Badass, sure. Normal? Not so sure.
He might not have obvious powers, but stuff HAPPENS when he’s around.
One of the other comics I read has a term for this condition: “Primary Protagonist Syndrome.”
(footloosecomic dot com BTW)
That’s actually a fairly common trope in the superhero genre. Seriously, Superman’s disguise is to put on glasses and come back his one loose lock of hair, not to mention the many heroes that “conceal” their identities with nothing more than a domino mask that shouldn’t fool anybody that’s familiar with them. Moon Shadow at least wears a mask that covers more than half of his face and a helmet so others can’t see his hair color/style; most people don’t focus on a person’s mouth when looking at them so his most redily identifiable features are concealed.
Granted, it still shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Moon Shadow is Tyler (the teachers did quickly enough, though at least one of them actually is a rocket scientist), but children are often quick to jump to conclusions and let their imaginations run loose, hence all of the mystical powers they attribute to Moon Shadow.
Back before the recession when we still had DirecTV and The Speed Channel I could recognize all the regular Nascar Cup drivers by their eyes even when wearing a different helmet for a special paint scheme.
There’s actually more to Superman’s secret identity than that. As Clark Kent, he stands and moves differently, a method which works even in real life. (Madonna could famously turn “It” off and go out without being recognized).
In one of the more recent comics, his son asked him how it works. Basically, everyone just says “Hey, you look like Superman!” Most people in the DC universe don’t even think Superman *has* a secret identity. After all, if you’re the most powerful being on the planet, own your own personal fortress, and are friends with demigods, aliens, billionaires, and kings, why would you ever moonlight as a desk jockey?
@ Jeremiah
They didn’t set him up with the Revenant because they saw something special in him. They set him with the Revenant because they knew:
1. His parents would keep forcing him to attend a superhero school,
2. but, lacking powers, it would hurt or even could kill him
They called the Revenant because (as a Batman expy but without the angst) they knew he was a non-powered guy who regularly fights and defeats super-powered guys. He would know how to help Tyler in his predicament (05182007).
It just so happens that Tyler is a good kid. He cares enough to try to help even if, lacking powers, he’s out of his league. He willingly and deliberately gets involved when there’s trouble (01192009 & 07082009). Most of his early adventures (04172008, 06112008, 08082008) were just him being in the wrong place and at the wrong time (or an ordinary kid in a school for metahumans). But it’s his choice to help with what he can is that makes him special. And having done it enough times, backed up by the mentoring and equipment provided by angst-less Batman, he’s getting good at it.
Nah, Christopher Reeve showed us it was way more than just glasses and slicked back hair. The moment when, in the grey suit, he takes the glasses off, puts the shoulders up and says, in a deep voice; “Lois,” (Lois is in the other room) “I want to tell you something, I’m really…” then Lois walks back in, Superman loses his nerve, puts the glasses back on, and slumps the shoulders and BECOMES “Clark Kent” again was terrific!
Not recognizing someone after a change of clothing is much older than comics. It’s a trope in opera. The man who doesn’t recognize his own wife because she’s wearing a small mask and speaking with a phony accent. Or a man who doesn’t recognize the woman he just spent the night with on the next day.
@ Ed Rhodes:
I know that scene. 🙂 youtube.com/watch?v=BIaF0QKtY0c
A masterful actor like Christopher Reeve can show it can be done.
From within the DC universe, if you believe Superman has serious acting chops of his own, then it works.
There’s also a line from “Blackest Night” #0, when they believe Batman is dead, and two heroes are standing near Bruce’s grave discussing secret identities:
“Clark slouches, raises his voice an octave, and wears clothes that are two sizes too big.”
(Most) people not recognizing Tyler is neither a superpower nor specific to him.
The “It’s amazing what people will overlook even when it’s right in front of them ” (The Revenant) thing is from 05082009. Its broader example is how heroic humans don’t think non-powered people should take part in solving the world’s problems even if majority of people don’t have powers (as pointed out by Tyler in said page). This idea applied to Tyler means “That cool, mysterious kid hero all in black can’t be Tyler because Tyler has no powers.” Note how when Tyler put out the idea that Moon Shadow had no powers (and Tyler WOULD KNOW), Emerald Gauntlet Jr. was offended by the idea (05022012).
Consider also when people DID recognize Tyler as Moon Shadow: 08112010 (Cecil), and 08202010 (Cranston). It can’t be a superpower where it allows a best friend’s familiarity (the former) or plain ol’ logic (the latter) to pierce it with ordinary effort. It does make for one interesting topic of debate (07062012, 07092012) but Cecil doesn’t sense him as a metahuman and his ad hoc argument there was him being facetious.
From a writing/reader perspective- well, Tyler’s concept is “The Amazing Adventures of the Uncannily Incredible Perfectly Ordinary Average Boy!” Having obfuscation as a power, even if minor, would kinda ruin that…
Although, the RPG does list him as having the “Lucky Boy” power.
One last note: the “It’s amazing what people will overlook…” thing is also a real-life thing. I don’t want to drag a heavy topic into this place since I come here to relax, enjoy, and have a wondrous escape from reality (although picking up insights that help in life), so let’s just say I have had my fill of encountering lots and lots of people to which the concept applies. And I have no doubt I will keep meeting more throughout. SIGH. Best to learn this lesson early or now rather than later.
“Lucky Boy” is a necessity for Tyler to be a disaster magnet. He also needed something to bump his point build (which is why it’s present==he’d be well short without it).
@ Prairie Son:
I just remembered Destiny in the PS238-verse. (Please see my response to Simreeve below.)
Perhaps Tyler is a disaster/weirdness magnet and counts as being a Lucky Boy because he’s DESTINED for greatness? It’s not a super power/doesn’t make him metahuman but does explain a lot.
@Prarie Son and @Messenger
Wasn’t their a student at PS238, the dream kid who used to be the God of sleep (I can’t remember his name) that had to leave the room when both Tyler and Tobey were in it because there was too much destiny in one place that it was making his soul feel “itchy”?
@ HEB807:
Yep! That was Murphy in 03052012.
Also, don’t forget that Tyler was given the choice whether it was time for a permanent heroic age for humanity (09222011). That momentous decision was not up to a metahuman but up to the “Uncannily Incredible Perfectly Ordinary Average Boy”.
In the GURPS role playing game, it’s a disadvantage. It’s called “Weirdness Magnet”.
If something odd is going to happen, it will want to happen near the person with that disadvantage.
There are RPGs that have what is called a “strangeness magnet” or a “weirdness magnet” as a character flaw. In short, no matter how normal they are, things just seem to Happen around them. If a demon lord shows up in the area, he’s involved in some fashion. They’re always in the worst spot for things to happen. What kind of strangeness or weirdness depends on the setting.
So yeah, he definitely fits the bill of a “weirdness magnet”
To be fair, I’m pretty sure being a student in a superhero school and wanting to help people (thus getting involved) contributes a lot to it.
Still… I thought Ron’s accusations of Moon Shadow being bad luck was more out of anger than because Tyler IS bad luck. You guys are making me reconsider that.
@ Simreeve
There is one possible explanation similar to what you suggest: DESTINY.
The term was first used by Tyler’s parents (04152007). One would think that was just their superheroic elitism, but:
1. Tyler’s parallel worlds versions of him all involve him being at the center of things one way or the other (08272008 and onwards),
2. Murphy mentions it as a real thing affecting people and events (03052012).
So, even if not having any powers but given his unique situation and good character, I think Tyler is simply DESTINED to become a hero, albeit a badass normal as opposed to superhero.
I’ve been harboring an ugly feeling that Tyler is connected to “The Dragon” (or this era’s equivalent). He probably doesn’t have powers, but he’s Fate’s plaything. The force that is “Magic” in Use Sword on Monster seems to affect the plot (it likes a narrative, or can be directed towards one). We’ve seen that PS238’s past includes Nodwick.. but Tyler seemed confused that none of the stuff about magic was in history. That ties into the stuff in Use Sword on Monster about how a Sphere that gets an influx of magic could go back to the way it once was. And similarly to how history retcons itself to accommodate the magic, it might similarly retcon the magic OUT of itself as the magic fades.
The point of my long-windedness is that.. Tyler made “the decision” to let superpowers (this era’s “magic”) continue. Fate brought him to make that choice. And somewhere, I doubt that Fate will give up their favorite chew-toy so easily.
Is anyone else wondering if Toby is the person Power and Glory work for? It might be a way Toby is slowly getting rid of chaotic side effects, and his parents probably have warehouses full of meta-power granting items they’ve tried on Tyler.
I think Toby would only be a client or business contact (someone they work WITH) at most, but not their boss (someone they work FOR). Too many complications with him being their boss.
It’s more than that. She’s currently wearing fingerless gloves. Previous scenes showed her with gloves that covered her entire hand, including fingers.
Since it’s Dynamode, it’s possible she’s changing her form gradually. The sparkles around her body, in the penultimate panel, suggest she’s about to change again.
Yeah, I suspect she has low INT & WIS, and should have a partner or group keep a closer eye on her if she wants to be a hero. She’s doing a terrible job, and I’d live if the recorder in that warning was literal. She’s not qualified to be a hero, not by powers or age, but because she has very bad judgment and acts like a villain.
All of which leads me to believe the young girl she appeared to be earlier is actually her, and the form she’s in now is a power effect. Also, desperate, which is a leading cause of “acting like a villain”.
Except we were told when she was introduced that she was a shapeshifter and was mode-locked into her non-powered child form by a villain, she’s not actually a child but an adult trapped in the body of a child. An adult who is pretty obviously going crazy because she can’t handle not having powers and will do anything to have powers again.
You are all very paranoid, why haven’t any of you considered the chance that the nice girl has ordered two Super Powers, one for her and one for Tyler. A Super Power for Tyler, Not a Super Power in exchange for Tyler.
That’s been discussed. I guess further discussion will commence when it’s revealed, until then, I’ll expect the worst so I may be pleasantly surprised by a plot twist.
It’s more experience with plot progression in comic/book/video form. There.’s often a karmic cost for doing things without someone’s permission. She’s treating Tyler, and the kid superheroes more like obstacles than peers… why I don’t think she’s a kid naturally. If she thinks she’s helping him, she’s mega arrogant and reckless. If she’s a mole with a side gig, she’s just stupid.
Hands off the merchandise lady!
“It’s LEGAL–and it’s TENDER!”–Heavy Metal Guy
Bad touch! Bad touch! (Zzzorp!!)
Is Toby and Dynamode’s deal to infuse the Chaos Orb into Tyler? Is that her task to get powers (or her power back) from Power & Glory?
That would make for an interesting twist/development in the storyline, but part of me doesn’t want it to happen. I like Tyler being a badass normal.
Badass, sure. Normal? Not so sure.
He might not have obvious powers, but stuff HAPPENS when he’s around.
One of the other comics I read has a term for this condition: “Primary Protagonist Syndrome.”
(footloosecomic dot com BTW)
Weirdness magnet
Not to mention there’s the ongoing “no-one recognizes him when he’s in costume” issue. Which is another part of Primary Protagonist Syndrome.
That’s actually a fairly common trope in the superhero genre. Seriously, Superman’s disguise is to put on glasses and come back his one loose lock of hair, not to mention the many heroes that “conceal” their identities with nothing more than a domino mask that shouldn’t fool anybody that’s familiar with them. Moon Shadow at least wears a mask that covers more than half of his face and a helmet so others can’t see his hair color/style; most people don’t focus on a person’s mouth when looking at them so his most redily identifiable features are concealed.
Granted, it still shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Moon Shadow is Tyler (the teachers did quickly enough, though at least one of them actually is a rocket scientist), but children are often quick to jump to conclusions and let their imaginations run loose, hence all of the mystical powers they attribute to Moon Shadow.
That’s a good point there in re: the masks.
Back before the recession when we still had DirecTV and The Speed Channel I could recognize all the regular Nascar Cup drivers by their eyes even when wearing a different helmet for a special paint scheme.
There’s actually more to Superman’s secret identity than that. As Clark Kent, he stands and moves differently, a method which works even in real life. (Madonna could famously turn “It” off and go out without being recognized).
In one of the more recent comics, his son asked him how it works. Basically, everyone just says “Hey, you look like Superman!” Most people in the DC universe don’t even think Superman *has* a secret identity. After all, if you’re the most powerful being on the planet, own your own personal fortress, and are friends with demigods, aliens, billionaires, and kings, why would you ever moonlight as a desk jockey?
It’s also true that the teachers set him up with the Revenant, so they knew something was up with Tyler
@ Jeremiah
They didn’t set him up with the Revenant because they saw something special in him. They set him with the Revenant because they knew:
1. His parents would keep forcing him to attend a superhero school,
2. but, lacking powers, it would hurt or even could kill him
They called the Revenant because (as a Batman expy but without the angst) they knew he was a non-powered guy who regularly fights and defeats super-powered guys. He would know how to help Tyler in his predicament (05182007).
It just so happens that Tyler is a good kid. He cares enough to try to help even if, lacking powers, he’s out of his league. He willingly and deliberately gets involved when there’s trouble (01192009 & 07082009). Most of his early adventures (04172008, 06112008, 08082008) were just him being in the wrong place and at the wrong time (or an ordinary kid in a school for metahumans). But it’s his choice to help with what he can is that makes him special. And having done it enough times, backed up by the mentoring and equipment provided by angst-less Batman, he’s getting good at it.
Nah, Christopher Reeve showed us it was way more than just glasses and slicked back hair. The moment when, in the grey suit, he takes the glasses off, puts the shoulders up and says, in a deep voice; “Lois,” (Lois is in the other room) “I want to tell you something, I’m really…” then Lois walks back in, Superman loses his nerve, puts the glasses back on, and slumps the shoulders and BECOMES “Clark Kent” again was terrific!
Not recognizing someone after a change of clothing is much older than comics. It’s a trope in opera. The man who doesn’t recognize his own wife because she’s wearing a small mask and speaking with a phony accent. Or a man who doesn’t recognize the woman he just spent the night with on the next day.
@ Ed Rhodes:
I know that scene. 🙂 youtube.com/watch?v=BIaF0QKtY0c
A masterful actor like Christopher Reeve can show it can be done.
From within the DC universe, if you believe Superman has serious acting chops of his own, then it works.
There’s also a line from “Blackest Night” #0, when they believe Batman is dead, and two heroes are standing near Bruce’s grave discussing secret identities:
“Clark slouches, raises his voice an octave, and wears clothes that are two sizes too big.”
(Most) people not recognizing Tyler is neither a superpower nor specific to him.
The “It’s amazing what people will overlook even when it’s right in front of them ” (The Revenant) thing is from 05082009. Its broader example is how heroic humans don’t think non-powered people should take part in solving the world’s problems even if majority of people don’t have powers (as pointed out by Tyler in said page). This idea applied to Tyler means “That cool, mysterious kid hero all in black can’t be Tyler because Tyler has no powers.” Note how when Tyler put out the idea that Moon Shadow had no powers (and Tyler WOULD KNOW), Emerald Gauntlet Jr. was offended by the idea (05022012).
Consider also when people DID recognize Tyler as Moon Shadow: 08112010 (Cecil), and 08202010 (Cranston). It can’t be a superpower where it allows a best friend’s familiarity (the former) or plain ol’ logic (the latter) to pierce it with ordinary effort. It does make for one interesting topic of debate (07062012, 07092012) but Cecil doesn’t sense him as a metahuman and his ad hoc argument there was him being facetious.
From a writing/reader perspective- well, Tyler’s concept is “The Amazing Adventures of the Uncannily Incredible Perfectly Ordinary Average Boy!” Having obfuscation as a power, even if minor, would kinda ruin that…
Although, the RPG does list him as having the “Lucky Boy” power.
One last note: the “It’s amazing what people will overlook…” thing is also a real-life thing. I don’t want to drag a heavy topic into this place since I come here to relax, enjoy, and have a wondrous escape from reality (although picking up insights that help in life), so let’s just say I have had my fill of encountering lots and lots of people to which the concept applies. And I have no doubt I will keep meeting more throughout. SIGH. Best to learn this lesson early or now rather than later.
“Lucky Boy” is a necessity for Tyler to be a disaster magnet. He also needed something to bump his point build (which is why it’s present==he’d be well short without it).
@ Prairie Son:
I just remembered Destiny in the PS238-verse. (Please see my response to Simreeve below.)
Perhaps Tyler is a disaster/weirdness magnet and counts as being a Lucky Boy because he’s DESTINED for greatness? It’s not a super power/doesn’t make him metahuman but does explain a lot.
@Prarie Son and @Messenger
Wasn’t their a student at PS238, the dream kid who used to be the God of sleep (I can’t remember his name) that had to leave the room when both Tyler and Tobey were in it because there was too much destiny in one place that it was making his soul feel “itchy”?
@ HEB807:
Yep! That was Murphy in 03052012.
Also, don’t forget that Tyler was given the choice whether it was time for a permanent heroic age for humanity (09222011). That momentous decision was not up to a metahuman but up to the “Uncannily Incredible Perfectly Ordinary Average Boy”.
To be fair, the comic strip hung a lampshade on that quite a while ago.
In the GURPS role playing game, it’s a disadvantage. It’s called “Weirdness Magnet”.
If something odd is going to happen, it will want to happen near the person with that disadvantage.
That term seems to have originated in DC Comics, applied to their hero ‘Blue Devil’ early in his career.
There are RPGs that have what is called a “strangeness magnet” or a “weirdness magnet” as a character flaw. In short, no matter how normal they are, things just seem to Happen around them. If a demon lord shows up in the area, he’s involved in some fashion. They’re always in the worst spot for things to happen. What kind of strangeness or weirdness depends on the setting.
So yeah, he definitely fits the bill of a “weirdness magnet”
That’s something that happens in Real Life too, as my biography proves.
To be fair, I’m pretty sure being a student in a superhero school and wanting to help people (thus getting involved) contributes a lot to it.
Still… I thought Ron’s accusations of Moon Shadow being bad luck was more out of anger than because Tyler IS bad luck. You guys are making me reconsider that.
Maybe he gets good luck at the cost of giving people around him bad luck, in a sort of parallel to Toby’s Law/Chaos balancing?
@ Simreeve
There is one possible explanation similar to what you suggest: DESTINY.
The term was first used by Tyler’s parents (04152007). One would think that was just their superheroic elitism, but:
1. Tyler’s parallel worlds versions of him all involve him being at the center of things one way or the other (08272008 and onwards),
2. Murphy mentions it as a real thing affecting people and events (03052012).
So, even if not having any powers but given his unique situation and good character, I think Tyler is simply DESTINED to become a hero, albeit a badass normal as opposed to superhero.
I’ve been harboring an ugly feeling that Tyler is connected to “The Dragon” (or this era’s equivalent). He probably doesn’t have powers, but he’s Fate’s plaything. The force that is “Magic” in Use Sword on Monster seems to affect the plot (it likes a narrative, or can be directed towards one). We’ve seen that PS238’s past includes Nodwick.. but Tyler seemed confused that none of the stuff about magic was in history. That ties into the stuff in Use Sword on Monster about how a Sphere that gets an influx of magic could go back to the way it once was. And similarly to how history retcons itself to accommodate the magic, it might similarly retcon the magic OUT of itself as the magic fades.
The point of my long-windedness is that.. Tyler made “the decision” to let superpowers (this era’s “magic”) continue. Fate brought him to make that choice. And somewhere, I doubt that Fate will give up their favorite chew-toy so easily.
Is anyone else wondering if Toby is the person Power and Glory work for? It might be a way Toby is slowly getting rid of chaotic side effects, and his parents probably have warehouses full of meta-power granting items they’ve tried on Tyler.
I think Toby would only be a client or business contact (someone they work WITH) at most, but not their boss (someone they work FOR). Too many complications with him being their boss.
The woman’s little finger on her right hand in the first panel is colored differently. It looks odd to me.
And, what worked before?
http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/2018-08-16/
Grapple the containment device?
Thanks.
… and in the reverse of the “Unstated Plan” trope, I am betting that, because he stated it worked before, it won’t work now.
She runs out of time on the borrowed power, not the set she was trading for and shrinks to her younger form.
Moonshadow grapples her head?
Or the orb.
It’s more than that. She’s currently wearing fingerless gloves. Previous scenes showed her with gloves that covered her entire hand, including fingers.
Since it’s Dynamode, it’s possible she’s changing her form gradually. The sparkles around her body, in the penultimate panel, suggest she’s about to change again.
Or it’s an energy holdover from being belted with the taser.
We don’t know what Dynamode’s power is (I don’t think).
She’s a shapeshifter. She ended up in the therapy group because she was mind controlled into shapeshifting into a little girl before being de-powered.
This might be the first time we get to see her shift shape then with the sparkles on her now.
Or her powers are messed up due to Orb’s proximity.
Her refusal to answer the question is not encouraging.
So she wants to release the containment on something potentially cataclysmic—while right next to it.
Yeah, I suspect she has low INT & WIS, and should have a partner or group keep a closer eye on her if she wants to be a hero. She’s doing a terrible job, and I’d live if the recorder in that warning was literal. She’s not qualified to be a hero, not by powers or age, but because she has very bad judgment and acts like a villain.
All of which leads me to believe the young girl she appeared to be earlier is actually her, and the form she’s in now is a power effect. Also, desperate, which is a leading cause of “acting like a villain”.
That would make sense. What little kid does not want to be treated like a grown up sometimes.
Except we were told when she was introduced that she was a shapeshifter and was mode-locked into her non-powered child form by a villain, she’s not actually a child but an adult trapped in the body of a child. An adult who is pretty obviously going crazy because she can’t handle not having powers and will do anything to have powers again.
Why do you think she’s an adult trapped in the body of a child? She doesn’t mention it in her backstory here
http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/2016-04-13/
And in that context I think she’d have mentioned it if she had been de-aged.
You are all very paranoid, why haven’t any of you considered the chance that the nice girl has ordered two Super Powers, one for her and one for Tyler. A Super Power for Tyler, Not a Super Power in exchange for Tyler.
That’s been discussed. I guess further discussion will commence when it’s revealed, until then, I’ll expect the worst so I may be pleasantly surprised by a plot twist.
It’s more experience with plot progression in comic/book/video form. There.’s often a karmic cost for doing things without someone’s permission. She’s treating Tyler, and the kid superheroes more like obstacles than peers… why I don’t think she’s a kid naturally. If she thinks she’s helping him, she’s mega arrogant and reckless. If she’s a mole with a side gig, she’s just stupid.