I read the page to quickly the first time and only read what the stone giants were saying. The interpretation of the look of the one giant to the other was: “Really? You have to bring up our age NOW?”
The look in the second panel? It could be, but I think they were sharing a look of bafflement because of the answer 84 gave them – it wasn’t one they were expecting…
I think it has more to do with a line from one of the giants, which is they can read the hearts of mortal men. When 84 spoke, she read honest and true, so they excused her past.
Given that the venture here seems to be at least semi-cooperative, this is starting to make me think that the choice isn’t a simple ‘who grabs it first’. I’d bet money on Veles watching and judging how everyone handles themselves in here, under the veneer of a ‘race’. Kind of like a point scoring system. Then his choice is judged on who he thinks would be the most interesting opponent.
I love the stone giants starting all official and such, and then so quickly devolving into casual speaking.
I think I said it near the beginning, its not about Who gets the Eye, its about How they act in the process of getting it. He obviously wants a smart champion to fight against, but I think he also wants one with a certain amount of morality. After all a Champion who has no qualms about stepping over people to get to their objective may not be the kind of champion who would truly challenge him.
This riddle answered the purpose of the their quest. A straight forward approach may not work, but a simple approach with morals is much more fun. The other would lie, bluff, or fight their way through the gate. They are after the “soul jar” because that is the goal that they are believed to go after.
84 spoke the simple truth as it’s answer and was simplicity and that “heroic” quality that tricksters like. Just enough intelligence to have a make a challenge and enough innocence to make it humors.
Actually, I doubt it’s going to be so subtle. I’m willing to bet 90% of the situations in here are going to be “eh, this is beneath me” or “ahah! time for me to strut my stuff! whoops.” with 84 acting as janitor.
Lets face it, these other superheroes have to pick and choose what situations they can handle. They may be more interesting and “marketable” but more frequently, the most important thing in a superhero is the basic ability to not NEED to decide if they can do something about a situation. Think Nike: just do it.
Well, that qualifies as “something Veles couldn’t do”: he can’t be unaware of what he’s trying to take from the egg. And since sending in a group with a cryptic hint that they’re motivated to figure out after they pass this gate would make sense, everything he’s said is at least consistent with what we’ve seen so far.
Conjurer might not appreciate that his special advantage over Veles is cluelessness, though.
Then again, Veles isn’t supposed to have “the soul of a mortal” for the guardians to read, so we don’t actually know he couldn’t have just lied to these guys.
I supposed they’d recognize Veles and attack him on general principles in any case (anything Veles does can only mean trouble, as far as any kind of guard is concerned).
Five will get you ten that Bubblehead and Tin-Bonce will throw a hissy-fit to try and cover for the fact that 84 got the ‘All clear’ from the guardians so quickly and simply, just by telling the truth and not trying to bullsh*t her way through.
I am still totally rooting for veles to become ps238 adjunct faculty. He’s immortal, he can wait, and teaching 84 to be a more entertaining opponent is totally a good use of his time…
Yeah, I had to chuckle too at the way the guardians reacted. 🙂
As for the next ‘circle’… What’s the betting that one of the ‘adults’ will jump in and (forgetting how 84 was totally honest) try to bluff their way through, only for the hammer to fall?
Their question did, in a very mild manner, remind me of that scene. The disarming banter they dropped into said they might not exactly be all that good at their job. That or time has dulled their wits. Or both.
“Whoever claims the eye at its (the magical egg’s) heart will become the new champion of Earth.”
So evidently, this golden egg thing is important to the Slavic creation myth of birth and rebirth. Any guesses as to what this metaphorical “eye/I” at the heart of an egg (creation) might be?
Interesting point. I am wondering if the eye at the center is simply one of them realizing that “I am teh champion of Earth” The guards don’t know of an eye and it would be like the Velles to play this kind of pun/joke on them. To become the champion on of themhave to accept the Mantle and say I am and mean it. The other four are looking for status, fame, etc. 84 is just looking to get through it as she does not have an ego, just is sincere and honest.
I wonder if the “grown-ups” can hear what 84 and the guards are saying. It would be funny if they couldn’t get through because they don’t know what she said, and think it can’t be as simple as honesty. Then she puts her head back through the gate and says, “These guys are with me,” which will REALLY burn them up!
Oh, now that would be icing on the cake. They’re arguing about it being a trap, when its just a doorbell, and She has to vouche for them? Oh man, that would be just … well, something I’d do.
I <3 84 so much. I really want to see a flash-forward of her as an adult. I bet she'll be the semi-official Queen of the Supers, the person they all look to for guidance.
Still wondering if 84 and moonshadow will hook up and combine their powers of “common sense” and “Super Impression” (how everyone sees them as something special when all they didn’t mean to. AKA the Moon Shadow Effect)
I mean we did get a the “Crush” hug moment and that lovely “assistant” title form the Argos planet visit moment with the two of them.
That does cover “expendable meat shields” or “comedy relief” in one word doesn’t it? But letting them have more than one entry does allow them to feel more important.
“And a child will lead them.” Yup, sounds about right.
“From the mouths of babes.” Okay, she is a little older than a baby and not yet developed enough to be called a Babe.
“Have the innocence of a child.” Now let’s see how the other 4 do.
Depending on what he meant by “heart” really. Could have meant “centre” (I’m British you be-damned spellchecker! That’s how we spell “centre! GRRRRRRR), could of meant a literal heart, could have meant a decorative heart shaped object. Could have even have meant “seeing with ones heart”.
An “eye”? Veles did them a favor by getting them past the first trap with a little synecdoche. Of course, anyone who simply turned and left after encountering the door dwarves could have done that, but still, it’s a nice thing to do considering that he didn’t exactly choose mental giants for his infiltration team…
Or more likely, none of them know the mythology. If you think about it, this particular batch of myths is not exactly one of the more commonly known, unlike Norse, Greek, or Egyptian mythology.
I’m guessing too that each of the heroes might have to step on the stone circle to pass. At least I’m hoping, and along the lines of Monty Python as stated earlier, each one will try, thinking it is easy now, and a couple will pass a couple will fail.
It occurs to me that Veles could have been sneaky and engaged in a bit of cross-language wordplay. “Ei” is “egg” in German, and it’s pronounced the same as “eye”. So 84 could be entirely telling the truth as she knows it, while still being after something which is on the guardians’ list.
The needle thing fits the references so far. Veles is a trickster god in Slavic mythology, similar to Loki. He mentioned facing off against Perun, another Slavic god with powers of thunder and lightning, similar to Thor. We are told the egg is from Koschei the Undying. Usually, it’s translated the Deathless. He kept his soul outside of his body, in the eye of a needle, inside an egg, inside a duck, inside a hare, within a trunk, buried under a tree, on an island in the middle of the ocean. Whoever has the egg controls Koschei, like the heart of Davy Jones.
Or there is no Eye and Veles sent them in here just to see what they’d do. “On the list of things we’re supposed to protect.” implies that there are other valuable things in here, probably things very temping to each superhero selected for this task. Will they abandon their quest for the Eye to serve their own interests?
I stated earlier that I had a feeling that the characters will be “done in” the same way as the rotten children in the Chocolate Factory. I don’t believe Veles is particularly violent.
Indeed, Veles is seeking a playmate to keep him entertained, not out to destroy the world. Destroying the world would be boring, and so would be depriving the world of people sworn to protect it. Veles is looking for fun.
Perhaps he never did.
This could be just one of the potential jobs he keeps in reserve for heroes, champions and so in.
There were five groups of supers in the park so he choose either the leader or the best of each lot. I don’t know if he does but I would watch the contest (information, entertainment…).
Either the Egg was created by Veles in another form, or Veles obtained the egg from its creator and thought it was so well made that he has kept it for future uses, like this one.
I strongly suspect that Veles did not do the “egg test” for a champiion before – repetition doesn’t seem to be a thing for an entity that is up-to-date as Veles.
Atlas has not been on Earth all that long, and I suspect that Veles has been on (metaphysically) Earth for a very long time. Atlas was his latest opponent. It may be that the other deity that Veles contended with grew tired of the annual conflict and either passed the duty on to Atlas, or simply passed on.
I very interested to find out if the egg-test will whittle the 5 down to 1 (a la WW&TCF) or will 84 keep the group together to achieve the goal as a team – against their baser instincts.
Who knows, maybe Veles sought a champion to fight solo, and instead discovers a champion who leads a team? Perhaps such a change will provide Veles the challenge he obviously craves.
My own opinion is that this egg consumes Veles’ attention uniquely. It holds a thing that holds the focus of a god. He may make light of it, hide his true purpose, but the egg, the needle, he needs what they can bring him.
Losing Manhattan would be a small price to prevent Veles from having it.
Plus, it sounds like he’d be turning it into an upscale massage parlour, so all in all, a fair swap.
Maybe she could convince him to do New Jersey instead? That way he would really be doing everyone a favor and she would still be considered a hero, both to the people and to the environment.
In hindsight, it’s really weird that the two statues would say that, because there were a million things at the center of the egg that could be called an eye.
(Dunno if I posted this somewhere else. If so, sorry)
I read the page to quickly the first time and only read what the stone giants were saying. The interpretation of the look of the one giant to the other was: “Really? You have to bring up our age NOW?”
The look in the second panel? It could be, but I think they were sharing a look of bafflement because of the answer 84 gave them – it wasn’t one they were expecting…
I think it has more to do with a line from one of the giants, which is they can read the hearts of mortal men. When 84 spoke, she read honest and true, so they excused her past.
The others, I think will have a rougher time.
Given that the venture here seems to be at least semi-cooperative, this is starting to make me think that the choice isn’t a simple ‘who grabs it first’. I’d bet money on Veles watching and judging how everyone handles themselves in here, under the veneer of a ‘race’. Kind of like a point scoring system. Then his choice is judged on who he thinks would be the most interesting opponent.
I love the stone giants starting all official and such, and then so quickly devolving into casual speaking.
I think I said it near the beginning, its not about Who gets the Eye, its about How they act in the process of getting it. He obviously wants a smart champion to fight against, but I think he also wants one with a certain amount of morality. After all a Champion who has no qualms about stepping over people to get to their objective may not be the kind of champion who would truly challenge him.
This riddle answered the purpose of the their quest. A straight forward approach may not work, but a simple approach with morals is much more fun. The other would lie, bluff, or fight their way through the gate. They are after the “soul jar” because that is the goal that they are believed to go after.
84 spoke the simple truth as it’s answer and was simplicity and that “heroic” quality that tricksters like. Just enough intelligence to have a make a challenge and enough innocence to make it humors.
Actually, I doubt it’s going to be so subtle. I’m willing to bet 90% of the situations in here are going to be “eh, this is beneath me” or “ahah! time for me to strut my stuff! whoops.” with 84 acting as janitor.
Lets face it, these other superheroes have to pick and choose what situations they can handle. They may be more interesting and “marketable” but more frequently, the most important thing in a superhero is the basic ability to not NEED to decide if they can do something about a situation. Think Nike: just do it.
Well, that qualifies as “something Veles couldn’t do”: he can’t be unaware of what he’s trying to take from the egg. And since sending in a group with a cryptic hint that they’re motivated to figure out after they pass this gate would make sense, everything he’s said is at least consistent with what we’ve seen so far.
Conjurer might not appreciate that his special advantage over Veles is cluelessness, though.
Then again, Veles isn’t supposed to have “the soul of a mortal” for the guardians to read, so we don’t actually know he couldn’t have just lied to these guys.
I supposed they’d recognize Veles and attack him on general principles in any case (anything Veles does can only mean trouble, as far as any kind of guard is concerned).
Why am reminded of the bridge keeper towards the end of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”?
I like these guys, they’re more professional than the One Trick Ponies (not like its that high a bar).
Meanwhile, just off panel, the so-called adults are staring slack jawed. Heh.
Five will get you ten that Bubblehead and Tin-Bonce will throw a hissy-fit to try and cover for the fact that 84 got the ‘All clear’ from the guardians so quickly and simply, just by telling the truth and not trying to bullsh*t her way through.
The mage with all his suppositions would have been read and doubted. I wonder if each of them will have to pass.
At least the girl super, whatever her name is, seems to like 84. She’ll just lol at the doubters.
…
At first I thought you said “suppositories.” Oh my…
I am still totally rooting for veles to become ps238 adjunct faculty. He’s immortal, he can wait, and teaching 84 to be a more entertaining opponent is totally a good use of his time…
I am wondering, though, what this Eye is that the Stone Giants don’t know is an eye…
Amusingly anticlimactic. Of course, it IS the entrance. Later on, somebody will casually step into a circle like that and really regret it.
Yeah, I had to chuckle too at the way the guardians reacted. 🙂
As for the next ‘circle’… What’s the betting that one of the ‘adults’ will jump in and (forgetting how 84 was totally honest) try to bluff their way through, only for the hammer to fall?
“What… is your favourite colour?”
“Blue! No, yellow!”
Their question did, in a very mild manner, remind me of that scene. The disarming banter they dropped into said they might not exactly be all that good at their job. That or time has dulled their wits. Or both.
“Whoever claims the eye at its (the magical egg’s) heart will become the new champion of Earth.”
So evidently, this golden egg thing is important to the Slavic creation myth of birth and rebirth. Any guesses as to what this metaphorical “eye/I” at the heart of an egg (creation) might be?
Interesting point. I am wondering if the eye at the center is simply one of them realizing that “I am teh champion of Earth” The guards don’t know of an eye and it would be like the Velles to play this kind of pun/joke on them. To become the champion on of themhave to accept the Mantle and say I am and mean it. The other four are looking for status, fame, etc. 84 is just looking to get through it as she does not have an ego, just is sincere and honest.
Huh, I guess Knug was right. It *was* a glorified doorbell. 😛
No, that was a trap… It just fizzled…
Though it DOES get the door open; so it’s a doorbell as well…
I wonder if the “grown-ups” can hear what 84 and the guards are saying. It would be funny if they couldn’t get through because they don’t know what she said, and think it can’t be as simple as honesty. Then she puts her head back through the gate and says, “These guys are with me,” which will REALLY burn them up!
Oh, now that would be icing on the cake. They’re arguing about it being a trap, when its just a doorbell, and She has to vouche for them? Oh man, that would be just … well, something I’d do.
Or better yet lean back through and say, “You can let them through too, it is not like they are super villains or anything, they just dress that way.”
*falls out of his chair laughing*
Priceless – absolutely priceless! 🙂
Got the idea from reading the Cape High books. Anyone who likes the PS238 comics will love that book series.
I <3 84 so much. I really want to see a flash-forward of her as an adult. I bet she'll be the semi-official Queen of the Supers, the person they all look to for guidance.
Like Atlas was till recently. =)
Still wondering if 84 and moonshadow will hook up and combine their powers of “common sense” and “Super Impression” (how everyone sees them as something special when all they didn’t mean to. AKA the Moon Shadow Effect)
I mean we did get a the “Crush” hug moment and that lovely “assistant” title form the Argos planet visit moment with the two of them.
Hero, noun
a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities.
(And my add) See 84
Which seems to leave the rest of them out at this point. Maybe they can be found under “expendable meat shields” or “comedy relief”.
I believe the term you’re looking for is “sidekick.” I don’t think she’d take any of them, though. lol
That does cover “expendable meat shields” or “comedy relief” in one word doesn’t it? But letting them have more than one entry does allow them to feel more important.
Why do you think that Batman always wore a costume that blended in with the night, while Target-Boy — I mean, Robin — wore bright, flashy colors?
“And a child will lead them.” Yup, sounds about right.
“From the mouths of babes.” Okay, she is a little older than a baby and not yet developed enough to be called a Babe.
“Have the innocence of a child.” Now let’s see how the other 4 do.
As to your comment after the second quote I have to say, “Give it time, give it time…”
I suppose Veles could have given them more to go on than “the eye at its heart”, but where would the fun be in that?
Depending on what he meant by “heart” really. Could have meant “centre” (I’m British you be-damned spellchecker! That’s how we spell “centre! GRRRRRRR), could of meant a literal heart, could have meant a decorative heart shaped object. Could have even have meant “seeing with ones heart”.
Ancient god tricksters are troublesome like that.
And there is also the bit that this was designed by a litch to protect his soul, not by a trickster god.
You get upset at what you see as incorrect grammar and then use “could of”?
Really.
Huh, and I was trying so hard to say “Could have” throughout that post. Must have slipped. Good catch 🙂
Spelling is more important to me then grammar, mainly due to the fact that I had major issues with spelling mistakes when I was a kid.
It didn’t get upset about incorrect grammar. It complained because the spell checker was trying to tell him correct spelling was incorrect.
Stone Giant tailors don’t stitch their clothes together. So they would not know a needle has an eye.
That said, you’d think they’d at least drop a spanking on the grown ups nearby who let 84 become so endangered as to face Stone Guardians.
Methinks she’s lucky nobody mentioned needles have eyes.
An “eye”? Veles did them a favor by getting them past the first trap with a little synecdoche. Of course, anyone who simply turned and left after encountering the door dwarves could have done that, but still, it’s a nice thing to do considering that he didn’t exactly choose mental giants for his infiltration team…
Or more likely, none of them know the mythology. If you think about it, this particular batch of myths is not exactly one of the more commonly known, unlike Norse, Greek, or Egyptian mythology.
…or the Eye isn’t beyond that door…
More than likely it is in there somewhere, since the path only leads in one direction.
I’m guessing too that each of the heroes might have to step on the stone circle to pass. At least I’m hoping, and along the lines of Monty Python as stated earlier, each one will try, thinking it is easy now, and a couple will pass a couple will fail.
It occurs to me that Veles could have been sneaky and engaged in a bit of cross-language wordplay. “Ei” is “egg” in German, and it’s pronounced the same as “eye”. So 84 could be entirely telling the truth as she knows it, while still being after something which is on the guardians’ list.
I like the needle idea too.
The needle thing fits the references so far. Veles is a trickster god in Slavic mythology, similar to Loki. He mentioned facing off against Perun, another Slavic god with powers of thunder and lightning, similar to Thor. We are told the egg is from Koschei the Undying. Usually, it’s translated the Deathless. He kept his soul outside of his body, in the eye of a needle, inside an egg, inside a duck, inside a hare, within a trunk, buried under a tree, on an island in the middle of the ocean. Whoever has the egg controls Koschei, like the heart of Davy Jones.
Or there is no Eye and Veles sent them in here just to see what they’d do. “On the list of things we’re supposed to protect.” implies that there are other valuable things in here, probably things very temping to each superhero selected for this task. Will they abandon their quest for the Eye to serve their own interests?
“84 and the Chocolate Factory”
I stated earlier that I had a feeling that the characters will be “done in” the same way as the rotten children in the Chocolate Factory. I don’t believe Veles is particularly violent.
But indeed, “84 and the Chocolate Factory”
Indeed, Veles is seeking a playmate to keep him entertained, not out to destroy the world. Destroying the world would be boring, and so would be depriving the world of people sworn to protect it. Veles is looking for fun.
Or the super powers swap shop.
Yeap… Looks like 84 is Nodwick this trip.
Who did Veles originally seek to send into the egg?
Atlas. Veles is no fool, all told. So what is special about Atlas that makes him the right tool to pick this lock?
That 84 is of the troupe the most Atlas-like may serve her well. . .
Did he add the other four to slow her down?
She is, all-in-all, a bit quicker than Atlas, I think.
Perhaps he never did.
This could be just one of the potential jobs he keeps in reserve for heroes, champions and so in.
There were five groups of supers in the park so he choose either the leader or the best of each lot. I don’t know if he does but I would watch the contest (information, entertainment…).
Either the Egg was created by Veles in another form, or Veles obtained the egg from its creator and thought it was so well made that he has kept it for future uses, like this one.
I strongly suspect that Veles did not do the “egg test” for a champiion before – repetition doesn’t seem to be a thing for an entity that is up-to-date as Veles.
Atlas has not been on Earth all that long, and I suspect that Veles has been on (metaphysically) Earth for a very long time. Atlas was his latest opponent. It may be that the other deity that Veles contended with grew tired of the annual conflict and either passed the duty on to Atlas, or simply passed on.
I very interested to find out if the egg-test will whittle the 5 down to 1 (a la WW&TCF) or will 84 keep the group together to achieve the goal as a team – against their baser instincts.
Who knows, maybe Veles sought a champion to fight solo, and instead discovers a champion who leads a team? Perhaps such a change will provide Veles the challenge he obviously craves.
My own opinion is that this egg consumes Veles’ attention uniquely. It holds a thing that holds the focus of a god. He may make light of it, hide his true purpose, but the egg, the needle, he needs what they can bring him.
Losing Manhattan would be a small price to prevent Veles from having it.
Plus, it sounds like he’d be turning it into an upscale massage parlour, so all in all, a fair swap.
Maybe she could convince him to do New Jersey instead? That way he would really be doing everyone a favor and she would still be considered a hero, both to the people and to the environment.
Nah. If she’s going to condemn a place that should be condemned, she should go after Detroit, instead. Or Washington DC.
“Right… off y’go then.”
In hindsight, it’s really weird that the two statues would say that, because there were a million things at the center of the egg that could be called an eye.
(Dunno if I posted this somewhere else. If so, sorry)
But none of them where what they are being paid to guard. 😀