Command
on 24 August 2026
at 21:12
Chapter: Volume 3; Schooled
Characters: Altera, Aura, Lady Orchid, M.A.N.T.I.S, Mother Mantis, Quarterback, Reptilian, Roughhouse, Silverback, Snowfall, The Venerator, Trackstar
Location: Egress
uh oh
Please let it not be “Power word – KILL!”
….
Maybe he is low on battery power and needs to use his fists or avoidable mundane effectors instead of twisting reality to UNMAKE their existence from time?
….
….
….
Yeah. That is going to get BAD before it gets better. If ever.
I looked up that reference, and for those who didn’t get it either, “Power Word Kill” is a 9th level spell from Dungeons and Dragons Beyond, that kills one creature within 60 feet, provided it has 100 hit points (i.e. life points) or fewer.
Really, if the Venerator kills its targets one at a time, I’d be relieved. It gives others time to escape with only a few casualties.
What I’m really afraid of would be a huge blast incinerating/destroying/annihilating/whateverating everyone in its path. Story-wise, that would be a real ballsy move on the level of George R.R. Martin or Grant Morrison: introduce a team of secondary characters, get us to despise them, show a path to redemption… and kill them all. (Not to mention our new friends such as Idol or Altera.)
Now let’s see the possible outcomes of such a blast. I’m leaving aside the notion that everyone gets destroyed, since the protagonist is around. (Still possible, though.)
– The blast hits everyone and only the sturdiest survive. Silverback (because he’s awfully sturdy), possibly Aura and/or Magnifica, and also Snowfall if Cailleach can generate an ice shield strong enough (and fast enough).
– Magnifica grows HUUUUGE and scoops all the heroes with one hand, throwing them into the air and trusting that they’ll figure out how to land while the blast vaporizes her legs (or not).
– I mentioned Snowfall/Cailleach generating an ice shield. Could she create a divine-level one that protects everyfriggingone?
– Aura’s time powers let her speed everyone (else?)’s retreat up.
All that being said, let’s remember that neither Magnifica nor Aura faced the Venerator and won. Maybe they survived; I don’t have the time now to check if Majesty told that some people survived an encounter with the thing. If no one ever did, that would make any heroic survivors in this scene totally special. Maybe the reason why Jonathan Silver was smiling when looking at Silverback and Snowfall?
So many Kirby Power Dots…
They’re doomed.
Lady Orchid’s face in the first and third panels are the purest expressions of utter malevolence that this webcomic has ever shown so far, this side of Egregore. (The huge pointed teeth give the latter a definite advantage.)
Also, @The Gecho, congratulations for calling dialogue!
As an aside on the topic, the “Never again” is interesting. Mother Mantis has already been defeated, and she thinks it’s because she was outgunned.
I like how Trackstar knee-jerk-reacts to Aura’s order with a catchphrase. Here’s hoping she lives up to her own hype!
Last, I’m wondering how Mother Mantis has achieved control of the Venerator. I kind of thought there would be some sort of procedure/ritual by which she’d establish authority over it. It might have happened between two and one pages ago. Or, since she mentions “my fancy acquisition”, it’s entirely possible she’s done it back then. (Come to think of it, it’s much safer to do that while the Venerator is turned off than while it’s activated.)
Oh, and I’m glad to see Altera and Snowfall do something (I can’t quite fathom what, but that’s not really the most important point in this page, now is it?) to break their fall. While Idol just blurs to the ground, Mentelle uses her telekinesis, Silverback takes a forward-slouching pose remindful of his namesake, and Aura hits the ground in a stylish pose, just like her.