.
Posts: 112
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Family
Mar 20, 2013 18:46:01 GMT -5
Post by coriolis on Mar 20, 2013 18:46:01 GMT -5
Having the right look is necessary but not sufficient. In the very beginnings of the strip it WAS an absolute necessity. Lack of "proper look" is one of -- if not THE -- reason(s) Val was assigned as a sidekick in the first place! At its origins, the strip was positioning itself as an indictment of "the superheroing system". Kind of like "Hero High", where the downtrodden nerds finally assert themselves, but with a bit more edge. I was fully expecting something like a "Sidekick Liberation Front" to materialize, but it never has. I mean look at the other registered superheroes. While a lot of them seem very dim or at least arrogant, they do have the muscle to back up their posturing. None of them come close to Illumina's incapacity. Given the Agency emphasis on superficiality, it's lucky that there are even as many competent heroes as there are. By that selection mechanism, the Hero agency SHOULD look more like the casts of Survivor and Jersey Shore competing to deliver food truck meals prepared in Kitchen Stadium to the northern reaches of the Arctic ice roads! Stan Lee's "Who Wants to Be a Superhero" would be about the right speed. Although if Mack really *is* as self-aware as she is now (as opposed to how she seemed before), why didn't she ASK Val, "Hey, how did you do that with my powers while you were in my body? That seemed like a useful stunt!". There are no few "heroes" who would thrive on the celebrity of being a celebrity. Mack has one up on the Kardashians in that she actually DOES have a super power, and occasionally actually does things. She was positioned to BE a super-Kardashian, but this change is pushing things back into more comic-booky absolute morality -- all heros are really, really HEROIC after all, and all villains are really really EBIL. One of the central premises (which has been eroded to the point of nonexistence) was generating sympathy for Val because of her apparently-undeserved classification as "sidekick". Part of what we were shown about Mack, earlier, was that she was too self-absorbed to recognize Val's ability, neglected to file paperwork for commendations, never mind promotion to hero. Haze's promotion indicates that this system can and does work -- just not for Val. Is Val just unlucky, or what? But with "all the other heroes are better", a very true statement, I'm beginning to think now, maybe it wasn't a mistake? Val is 9/10ths non-powered adventurer (e.g. Batman or the g#dd#mn Maidman) with a modest healing ability (still needs hospital assistance to fully recover). Like a less-extreme Wolverine. But Val's offensive capability isn't that great, anybody can pick up a baseball bat and match her. Her strength isn't super-super, and may not even reach the level of Olympian! Considering that Val is MUCH more self-aware, why hasn't she examined her place in the hero ecology more closely? Is "the system" flawed, or is Val's self-image? Is *Mack* really that disillusioned with "the system"?
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davidj
Sidekick in Training
Posts: 135
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Family
Apr 3, 2013 13:25:33 GMT -5
Post by davidj on Apr 3, 2013 13:25:33 GMT -5
Well there is a fundamental flaw in that they pick heroes for looks and power but not competence. Mackenzie's ex has no business being allowed out without adult supervision.
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