Also: if I was Superman and my wife was Wonder Woman you’d be danged sure that nobody would be casually ripping off pieces of my kid’s DNA for any reason whatsoever. Heck, we wouldn’t allow that *now*.
Except Toby is even more a small child than Tyler, given he’s literally just months old and while he has many of Tyler’s memories he doesn’t have the full set and yet he’s allowed full access in spite of that. The only reason Tyler’s been losing access is because he’s not super to satisfy his parents and as such they’ve been marginalizing him steadily as they dote on their ‘real’ son. It’s just more of the ongoing rejection of Tyler by his parents that we’ve seen throughout the comic because he’s normal.
Aaron K
It’s odd that they are figuratively turning their “sons” into Batman and Superman. They are emotionally orphaning their birth son, while adopting the one with powers….
TheGalator
You Know Tommy, That That Is Exactly What They Let Toby Do?
You know, when you think about it that’s pretty much what we have going on with ALL the kids at PS238. They’re all armed with powers that make them Persons Of Mass Destruction at an age when parents are normally trying to keep their kids away from the kitchen knives, drain cleaner, and guns in the house. They have powers ranging from deadly radioactive blasts to the creation of lethal energy constructs and even the ability to construct planet-destroying devices from obsolete junk scattered around a junk yard. Strangely enough NOBODY seems to really think about this and the many horrible things that can go wrong. Reminds me of a scene from Grrl Power where Halo asks Maxima why they have to have guns when they’ve the powers that they do, Maxima promptly points her finger at a target downrange, blows it up, then points her finger at Halo who is completely confused but freaks when she then points her far less dangerous gun at her. In spite of witnessing Maxima create a massive crater with her powers previously she just doesn’t get the danger that pointed finger carried to her. Halo simply couldn’t get herself to see how having that finger pointed at her was as threatening to her life as the gun even after seeing the powers in action.
leshenge
keep in mind tyler says he doesn’t have access to half the tower ANYMORE. that implies he used to before recent events (toby) and has less access now.
Xero
Yea back when his parents were hoping accidental exosure to somthing would trigger his powers
Before anyone goes any further, make sure you are ready to make comments about Tyler’s parents, pineapple and others on pizza and How to work HTML. You have been warned.
It’s funny we make jokes about batman endangering his wards… yet in Tyler’s case the bad jokes would still be on the positive side. That and this reverent does make sure to limit the danger to Tyler while also giving him room to grow if not helping boost his moral.
Segev
Actually, I’m not so sure about that. They keep forgetting Tyler exists, to the point of doubting it when reminded of him. If a rich mortal guy shoved some document in their faces and asked for permission to take custody of “Tyler,” Ultima would probably think it was somebody asking for an autograph and Sovereign might assume it was just showing proper respect for protocol before removing an intruder from the base.
And I still am not 100% convinced that there isn’t something more than pure vile parenting to blame, because the LEVEL of mental block just seems so unreal. But we’ll see.
evileeyore
I see someone was raised in a loving home. Trust me, Tyler, while abused by unloving parents, is getting off light on the “abusive parents” angle.
Rivalyn
I’m not entirely convinced that their indifference towards Tyler is not a side effect of Toby’s powers. Every action Toby takes is nullified in some way by an opposing action. While it’s implied to be because of his powers it’s also entirely possible that EVERY action that affects Toby, superpowered or not, is opposed. Which would mean that just by being accepted by the Powers means that someone else must be rejected.
Segev
To evileeyore…
I’m not saying there aren’t worse forms of abuse. I’m saying that I don’t find the forgetfulness believable.
Were the abuse purely neglectful, they’d react with “oh, right, Tyler!” or “Well, I suppose Tyler will need to be seen to, as well,” not “Wait, who are you? What was your name again?” Were it deliberate, perhaps they are ACTING like they can’t remember him, but… that seems a strange choice, since it makes THEM look bad to anybody who witnesses the act. It makes them look, to those who know the truth about Tyler, like horrible people OR like they’re brain addled in some way. And to those who don’t know, it makes them still seem brain-addled, since they don’t come right out and say “no, he’s definitely an imposter and we’re not sure who’s behind this.”
Remember, they’re all about their own egos. Making themselves look bad just to abuse Tyler doesn’t make sense.
TheGalator
Hmm. Y’know It Is Possible That The Problem Is That They Just Don’t WAN’T To Think About Tyler. It’s Like Someone Who Was Thinking Of All The Fun They Will Have With Their Baby Boy And Then Having A Girl. Neglectful Of Course But It Is Still A Situation That Is Possible Without Some Kind Of Meta-human Intervention.
Splithead
I wonder if them “forgetting” about Tyler is because of Toby. Toby seems to love Tyler, were as Tyler doesn’t relate to Toby. Toby has tried to change reality to give Tyler powers, but he said it didn’t turn out well, do to the nature of his powers. I wonder if Toby is trying to or has tried to improve Tyler’s relationship with their parent but it has backfired due to his powers.
Segev you keep holding onto those fatal flaws there in your reasoning. Yes the Powers are all about their own egos and the idea that they couldn’t have anything but a Child Of Destiny (ironically they DID but they aren’t capable of realizing it because they think if he hasn’t got flashy powers and looks normal that he can’t possibly be said Child) BUT such people have no problems with being neglectful because they can easily rationalize anything to fit their narrative AND have no problems with thinking that they aren’t being neglectful at all. They can’t begin to fathom that how they act makes them look awful (for which mind you only we the readers are really privy to that for the most part, even the teachers and principal at the school aren’t fully aware of just how awful they are as they haven’t seen it all like we have) and are certain that there’s nothing wrong with it at all. After all again they think that they’re Beings Of Destiny and that they can only have a Child Of Destiny as they enact the Universe’s Will, if they do something it must be right simply because they did it.
You also keep thinking that abuse only comes in a limited number of forms rather than a spectrum and that spectrum includes neglect where the parents reach the point of pretty much forgetting that the unfavorite child even exists. This kind of thing happens in real life to the point it shows up often in both dramas and comedies (like Malcolm In The Middle, Dewey in one episode is so forgotten he manages to arrange, travel to, and win a musical competition all while NO ONE notices he was even gone), the fact that the Powers can barely even manage to remember that they have a son named Tyler most of the time is completely albeit sadly far too real and believable.
SFI
The problem is that aside from the instance with Ultima forgetting his name, there is no indication they are ‘neglecting’ Tyler. Yes, they treat him horribly and definitely favour Toby heavily, but they are not ‘neglecting’ him. He has his tuition still paid, they put him in that one support group to help deal with his lack of powers, hell, they even made extra invitations for him to give to his non-meta friends (I’m assuming he or Toby didn’t need to steal them, since that probably would have come up).
And while I certainly agree that there is a wide spectrum of abuse, it seems illogical to me that they would have this one aspect of it (forgetting he exists) and no other (forgetting to pay for tuition, forgetting to arrange things). Now perhaps the tuition is some automatic thing that regularly gets paid by the computer, but the support group seemed to be new and recent.
Segev
To Nightmask and others who agree with him, I think you’re misunderstanding what I’m saying.
I’m not saying I find their benign neglect unbelievable. I’m not saying I find emotionally abusive behavior (likely unintentional; they’re just so wrapped up in their egos that they don’t notice) unbelievable.
I’m saying I find the FORGETFULNESS AS PORTRAYED unbelievable, if it is not caused by some outside actor.
I wish I had bold and underline capability here, to emphasize that more.
Of course they can rationalize away why their neglectful and even emotionally abusive behavior is not abuse and doesn’t make them look bad. They do that just the same way they rationalized away their physically abusive child endangerment to try to induce Tyler to express powers: their child’s destiny must be met, and OBVIOUSLY all their behavior towards him is meant to bring that about. It’s for his own good, you see.
But none of that aligns with forgetting Tyler’s name. I could see it if they kept calling Toby “Tyler,” and then mistook the real Tyler for Toby – the clone. But that’s not what we’re seeing. We’re seeing Ulitma forget Tyler’s very NAME, and questioning HOW TYLER GOT ACCESS TO THE BASE.
Shoveling Tyler into an unused storage closet as his “room?” That’s in line with their atrocious behavior. “Oh, he’s off at school so much; he just needs a place to crash when he visits.” (I won’t go into the numerous flaws in that reasoning; the point is that it’s believable given their enormous egos and narcissism.) Even failing to mention Tyler to the new eldritch abomination on their team is believable.
What isn’t believable is literally forgetting Tyler exists, to the point that a reminder of his existence puzzles them. If it was, “Oh, right, Tyler, um…yeah, we have a second son we need to do something with,” that’d be one thing. “Tyrone? Tom…? Who are you again?” is what’s unbelievable.
It’s even unbelievable as deliberate abuse because it can’t be disguised as “bringing out his destiny” and thus “for his own good,” AND it makes them look STUPID. FOOLISH. BRAIN-ADDLED. None of these are words the Powers would want associated with them.
Thus, please note that I am not saying all their horrible, awful behavior towards Tyler is unbelievable. What I’m saying is that their apparent inability to remember him well enough to acknowledge his status as their son, EVEN WHEN REMINDED, is either unbelievable and bad writing, or a hint that there’s Something Else up that’s influencing their minds.
(Heck, maybe that’s HOW Toby’s power is preventing them from rejecting him completely. But if so, Toby’s power gypped him; this isn’t worth the trade of losing a chance at Cecil being his best friend.)
Mike
Segev – you do have bold and underline capability, you just need to use HTML tags in your comment. Let me see if I can get this to display properly (not sure if the codes for angle brackets work):
To those who think that Tyler’s parents were better before Toby came around — remember, they told PS238 to expose him to any cosmic rays they came across on the field trip. From the very beginning, they cared more for potentially activating their son’s powers(despite not having evidence that Tyler had latent powers) than for their son’s safety. They might have been a little better at remembering he existed, but they were never great parents.
Rivalyn everything Toby does with his POWERS gets some kind of countering action, not every single action he engages in. His giving someone a fruit cup isn’t going to be countered by something negative, not unless he used his powers to do it and even then it wouldn’t generate anything big. If he uses his powers and they’ll lend towards something more orderly resulting something chaotic happens and vice versa.
Segev
Ah! Thanks, I didn’t know html worked here. Great! ^_^
Belated realization: Ron’s powers can’t be X-Ray vision (unless they’re new since the last time he was with Moonshadow), since that would have let him see through Moonshadow’s helmet and recognized Tyler.
He’d have at least – probably with sour suspicion – asked Tyler about it. Either out of friendship and trying to protect Tyler from whatever the bad luck Moonshadow is up to, or out of a sense of betrayal that Tyler wouldn’t have told him. And that’s assuming he DOES automatically guess that Moonshadow, despite looking like Tyler, isn’t Tyler.
He’s too bitter at Moonshadow and cool with Tyler for me to buy that he associates them in any way, in his own mind.
While I kind of like this just from the not having to hate his parents everytime they show up, I hope that Tyler really doesnt have powers, other than his Revanant skills. This world is badly in need of someone to change the attitude of the capes.
Segev
I agree; I don’t think it would do the story any good to give Tyler himself powers, even subtle ones. His schtick is very much the “action normal” who’s caught up in big things. He’s already got “powers” in the form of being important to destiny. He’s practically the Chosen One. Giving him overt innate powers would feel…off.
I maintain that it seems like his parents’ forgetfulness is from some external source that we’ve yet to see.
It also strikes me that the way his parents are treating him is only marginally within the widest interpretation of Toby’s “don’t reject Tyler” wish. (Or whatever you call it when he warps reality with his powers.) Given what it cost him AND the Principal, that makes my suspicion that Something Else is interfering feel more well-grounded.
Of note is that we’ve not seen intrusion from the “Power and Glory” plot thread for a bit, now. I wonder how that will inject itself into this super-party plotline.
Toby never made any such wish/reality alternation, he helped the Principal by removing his curse in exchange for the Principal arranging things with Tyler’s parents so that they could be brothers and handle all the paperwork to cover for his existence. Said help meant the Principal couldn’t gain his Redemption for his past criminal acts to become President and that Toby would never have the best friend he could have ever had. There was never a ‘make Tyler’s parents accept Tyler’ wish and if there had been we obviously would NOT see them instead doing the opposite, any negative consequences from such a wish wouldn’t be be so contrary to the actual wish.
The forgetfulness of Tyler’s parents meanwhile is completely in keeping with normal human behavior for such personalities with the huge flaws that they have, there is nothing to support the idea that some outside agency is responsible all the evidence shows that they’ve had those mental issues for his entire life and they’ve simply gotten worse solely do the creation of Toby, which while he could be considered an outside agency it’s purely a result of him being the realization of their Cosmic Destiny delusion and nothing to do with super-powered mental alteration of the Powers. They’re just awful parents, accept that.
Segev
Hm. You’re right, on reflection. My mistake. I keep thinking there was an anti-rejection line to it, but I think you’re right that it was just Cranston’s part of the deal to “make it work.”
Still doesn’t explain the Powers’s inability to remember Tyler to the point that introducing him induces confusion, though. (Again, not saying all their other awful behavior is inexplicable. Just the “can’t remember his name” and “got to do a security check” behavior that suggests they literally don’t recall Tyler existing.)
Mike
Segev, I mostly agree, but I don’t think you have to look for an outside influence. Ultima’s specific forgetfulness about Tyler seems to fit the description of Localized Dissociative Amnesia. It usually manifests in cases of trauma, such as an assault victim who may have no memory of the assault but can remember the rest of their day perfectly well.
I suspect that eventually the existence of Toby forcibly presented Ultima and Sovereign with the fact that Tyler was not going to become a super-powered hero and fulfill the destiny they expected their (original) son to fulfill, and for Ultima at least, it was too much cognitive dissonance to deal with. Essentially, the clash between reality and his prejudices and ego was so “traumatic” he gave himself a mental disorder. Probably just a temporary one, assuming Tyler was enrolled in the support group by both parents and not just Sovereign.
The way they’ve been treating Tyler lately – with the support group, EDL security, and turning the sleepover idea into a super-kid slumber party – could add up to them getting better, worse, or mostly the same, depending on how you interpret it. I’d suspect “mostly the same”.
I’m still going with “quantum reality” powers. The waveform collapses and the ball is whereever he chooses it to be. (Mind you, I don’t think he can do it consciously.)
You mean something that would be suitable for the ‘Your approval fills me with shame’ trope? Villain kid’s all envious and gushing about how evil the Powers are? Sadly they’d totally missed the point and learn nothing from it. The Von Fogg’s are far more loving parents in comparison.
Tyler does look to be enough of a sad sack due to his parents that even the villains would have sympathy for him. Heck if you look at some of Zodon’s comments HE actually has concern for Tyler, he just doesn’t show it in the way that the good guy protagonists do.
122 thoughts on “2016-10-17”
Moe Lane
…This is tooth-grindingly awful and heartbreaking, in its way.
TheGalator
You Mean That Tyler’s Parents Won’t Let Him Into Certain Areas Of The Tower? We Already Know They’re Powers-ist.
Tomy Ironmane
Would you let a small kid play in the artillery magazine? There’s areas in MY house where I wouldn’t let him go unsupervised.
trlkly
He has no bedroom or legit place for his stuff. And Toby, who’s powers are more chaotic, can get into them. His only base power is that he can fly.
Moe Lane
Also: if I was Superman and my wife was Wonder Woman you’d be danged sure that nobody would be casually ripping off pieces of my kid’s DNA for any reason whatsoever. Heck, we wouldn’t allow that *now*.
Nightmask
Except Toby is even more a small child than Tyler, given he’s literally just months old and while he has many of Tyler’s memories he doesn’t have the full set and yet he’s allowed full access in spite of that. The only reason Tyler’s been losing access is because he’s not super to satisfy his parents and as such they’ve been marginalizing him steadily as they dote on their ‘real’ son. It’s just more of the ongoing rejection of Tyler by his parents that we’ve seen throughout the comic because he’s normal.
Aaron K
It’s odd that they are figuratively turning their “sons” into Batman and Superman. They are emotionally orphaning their birth son, while adopting the one with powers….
TheGalator
You Know Tommy, That That Is Exactly What They Let Toby Do?
Nightmask
You know, when you think about it that’s pretty much what we have going on with ALL the kids at PS238. They’re all armed with powers that make them Persons Of Mass Destruction at an age when parents are normally trying to keep their kids away from the kitchen knives, drain cleaner, and guns in the house. They have powers ranging from deadly radioactive blasts to the creation of lethal energy constructs and even the ability to construct planet-destroying devices from obsolete junk scattered around a junk yard. Strangely enough NOBODY seems to really think about this and the many horrible things that can go wrong. Reminds me of a scene from Grrl Power where Halo asks Maxima why they have to have guns when they’ve the powers that they do, Maxima promptly points her finger at a target downrange, blows it up, then points her finger at Halo who is completely confused but freaks when she then points her far less dangerous gun at her. In spite of witnessing Maxima create a massive crater with her powers previously she just doesn’t get the danger that pointed finger carried to her. Halo simply couldn’t get herself to see how having that finger pointed at her was as threatening to her life as the gun even after seeing the powers in action.
leshenge
keep in mind tyler says he doesn’t have access to half the tower ANYMORE. that implies he used to before recent events (toby) and has less access now.
Xero
Yea back when his parents were hoping accidental exosure to somthing would trigger his powers
MrBookBoy
Before anyone goes any further, make sure you are ready to make comments about Tyler’s parents, pineapple and others on pizza and How to work HTML. You have been warned.
Mauman
Pineapple being dissed.
I approve 😀
TheGalator
What’s Wrong With Pineapple?
Mr. Pineapple
I Agree.>>>>>>>>>
Guesticus
Was wondering the same thing
MrMike
Hey! I happen to think that a good Hawaiian pizza (ham and pineapple) is just yummy. And I’m not in the least radioactive.
Faust
Pineapple pizza is good! Anchovies on the other hand…
Xero
PInable is good if the sauce and cheese are saltyer then normal
Faust
I’m allergic to cheese.
No cheese or fake cheese is good though.
Van
Step away from the pizza and go eat a salad.
forklifter16
Man, I hope Tyler can be legitimately adopted by Revenant somehow. This thing with his parents is just painful to watch.
ShinyHappyGoth
The Revenant DOES need a ward to complete the parallel.
Mollyscribbles
do you think his parents would even really notice if he handed them the paperwork?
jimbotherisenclown
I’m sure they would because, at that point, they’re having someone try to take away some’thing’ that ‘belongs to them’.
Rock
Also, they think the Revenant is a criminal….
ThatOneGuy
It’s funny we make jokes about batman endangering his wards… yet in Tyler’s case the bad jokes would still be on the positive side. That and this reverent does make sure to limit the danger to Tyler while also giving him room to grow if not helping boost his moral.
Segev
Actually, I’m not so sure about that. They keep forgetting Tyler exists, to the point of doubting it when reminded of him. If a rich mortal guy shoved some document in their faces and asked for permission to take custody of “Tyler,” Ultima would probably think it was somebody asking for an autograph and Sovereign might assume it was just showing proper respect for protocol before removing an intruder from the base.
And I still am not 100% convinced that there isn’t something more than pure vile parenting to blame, because the LEVEL of mental block just seems so unreal. But we’ll see.
evileeyore
I see someone was raised in a loving home. Trust me, Tyler, while abused by unloving parents, is getting off light on the “abusive parents” angle.
Rivalyn
I’m not entirely convinced that their indifference towards Tyler is not a side effect of Toby’s powers. Every action Toby takes is nullified in some way by an opposing action. While it’s implied to be because of his powers it’s also entirely possible that EVERY action that affects Toby, superpowered or not, is opposed. Which would mean that just by being accepted by the Powers means that someone else must be rejected.
Segev
To evileeyore…
I’m not saying there aren’t worse forms of abuse. I’m saying that I don’t find the forgetfulness believable.
Were the abuse purely neglectful, they’d react with “oh, right, Tyler!” or “Well, I suppose Tyler will need to be seen to, as well,” not “Wait, who are you? What was your name again?” Were it deliberate, perhaps they are ACTING like they can’t remember him, but… that seems a strange choice, since it makes THEM look bad to anybody who witnesses the act. It makes them look, to those who know the truth about Tyler, like horrible people OR like they’re brain addled in some way. And to those who don’t know, it makes them still seem brain-addled, since they don’t come right out and say “no, he’s definitely an imposter and we’re not sure who’s behind this.”
Remember, they’re all about their own egos. Making themselves look bad just to abuse Tyler doesn’t make sense.
TheGalator
Hmm. Y’know It Is Possible That The Problem Is That They Just Don’t WAN’T To Think About Tyler. It’s Like Someone Who Was Thinking Of All The Fun They Will Have With Their Baby Boy And Then Having A Girl. Neglectful Of Course But It Is Still A Situation That Is Possible Without Some Kind Of Meta-human Intervention.
Splithead
I wonder if them “forgetting” about Tyler is because of Toby. Toby seems to love Tyler, were as Tyler doesn’t relate to Toby. Toby has tried to change reality to give Tyler powers, but he said it didn’t turn out well, do to the nature of his powers. I wonder if Toby is trying to or has tried to improve Tyler’s relationship with their parent but it has backfired due to his powers.
Nightmask
Segev you keep holding onto those fatal flaws there in your reasoning. Yes the Powers are all about their own egos and the idea that they couldn’t have anything but a Child Of Destiny (ironically they DID but they aren’t capable of realizing it because they think if he hasn’t got flashy powers and looks normal that he can’t possibly be said Child) BUT such people have no problems with being neglectful because they can easily rationalize anything to fit their narrative AND have no problems with thinking that they aren’t being neglectful at all. They can’t begin to fathom that how they act makes them look awful (for which mind you only we the readers are really privy to that for the most part, even the teachers and principal at the school aren’t fully aware of just how awful they are as they haven’t seen it all like we have) and are certain that there’s nothing wrong with it at all. After all again they think that they’re Beings Of Destiny and that they can only have a Child Of Destiny as they enact the Universe’s Will, if they do something it must be right simply because they did it.
You also keep thinking that abuse only comes in a limited number of forms rather than a spectrum and that spectrum includes neglect where the parents reach the point of pretty much forgetting that the unfavorite child even exists. This kind of thing happens in real life to the point it shows up often in both dramas and comedies (like Malcolm In The Middle, Dewey in one episode is so forgotten he manages to arrange, travel to, and win a musical competition all while NO ONE notices he was even gone), the fact that the Powers can barely even manage to remember that they have a son named Tyler most of the time is completely albeit sadly far too real and believable.
SFI
The problem is that aside from the instance with Ultima forgetting his name, there is no indication they are ‘neglecting’ Tyler. Yes, they treat him horribly and definitely favour Toby heavily, but they are not ‘neglecting’ him. He has his tuition still paid, they put him in that one support group to help deal with his lack of powers, hell, they even made extra invitations for him to give to his non-meta friends (I’m assuming he or Toby didn’t need to steal them, since that probably would have come up).
And while I certainly agree that there is a wide spectrum of abuse, it seems illogical to me that they would have this one aspect of it (forgetting he exists) and no other (forgetting to pay for tuition, forgetting to arrange things). Now perhaps the tuition is some automatic thing that regularly gets paid by the computer, but the support group seemed to be new and recent.
Segev
To Nightmask and others who agree with him, I think you’re misunderstanding what I’m saying.
I’m not saying I find their benign neglect unbelievable. I’m not saying I find emotionally abusive behavior (likely unintentional; they’re just so wrapped up in their egos that they don’t notice) unbelievable.
I’m saying I find the FORGETFULNESS AS PORTRAYED unbelievable, if it is not caused by some outside actor.
I wish I had bold and underline capability here, to emphasize that more.
Of course they can rationalize away why their neglectful and even emotionally abusive behavior is not abuse and doesn’t make them look bad. They do that just the same way they rationalized away their physically abusive child endangerment to try to induce Tyler to express powers: their child’s destiny must be met, and OBVIOUSLY all their behavior towards him is meant to bring that about. It’s for his own good, you see.
But none of that aligns with forgetting Tyler’s name. I could see it if they kept calling Toby “Tyler,” and then mistook the real Tyler for Toby – the clone. But that’s not what we’re seeing. We’re seeing Ulitma forget Tyler’s very NAME, and questioning HOW TYLER GOT ACCESS TO THE BASE.
Shoveling Tyler into an unused storage closet as his “room?” That’s in line with their atrocious behavior. “Oh, he’s off at school so much; he just needs a place to crash when he visits.” (I won’t go into the numerous flaws in that reasoning; the point is that it’s believable given their enormous egos and narcissism.) Even failing to mention Tyler to the new eldritch abomination on their team is believable.
What isn’t believable is literally forgetting Tyler exists, to the point that a reminder of his existence puzzles them. If it was, “Oh, right, Tyler, um…yeah, we have a second son we need to do something with,” that’d be one thing. “Tyrone? Tom…? Who are you again?” is what’s unbelievable.
It’s even unbelievable as deliberate abuse because it can’t be disguised as “bringing out his destiny” and thus “for his own good,” AND it makes them look STUPID. FOOLISH. BRAIN-ADDLED. None of these are words the Powers would want associated with them.
Thus, please note that I am not saying all their horrible, awful behavior towards Tyler is unbelievable. What I’m saying is that their apparent inability to remember him well enough to acknowledge his status as their son, EVEN WHEN REMINDED, is either unbelievable and bad writing, or a hint that there’s Something Else up that’s influencing their minds.
(Heck, maybe that’s HOW Toby’s power is preventing them from rejecting him completely. But if so, Toby’s power gypped him; this isn’t worth the trade of losing a chance at Cecil being his best friend.)
Mike
Segev – you do have bold and underline capability, you just need to use HTML tags in your comment. Let me see if I can get this to display properly (not sure if the codes for angle brackets work):
<I>Italics<I> = Italics
<B>Bold<B> = Bold
<U>Underline<U> = Underline
Mike
WHOOPS! Forgot the slashes! That should have been:
<I>Italics</I> = Italics
<B>Bold</B> = Bold
<U>Underline</U> = Underline
Mike
Ah. Well, you have bold and italics anyway….
Mollyscribbles
To those who think that Tyler’s parents were better before Toby came around — remember, they told PS238 to expose him to any cosmic rays they came across on the field trip. From the very beginning, they cared more for potentially activating their son’s powers(despite not having evidence that Tyler had latent powers) than for their son’s safety. They might have been a little better at remembering he existed, but they were never great parents.
Nightmask
Rivalyn everything Toby does with his POWERS gets some kind of countering action, not every single action he engages in. His giving someone a fruit cup isn’t going to be countered by something negative, not unless he used his powers to do it and even then it wouldn’t generate anything big. If he uses his powers and they’ll lend towards something more orderly resulting something chaotic happens and vice versa.
Segev
Ah! Thanks, I didn’t know html worked here. Great! ^_^
WJS
Say, why isn’t underline allowed?
Faust
I can see that happening soon after his DNA is misused for access to less sensitive areas, and that access permission gets revoked.
Weatherheight
testing something
Underline
Weatherheight
Underline
Weatherheight
[u]Underline[/u]
Weatherheight
Okay, I’m stumped on the underline function as well. 😀
Lucario
Underline
Segev
Angle brackets <, not square brackets [
Prairie Son
So, who do we spot on the spread panel? There’s Flea, Bernard, Toby, Malphast, Julie, that FISS from the Praetorian School, Necro-whatsis…
Anyone got an ID on the one with the orange cape?
KillerFish
No idea who the orange cape is, but the FISS from Praetorian is codenamed “Ajax”
Aegeus
“Safe rooms can be locked up like a vault.”
I smell foreshadowing…
Stephen R. Bierce
And Cecil has arrived as well, right?
dana
Maybe he’s the one in the orange cape.
Nah, even Cecil has a better fashion sense than that. 🙂
Mike
Maybe he’s the off-panel one saying “There you are.” I assume that’s what Stephen meant.
dana
My mistake.
On the other hand, Cecil doesn’t seem the type to just announce himself like that.
Especially in front of Ron.
Rock
Pineapple…. gross.
I wonder who this is?
Segev
Belated realization: Ron’s powers can’t be X-Ray vision (unless they’re new since the last time he was with Moonshadow), since that would have let him see through Moonshadow’s helmet and recognized Tyler.
Prairie Son
Not necessarily. He already knows Tyler has a mysterious Identical twin brother, remember. Moon Shadow could be another.
Man, that makes way too much sense for comics.
Segev
He’d have at least – probably with sour suspicion – asked Tyler about it. Either out of friendship and trying to protect Tyler from whatever the bad luck Moonshadow is up to, or out of a sense of betrayal that Tyler wouldn’t have told him. And that’s assuming he DOES automatically guess that Moonshadow, despite looking like Tyler, isn’t Tyler.
He’s too bitter at Moonshadow and cool with Tyler for me to buy that he associates them in any way, in his own mind.
Anubis
Its already been speculated that Tyler has “lucky boy” and “nondetection” powers strong enough that his parents forget him.
Skull the Troll
While I kind of like this just from the not having to hate his parents everytime they show up, I hope that Tyler really doesnt have powers, other than his Revanant skills. This world is badly in need of someone to change the attitude of the capes.
Segev
I agree; I don’t think it would do the story any good to give Tyler himself powers, even subtle ones. His schtick is very much the “action normal” who’s caught up in big things. He’s already got “powers” in the form of being important to destiny. He’s practically the Chosen One. Giving him overt innate powers would feel…off.
I maintain that it seems like his parents’ forgetfulness is from some external source that we’ve yet to see.
It also strikes me that the way his parents are treating him is only marginally within the widest interpretation of Toby’s “don’t reject Tyler” wish. (Or whatever you call it when he warps reality with his powers.) Given what it cost him AND the Principal, that makes my suspicion that Something Else is interfering feel more well-grounded.
Of note is that we’ve not seen intrusion from the “Power and Glory” plot thread for a bit, now. I wonder how that will inject itself into this super-party plotline.
Nightmask
Toby never made any such wish/reality alternation, he helped the Principal by removing his curse in exchange for the Principal arranging things with Tyler’s parents so that they could be brothers and handle all the paperwork to cover for his existence. Said help meant the Principal couldn’t gain his Redemption for his past criminal acts to become President and that Toby would never have the best friend he could have ever had. There was never a ‘make Tyler’s parents accept Tyler’ wish and if there had been we obviously would NOT see them instead doing the opposite, any negative consequences from such a wish wouldn’t be be so contrary to the actual wish.
The forgetfulness of Tyler’s parents meanwhile is completely in keeping with normal human behavior for such personalities with the huge flaws that they have, there is nothing to support the idea that some outside agency is responsible all the evidence shows that they’ve had those mental issues for his entire life and they’ve simply gotten worse solely do the creation of Toby, which while he could be considered an outside agency it’s purely a result of him being the realization of their Cosmic Destiny delusion and nothing to do with super-powered mental alteration of the Powers. They’re just awful parents, accept that.
Segev
Hm. You’re right, on reflection. My mistake. I keep thinking there was an anti-rejection line to it, but I think you’re right that it was just Cranston’s part of the deal to “make it work.”
Still doesn’t explain the Powers’s inability to remember Tyler to the point that introducing him induces confusion, though. (Again, not saying all their other awful behavior is inexplicable. Just the “can’t remember his name” and “got to do a security check” behavior that suggests they literally don’t recall Tyler existing.)
Mike
Segev, I mostly agree, but I don’t think you have to look for an outside influence. Ultima’s specific forgetfulness about Tyler seems to fit the description of Localized Dissociative Amnesia. It usually manifests in cases of trauma, such as an assault victim who may have no memory of the assault but can remember the rest of their day perfectly well.
I suspect that eventually the existence of Toby forcibly presented Ultima and Sovereign with the fact that Tyler was not going to become a super-powered hero and fulfill the destiny they expected their (original) son to fulfill, and for Ultima at least, it was too much cognitive dissonance to deal with. Essentially, the clash between reality and his prejudices and ego was so “traumatic” he gave himself a mental disorder. Probably just a temporary one, assuming Tyler was enrolled in the support group by both parents and not just Sovereign.
The way they’ve been treating Tyler lately – with the support group, EDL security, and turning the sleepover idea into a super-kid slumber party – could add up to them getting better, worse, or mostly the same, depending on how you interpret it. I’d suspect “mostly the same”.
Ed Rhodes
I’m still going with “quantum reality” powers. The waveform collapses and the ball is whereever he chooses it to be. (Mind you, I don’t think he can do it consciously.)
Mollyscribbles
Do you honestly think Revenant wouldn’t have thought to make the mask lead-lined?
Eben
I keep waiting for a villainous kid to comment on how evil his parents are.
Nightmask
You mean something that would be suitable for the ‘Your approval fills me with shame’ trope? Villain kid’s all envious and gushing about how evil the Powers are? Sadly they’d totally missed the point and learn nothing from it. The Von Fogg’s are far more loving parents in comparison.
Eben
More like “dude, your parents treat you like crap. If you were a bad guy, I’d help you get back at them.” Maybe a dash of sympathy.
Nightmask
Tyler does look to be enough of a sad sack due to his parents that even the villains would have sympathy for him. Heck if you look at some of Zodon’s comments HE actually has concern for Tyler, he just doesn’t show it in the way that the good guy protagonists do.