2015-11-05
Posted on 2015-11-09 by Aaron

129 thoughts on “2015-11-05”

  1. Doughbelly

    So other than Ron, who are the likely suspects?

    1. Faust

      The real Atlas, the alien FISS that left for a while.

      1. TBeholder

        Atlas is on Argon and unable to reach this version of Earth – at very least, until he’s in control of their space intelligence.

        1. ThatGuy

          My bet. The really old guy that the time travel wanted to help. You know one of the first FISS hero who didn’t use flying. The hero OLDER than atlas.

        2. Jason Garrick

          That guy’s name is Mister Extraordinary. And that’s a cool theory.

        3. Mollyscribbles

          Alternate take on that theory: His daughter. There have been hints she’ll end up dating a time traveler, and powers do tend to be hereditary . . .

    2. Prairie Son

      No one we know. Aaron announced in his Twitter feed on the main page a few weeks ago that there was going to be a new character introduced in the next couple strips, and then announcing that said character will appear next page.

      1. trlkly

        That would totally suck. Why give us all these clues and then have it be someone we couldn’t guess? And how in the world did Tyler/Moonshadow know him, when he’s pretty much the main character of the comic and so we’ve seen most of his adventures?

        If there is a new character in the next page (and not the next chapter), I hope it’s a new FISS who isn’t the leader. Or just a new costume for someone we already know.

        1. Adahn

          Well, it COULD be a FISS Tyler knew from the Earth Defense League before his parents dropped him off at PS238 and never visiting. After all, Tyler does know the number for the Earth Defense League hotline and is familiar with information only superheroes should know (i.e. the island countries run by supervillains).

          Still, I think it’s a bit too much of a Deus ex Machina.

        2. trlkly

          I didn’t even think about it being a deus ex machina, but it totally would be, since it would be the resolution of this arc.

        3. Sessine

          It’s not a resolution, it’s a hook into the next arc. New character, new story starting.

        4. Segev

          The trouble is that its build-up is meant to be suspenseful. There’s no “release” of that suspense by introducing somebody we’ve never heard of.

          It’d be like me hyping this great guest speaker but refusing to say who it was, only to reveal with great fanfare that it’s Courtney Johnson. The audience, assuming they’d been getting excited by the suspense, would not react with “oooh” or even “boo,” but with “…who?”

          The kind of build-up we’ve gotten about this person requires that we be able to identify, without being told, why he (or she) is such a perfect solution that Julie would give one of her over-enthusiastic chair-crushing hugs, and the Revenant would be impressed.

          The kind of build-up we’d need for a NEW character being introduced in this fashion is different. For a NEW character whose revelation is a big deal, you need that character’s anonymous deeds, or their consequences, to be shown. It needs a “who is the mysterious person doing all of this?” vibe.

          If mysterious statues were showing up all over the country, each beautifully depicting something timely yet timeless and which were sparking national debate over their meaning as a whole, and I were to announce that I would have the sculptor speaking at an event, THEN I could be coy about it and not say who. The audience would again be abuzz with anticipation, and when I introduced “Courtney Johnson” as the mysterious sculptrix, people would feel their anticipation is rewarded. They don’t know who she is, but they know WHY they are interested in learning more.

          But this build-up…we need to have some reason to recognize this person from name or face. Why we, the audience, should care.

          The other way to build up the new guy would have been to spell out why he’s a “perfect solution” that “fixes everything,” listing deeds or traits. That’d be akin to the statues showing up. More tell and less show, but it at least gives us reason to be impressed by this person other than the informed trait “he’s impressive,” when he shows up.

      2. Dreamy

        No, he said “new hero”, not “new character” so ten gives you twelve it’s someone or something we already know, quite probably pimped out though.

    3. Miryafa

      Kent Allard, as a cool non-metahuman

      1. Socrets

        Only if he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men…

    4. Frith Ra

      Superman? Except for the trademark issues, he qualifies

      1. TBeholder

        No, because Atlas is Superman.

    5. me

      Anyone else think Mr. Extraordinary? Tom was planning on bringing him back, anyway.

  2. Segev

    Other than Ron? My money (all $0.00 of what I’m willing to bet on anything) is on Mr. Extraordinary.

    1. TxGator

      That was my original guess too. But Aaron mention an upcoming new character reveal in his twitter feed. So I’m thinking it will be the character.

  3. Dave III

    Mr. Extraordinary? Awesome but unlikely… if he hasn’t died by now his taste for conspicuous heroism would have been lost ages ago. He might help in subtle ways but likely he’d wear a sour face while doing it.

    1. Fillipk

      No, remember the time traveler was going to move them to the future when he had a chance.

    2. HappyHead

      Mr. Extraordinary didn’t die when he vanished from the public view, he was sent forward in time with his family to escape persecution. Technically, he could appear at any point from now forward, and that would be “the future” to him.

      1. TBeholder

        Not right away. There needs to be some time during which his daughter will continue relationship with certain wandering kid to the point that they didn’t reach yet in the local timeline. According to himself.

  4. artificer-urza

    Oh, the suspense!

  5. Dave III

    That said, 71 seems to be the one who actually doing anything that counts as “leading”. Or at least “managing”. He’s inspired be 84 but he’s definitely the one moving and shaking.

    BUT, there’s Forak to consider– He’s not only a FISS but also the Atlas Junior. Built in Rep, right there, and this would be a good way for him personally to earn some street cred, learn what heroes mean to Earth, and actually DO something worthwhile with his time. Everybody wins.

    1. Rock

      Ew. Forak can’t even manage his own life, let alone lead a team in a constructive manner.

    2. Adahn

      Forak is a from a society where the non-supers are an enslaved underclass and the non-FISS supers are exterminated.

      Forak may not share the arrogance of his Argosian peers (due to being a very weak FISS himself), but the fact that he refers to non-supers as ‘softlings’ and non-FISS supers as ‘ferals’ implies that he shares their views: Definitely NOT leadership material.

      We do know from this strip that the person Julie is introducing is a male FISS who is a mutual acquaintance of Tyler and herself, not many of those around.

      1. trlkly

        He’s NOW a mutual acquaintance, but the previous comics imply it’s someone Julie didn’t know. “If you really think I’m ‘cool’, then you’ll really like the person I think you need to help get your group…”

        And I don’t see any similarity between Moonshadow and Forak.

        1. Mike

          I think it would need to be someone Julie at least knew of, otherwise she wouldn’t have gotten so excited when Moon Shadow mentioned his name.

    3. TBeholder

      Giving Forak any position of responsibility at all other than “spaceship engineer” is a cruel joke. At least for now.

    4. Dave III

      Y’all don’t give Forak a lot of credit for being able to change, do you? He’s a slacker, yes, and he grew up in a seriously warped society, BUT! He’s stuck on a foreign world with little hope of going back home anytime soon, groomed by this new culture to uphold ideals he recognizes as worthy. And it was HE, on his own, who started blogging/publishing about 84, for the reason that he felt SHE was doing a really good job of those ideals already, and (more or less) in his own words, “is really cool and people should know about it”.

      I think Earth is already rubbing off on him, in a positive way. He has a long, long, LOOOONNNGGGG way to go, but I think given the chance to grow he will do so.

      1. Mike

        While true, the big reason I don’t think it’s Forak is Julie’s reaction to Moon Shadow’s suggestion. I feel confident it would not have been an excited hug, but more likely an incredulous “are you kidding?”

        1. Dave III

          Now THAT’S a fair point. Plus, now that I think about it, Tyler doesn’t know Forak as well as Julie does. This debate would be better served if we knew the exact phrasing of the suggestion: Did Tyler have someone specific in mind, or is Julie’s choice her own (after consulting with a grown-up like Ms. Kyle, who is indeed standing right the heck there).

  6. GreenEgg

    I love the guy with the “Hello, my name is 79” name tag 😀

  7. Knug

    Now that I think of it, I find it rather strange that there aren’t any FISS as PS238 staff. After all, they are supposedly the most common type.

    1. Nightmask

      I’m not sure any of the super-teams we’ve seen had a FISS on them (not sure if Tyler’s parents are standard FISS, they certainly don’t act it or get treated as such), so not a surprise that the former super-team teaching at the school didn’t have one either.

      1. Knug

        I will agree about the former super-team not having a FISS on board, but it was rather that a lot of FISS end up with unglamouous jobs. Teaching primary school is not a particularly glamourous occupation.

        1. Rock

          They’re treated like grunts.
          Would you put a grunt in charge of educating your little darlings?

        2. Delver

          Happens all the time let me tell you.

    2. monochromaticprism

      I am surprised as well. With so many children learning to control their abilities, it would make sense to have a few people on hand with at least the “invincibility” modifier, if not the whole FISS kit.

    3. Segev

      Consider that there are only 85 FISS, unless there are some younger than 84. And that’s assuming we still count Ron (as older than Julie, so he’d be No. 83) and Atlas (who isn’t on Earth anymore). Even at “most common type,” that makes them a small plurality of the sheer number of meta-prodigies we’ve seen evidence of in the setting.

      Interestingly, if Patriot Act were to obtain flight and speed, he’d qualify. That FISS are “grunts” is weird, since Patriot Act is an example of somebody with only PART of their power set. (Strength and Invulnerability.) And even his strength is only a stand-out power since Zodon’s station gave him that upgrade. (I kind-of wonder if he’s stronger than 84 or Atlas Sr., now.)

      1. Aaron K

        It’s implied he’s MUCH stronger than her, but not really invulnerable or speedy or flighty. Since he could be “poked” to get enhanced strength in the first place, and then his “finger prints leave dents” vs. “hugs crumple seats.” The ball of scrap which used to be a car shows him to be insanely strong. Not that the FISS aren’t, just that they wanted to give perspective in his particular case.

        1. Mechwarrior

          On the other hand, it could just be a lack of control on his part, either because of how recently he got the power boost or as result of it being artificially enhanced.

    4. Adahn

      Remember: the true purpose of PS238 was to serve as a prison for a powerful telepath.

      The reason there are no common FISS among the faculty is precisely because the teachers are quite uncommon among supers: they actually respect non-powered heroes like the Revenant and take his recommendation into consideration.

      Most supers like Sovereign and Ultima believe that non-meta people have no business trying to help solve the world’s problems.
      It would be interesting to see which of these camps the FISS-exclusive club falls into.

      1. Segev

        Actually, that’s a point, too: the staff are all, save Cranston, members of a single super-team that is now retired specifically to run this school. It’s not unlikely that a super-team – of which I am sure there are more than 100, easily – would fail to have a FISS on board.

        1. Prairie Son

          Actually, several members of the staff were not part of the Union of Justice, including Doctor Newby and the Human Alloy

    5. Simon

      It’s the single most common power set – but that doesn’t mean it’s common, given that our heroine numbers just 84. But other powers tend to be more unique, so if maybe 5% of heroes are FISS, that probably still far outnumbers anything else.

      1. Horatio Von Becker

        That would imply that there’s been roughly 1700 registered supers in the world, total. Considering how many we’ve seen in the comic, that’s kind of ridiculously small.
        My guess is that a fraction of a percent are actual FISS, but between Atlas, some powers that look like FISS, and people who are easily described as “standard flight, strength, speed package, but he also has a hammer made of lightning/teleports through shadows/gets bigger when he eats metal/[insert other powers here]”, the FISS archetype gets overrepresented.

  8. Z-one

    My vote is on Atlas 2.0, scene that would get the team government funding.

  9. MegaBee

    My money’s on Ron.

    1. evileeyore

      It can’t be Ron, he’s already in the room as Ajax.

      1. ChaosChild

        Ajax isn’t Ron. Ron was Argonaut, until he got expelled for not being super any more.

      2. David Goldfarb

        Ajax isn’t Ron, Ajax is a separate character. Ron lost his FISS powers in the “Return to Argo” arc, remember?

        1. Kerin Schiesser

          @David – you’re right (HI DAVID! Email sometime!)

  10. Devlerbat

    Is the red guy just being a party pooper just for the sake of it? Also, 71, no matter how many good points 84 might (and there are a lot) have your super team can’t have a grade schooler as its leader and still be taken seriously.

    1. Jason Garrick

      If you assemble a group with enough people in it, there’s bound to be at least one guy like that. Some people enjoy that kind of thing.

    2. Dave III

      That guy admitted to still being “on the fence” about the whole Infinite Vanguard thing, but you’re right; he’s deliberately being a downer.

      As for 71, I honestly think HE’S been more of the group’s leader (at least in a management capacity, if not a field commander sense) than anyone else. He calls 84 the lead member, but I take that in a mascot sense– not being intentionally condescending but she is probably the most visible in the public eye as far as the FISS issues are concerned. Care should be taken not to disillusion him too harshly… he’s already being pretty creepy about his adoration and idolization of a grade-school girl.

  11. Elissa

    The only other FISS I could think of is the security guy they met at the Vegas airport. But he didn’t show any particular leadership qualities either, not that I’d noticed, anyway.

  12. Jason Garrick

    Do aliens count as FISS? Atlas (Ron’s dad) has never been given a number, and neither had Ron (when he had powers) or even Forak for that matter. Sure, Forak joined the Infinite Vanguard, but does he really count as a FISS even if his powerset conforms to the Flight, Invulnerability, Strength, and Speed required to be a FISS? I thought FISS only applied to human metahumans.

    Also, where do the numbers come from? Does the government in this universe keep tabs on every FISS and assign numbers to them? That seems odd to me, and very shady.

    1. Prairie Son

      You register with the Department of Metahumans for trademark and other reasons, which means yes, they are keeping loose tabs on all metas, hero and villain.

    2. TxGator

      Shady? We are talking about a group of people who can juggle cars while flying in the air. If I was a citizen of this ‘verse, I’d certainly hope the government was keeping tabs on them. And on all the other powerful beings out there.

      1. Jason

        This type of oversight is exactly the premise for the entire X-Men series, where fear of the unknown leads to hatred and persecution.

    3. jjmcgaffey

      No, 84 chose her number as her hero name, and 71 picked it up from her. But the fact that he could pick it up means that someone (possibly the government, possibly the other FISSes, possibly…?) is keeping track of how many FISSes there are – so he could find out what his number was.

  13. PenguinPlotter

    Hmm. Don’t forget that the Revenant is a master of disguise and has many aliases. If Tyler can convince the school he’s a superpowered Moonshadow, what’s to say that his teacher can’t pull off some similar feat and have an identity as a FISS? (I think the superpower of money would render registration a non-issue.)

  14. Doughbelly

    So how does Praetorian Ajax drink with his mask on?

    1. Jason Garrick

      BECAUSE HE’S BAT–no–PRAETORIAN AJAX!!!

      Serious answer: He probably lifts his mask with his other hand just a little bit to take a sip, then puts it back. I’m sure there’s just enough leeway in the rules for him to be able to eat and drink. Then again, it is Praetorian Academy…

      1. uaeoaeoeoi

        He took lessons from Kakashi Hatake obviously.

        1. Ash0011

          or Red Mage

      2. Segev

        If the lower part of the mask is made of a porous enough fabric, he could put the straw between his lips and suck straight through the cloth. It’d potentially flavor the drink a little bit with whatever was on the fabric, and it’d leave a wet spot on the mask near his mouth, but it’d be doable.

    2. Simon

      His drink has a straw… easy to slip one of those under the mask.

    3. MattStriker

      Same way proper ninjas do it: Osmosis.

      1. Anonymous Person

        Don’t you mean ninja tricks?

    4. Dave III

      There was an episode of G.I. Joe when the Baroness walks in on Cobra Commander eating without his hood or mask. She was visibly nauseated by the sight, and C.C.’s comment on the fact implied she’d seen it before. This was the only time anything resembling a lampshade was ever hung on it, as far as I can recall.

      I think the answer to the question is “Shut up, that’s how.” ^_^

    5. Sheik

      The mask is a hologram?

    6. Adahn

      From the looks of it, all Praetorian masks are just loose-fitting hoods with nothing fastening them at the bottom so it should be trivial to just lift it.

  15. naz-drala

    I just noticed “79” in the last panel, for some reason I find that hilarious.

  16. Aaron K

    I’m thinking the guard from Vegas.

    1. Devlerbat

      71 is the guard from Vegas.

      1. roguebfl

        No 71 was the Heroclix rep from Carree Day not from Vagas

  17. Mechwarrior

    I’m guessing that we’re going to be introduced to FISS #42.

  18. Town Crier

    71’s legs look a little long in the first panel.

  19. memnarch

    I’m hoping for Mr. Extraordinary brought to the present, but that’s probably unlikely.

    1. Adahn

      Only Tyler and Tom have met Mr. Extraordinary in person (and Mr. Extraordinary won’t remember the incident).
      The others knew him through his daughter Naomi, however Julie wasn’t among those who met Naomi, so the probability of the person in question being Mr. Extraordinary is quite remote.

      1. trlkly

        You’re forgetting that Tyler, aka Moonshadow, is the one who recommended this leader.

        1. Dave III

          Does Tyler remember The Decision? The way I remember it, he got pulled out of time like everyone else, leaving the “real” him where he was, which was in the stasis pod. Then he got put back, and Toby became Toby, and… all kinds of stuff at that point.

        2. Gordon

          No, he remembers.

          In the arc with Vashti Imperia and her child self, he apologizes to her for making her wait so long until having powers became a permanent part of humanity, after she explains how she, and others, put themselves in magical stasis.

        3. Dave III

          Ah, that’s right. Thanks. Darn, I guess I have to read through the archives again. ^_^

  20. SpyOne

    Okay, we’ve been told a new character is about to be introduced. I think it would be within the spirit of that claim if a previously met character were about to appear in a new guise. Like, we meet SuperMegaMan, who was the security guy at the airport in Vegas, or something.

    Here’s the thing: I don’t think it’s a FISS.
    Julie said “making a group only for metahumans like us is going to make us look stuck up.” She wanted Moonshadow’s advice on how to seem cool.

    So whomever it is, their choice will both make the FISSes seem cool by association, and subvert the notion that the FISSes are stuck up and their group is only for others like them.
    And it will probably relate to what Tyler has learned about how what people believe is not always closely related to what they have evidence of.
    Also, Revnant pledged financial backing for the idea, whatever it was.

    1. trlkly

      But she just flat out said it’s a FISS. And she’s not one to lie so confidently.

  21. dana

    Ha, goatee guy has a name tag, “Hello, my name is 79”.

    1. Hello!

      Best super-costume ever.

    2. Messenger

      And a much lower number than Brian/71. Is he younger or just identified later?

      1. Adahn

        Given the population density of known FISS (there are at least two in Las Vegas), it is probable that the Department of Metahuman Affairs is a national organization and only keeps track of metahumans within the country; this means that the actual number of FISS in the world may be in the hundreds or over a thousand.

        Thus, 79 might have a higher number while being older because he is an immigrant.

  22. Baron Bruce

    In the last panel, Julie mentions she’d spoken with another FISS, with the implication that’s who she was inviting in. If it’s a FISS we’ve already met, the obvious candidates are all from Las Vegas: specifically, the policewoman (formerly called Blockbuster) we meet in http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/03302011/, and Mr Bartholomew, head of casino security, whose name we learn in http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05162011/.

    Mind you, I don’t think it’s either one of them (nor the airport security guard from earlier in that story arc), since none of them would solve the problem of making FISSes look less stuck-up. But we are led to believe by Julie’s last comments that it’s another FISS, so if it’s any of them, it would probably be Mr Bartholomew. He and Julie do seem to have a rapport in that scene.

  23. Russell White

    hope Slamhawk keeps his name/look (helmet guy)

  24. Messenger

    Three people from PS238-verse’s Las Vegas whom we haven’t seen yet in these FISS gatherings:
    1. #41, Las Vegas airport security (02212011)
    2. Blockbuster, LVPD (03302011; very likely a FISS, if not explicitly one)
    3. Mr. Bartholomew, Masquerade Head of Security (05162011; but not likely to show up)

  25. renfield1969

    Atlas isn’t a FISS, is he? If he’s a Superman analogue then he has vision powers and super senses, and maybe super breath, which would put him above the standard FISS package. If Atlas is a FISS wouldn’t all the other FISS supers have been pointing to him for years as an example of why they shouldn’t be treated as grunts?

    The new Atlas has only demonstrated the FISS package so far, but is that all there is to him?

    1. trlkly

      Argonite works on him, and it works on all FISSes. And everyone else on Argo is an FISS or a non-super–otherwise they are killed. Since he wasn’t killed, I assume he’s an FISS.

    2. Jason

      In the PS238 universe, Atlas has not been shown to have any other powers beyond FISS, he is an alien, and Argonite works on him, but it has been shown to work on all FISS and be a creation of the US government as a fail safe against Atlas and others like him. On Argos the only living supers are FISS, as their society exterminates any variance from that power set, and any non super Argosians are an underclass of slave labor to the FISS ruling class who have made themselves “ROYALS”

    3. Marie

      I think FISS is the common denominator, Supes is the prototype for the stereotype with a few extras.

      1. Wanderer

        And most of the extras were added later. In the original, he couldn’t even fly — he could jump an eighth of a mile, run really fast, lift a car (a steel car) and had skin that couldn’t be pierced by anything short of an exploding artillery shell.

  26. Tarkas

    AFAICT, Atlas is a FISS. We’ve certainly never seen him (or Ron) demonstrate any non-FISS abilities. For that matter, we haven’t seen Ron use his clarinet in the way it’s described in the PS238 RPG, if you accept that as canon. Certainly, Atlas is a Superman expy, but that seems to have more to do with his origin and his status as one of, if not the premier hero of Earth.

    Also, I get the impression that there is a large variation in the magnitude of FISS abilities; we saw that when the group needed to use the Revenant’s plane to get to New York because some of them couldn’t get there quickly enough — which implies that some of them could, and this may or may not include Forak and, by association, Julie, since she’s always dragging him around (though that could be more a function of his reluctance to get involved than anything, obviously). We know that Atlas can “kick battleships into orbit”, so he would seem to be on the higher end of this spectrum, and Ron and Julie are likewise, adjusted for their age and size.

    All of which means that no-one puts down Atlas because… well, he’s Atlas! But other FISSes don’t have as much power or the public presence and acclaim, and so can be dismissed as mere “grunts” by those of an egomanical bent — which seems to be a lot of the supers that we saw in NY when Veles revealed himself. Do that to Atlas and you not only run the risk of finding that you are easier to kick into orbit than a battleship, but yopur public rating will nosedive because you’re slanging off Earth’s greatest hero.

    On another note, I hope that Julie’s propsed leader is someone we have seen before, because it would be bad writing to suddenly introduce a new, important character that has never been heard of before but who just happens to fit the bill to lead the IV. A new leader for the group is one thing, but a deus ex machina introduced without warning would be very clumsy writing, and Aaron is better than that.

    1. Sessine

      I agree with most of what you’re saying here. But a new character would only be ‘deus ex machina’ if he were introduced as a plot resolution. The last story arc is already resolved; we’ve seen the triumphant conclusion to the Egg plot, and a coda with the aftermath details. Now, starting with Julie talking to Tyler in the plane, we’re well into the bridge to the next one.

      It’s not at all clumsy writing to introduce a new character at such a moment. The new leader-character isn’t going to be an Answer to anything, even though right now Julie hopes he will be. He’s going to be part of the next question.

    2. Prairie Son

      How much warning is ‘enough’? Because Aaron said he’d be introducing a new character about the end of the current volume like 6-7 weeks ago.

      Also, Ron used his clarinet tricks in both ‘Fracas with the Flea’ and the issue with the Septos scout.

      1. Segev

        “Enough warning” isn’t about how long in advance the author tells those in his audience who read author-to-audience communications. It’s about narrative presentation. For the level of hype Tyler and Julie and the Revenant have given this, anybody the story has never before introduced is going to be a deus-ex-machina.

        Yes, you can say that things the characters all know about that the audience has never heard of are a thing, but it feels ham-handed in storytelling. If it is that important to the story, the character should have been introduced before.

        It could be a way to introduce a new character iff there hadn’t been the OOC mystery around it: “Hey, Julie, what about [so-and-so].” “Hey! Yeah! He’s the guy who [did that thing he’s famous for, that we’re telling the audience about now]! He’d be perfect!”

        That can be done better, too, but the point is, if it’s a new character, building it up as a big reveal is bad writing. We don’t have context for the reveal to mean anything to us if it’s nobody we’ve ever met before.

        The only reason Aaron’s gotten away with anything similar before is because the one time he did it, the reveal was a real-world celebrity that the audience of this comic could be reasonably expected to recognize (Wil Wheaton).

  27. Knug

    Maybe another Revenant identity, pretending to be an famous older FISS that doesn’t want to get his hands dirty anymore, so he’ll act as a deskbound leader, handing out assignments.

  28. Devlerbat

    I like the guy that has a “My name is 79” name tag in lieu of a costume.

  29. Jackspades

    I’m thinking F.I.S.S. #01 would be an obvious choice…

    1. Marie

      It could be Mr Extraordinary under a new name. He was living in secret for a while before he left his time. His daughter could have aged to say, 15, and have plenty of time to intersect with the time boucin… traveling chars. Don’t forget that we don’t know if Naomi ever showed FISS like her father. Look at the Rons. We don’t have a scene with Tyler telling Julie about Mr Extraordinary, but he gave his report to the entire class, so we can assume she heard it then.

      And I just like the idea of a golden age hero in the world!

  30. Gabriel Normandeau

    Am I the only one who noticed Madam kyle in the corner? Why she’s here?

    1. Mollyscribbles

      They probably needed a faculty supervisor to use the classroom.

  31. trlkly

    Another reason for Mr. Extraordinary: he’s had to keep his actions secret. That would perhaps explain how he’s “cool” in the same way Moonshaddow is cool.

    Because the Revenent is the only other person I can think of that fits that description–with maybe Tyler claiming he’s an FISS when he isn’t?

    (And, yes, I say an F-I-S-S. Fiss just sounds too weird to me.)

    1. trlkly

      I guess it could be Ron in a new outfit. He’d be like Tyler, too, in that he’d currently be faking his F.I.S.S status. And he’d be cool by being Atlas’s son.

      I just don’t know if it really fits his story arc.

  32. Mike

    With apologies to Men At Work…

    WHO CAN IT BE NOW?

    Who can it be coming through the door?
    Is it a FISS that we have met before?
    Or someone we have never seen?
    (please, no – no deus ex machine)
    While the Infinite Vanguard waits
    We who read sit here and agitate
    We’ve been sifting through all the clues
    But we still can’t manage to deduce

    Who can it be now?
    Who can it be now?
    Who can it be now?
    Who can it be now?

    Who can it be coming to the school?
    Moon Shadow said that he could make them cool
    Revenant called it a brilliant plan
    And 84 was an excited fan
    But his identity’s hidden still
    Who do we know that might fit the bill?
    This building tension is too intense
    Hurry up – I can’t take the suspense!

    Who can it be now?
    Who can it be now?
    Who can it be now?
    Who can it be now?

    Who is this man come to lead the FISS?
    Don’t know who it could be
    Since we can’t guess his identity
    We’ll have to wait and see!
    Aaaaarrrgh!

    1. Mike

      BTW, I know it’s “deus ex machina” not “deus ex machine”, but the former doesn’t complete the rhyme so I applied some Artistic License (TM).

      1. Knug

        Simply brilliant. I’ll have to spin up that album. Yes, I mean the vinyl.

  33. Faust

    Look at the head angle. When talking to the new person she isn’t looking up at an adults face, it’s level as though to someone her own height.

    1. Mike

      Well, that would seriously limit the possibilities. Ajax is 82, and he’s already there. 79 is already there and is significantly taller and older-looking. I doubt she’d be bringing an even younger FISS than her, so that leaves 80, 81, or 83, one of whom should be the currently-powerless Ron. Unless there’s an unregistered (gasp!) young FISS out there.

      Or – maybe it’s Ron, and he brought Argo? Follow the super-dog! (if so, hopefully they made him some super-earplugs…)

      1. Faust

        That’s probably only earth born FISS. Aliens might not count as there are a lot of them on one planet that we know of.

  34. Non Verbal

    Red and gray FISS guy sure is a complainer.

    1. Stephen R. Bierce

      All Slamhawk do is slam and hawk. 🙂

    2. Adahn

      Given that Brian and Forak have a bad habit of putting people on their team roster without their knowledge or consent, it’s possible that they put Slamhawk in the Infinite Vanguard as well. Since Slamhawk is already on a super team (a position which is likely hard earned), that would have caused quite a bit of friction between him and his teammates; this may be why Slamhawk avoids Brian’s scheduled FISS meetings.

      Or it’s possible that Slamhawk is someone who just doesn’t respond well to peer pressure and prefer to retain his individuality rather than following the trend of taking up his number.

      1. Mike

        Both distinct possibilities. It’s also possible that when Brian talked Slamhawk into coming to their party, he painted a picture of the group that Slamhawk’s finding a bit out of sync with their current surroundings. He might feel somewhat “had”.

      2. Dave III

        It’s possible, even probable, that he agrees with the idea in principle but as you say, resents getting dragged in without respect for his opinions. 71 seems to have the fatal flaw of not realizing people might not WANT to drop what they’ve got already in favor of what could end up not working out at all. I can see this turning into a rather sour bit of drama, especially if people turn to 84 to fix it whether she has any responsibility or capability to do so or not.

  35. Sessine

    A small, off-topic question: I’m new here. (Reader for a long while, only just contributed a couple of comments.) Does “awaiting moderation” here mean that the comment can’t be seen by anyone but the poster, or only that, fair warning, once a moderator gets some time to look at it, if it’s inappropriate they may decide to delete it?

    1. Drew

      It means that the only person who can see the comment is you, Aaron, and myself. I generally do the moderation at least once a week, but this summer things have been bad on a personal level for me. So it has been a bit slower. Once a comment has been approved, then everyone can see it. Once you have been approved as a poster, then your comments don’t get moderated automatically. I still go back and spot check to make sure no one is spamming the comments. I like to run a clean site.

      1. Sessine

        Oh, thank you very much for explaining. (And my sympathy about the personal bad stuff. I hope things get better for you soon.)

  36. Segev

    Went back to re-read the last few pages, particularly surrounding Tyler getting this idea. The page before he broaches the subject of making the suggestion, Julie asked him about how he wins the popularity contest without even trying. Tyler focuses in on what people believe, and what they WANT to believe. When Julie assumes Moonshadow has “hard-to-control darkness powers,” he is exasperated and starts to try to point out that that’s just what he means about assumptions. She interrupts him.

    He then broaches the subject; I think he had the idea on the heels of that thought.

    It’s in the context of “people believe what they want to believe” that he came up with this person as his idea, who will give the Infinite Vanguard “all the cool they can handle.” And it’s cool based on the principle by which Julie thinks Moonshadow is cool.

    Do we know anybody who is all about perceptions, would fit in with the FISS either because of or in spite of this, and would somehow be viewed externally as super-cool and have that rub off on the IV League?

    Very likely a kid, precisely because Moonshadow made 84 promise to talk to an adult “like Miss Kyle” first. If it were an adult, that person, himself, might count.

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