Ah, the Manacle of Nyrathos, your removed object that, seemingly, gave you magical powers. Yep, you’ll get your old life back from this, but this seems like it’ll be your magical life and not your mundane life. When what you actually want is your mundane life back.
Honestly, I suspect that it’s talking to you because it can’t bond with anyone else at the moment. With the possible exception of Nyrathos, but I would not be surprised if they’re actually just dead.
I think the reason it didn’t talk to him was because he “used [the manacle] to rob and steal”. It’s last line in the update implies it’s a good and noble magic item (or at least one that doesn’t like being used in the manner of petty crime) that has to obey its bearer’s wishes.
As much as most of us interpreted Lester wanting his old life back as wanting his *mundane* life back, going back to look up the name of his magic item (2016-08-2016*) brings us back to Lester’s frustrations with losing his powers: “Getting power is like seeing for the first time! There’s a whole world out there you never knew about, it’s the greatest thing you ever had, and you can’t remember what life was like without it!” (2016-04-22)
We figured Lester wanted his pre-super*villain* life back because of how responsible and caring he was towards Tyler and Ron. It now makes me wonder if Lester was being a good guy because he didn’t have powers and was under penalty for misusing them when he still had them. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t want them back.
* This doesn’t seem like the correct format, but that’s what my address bar says.
> It’s last line in the update implies it’s a good and noble magic item (or at least one that doesn’t like being used in the manner of petty crime) that has to obey its bearer’s wishes.
Or at least was used to “proper” magic users with ambition and imagination.
I mean, look at all the flashy magic goofballs in 238, never mind in Nodwick (see that cameo). Compared to them, anyone whose aspirations end at petty thievery is doomed to look… well… like a talking cockroach. It’s not even a matter of ethics.
Huh. Weird. There were people who thought Lester wanted his pre-supervillian life? As per the 2016-4-22 strip, I thought it was super-clear that his supervil life (or at least powered life) was the only one that he considered a “real” life–but he hadn’t expected to get back the fetter itself, just SOME powered item (see him trying out the hammer; not a great fit).
Yeah, I got blinded by how responsible and reasonable he was acting towards Tyler and the other kids while chaperoning them. When you’ve got Sovereign and Ultima as “good guys”, it kinda sets a low bar in regards to evaluating the characters of the comic.
Those two are in no way the good guys in this story. I’m really hoping if/when Tylers true powers are revealed and they go to hail him as their son with open arms, he spits in their face. Literally or figuratively. I’m good either way.
@ skullthetroll: They’re super*heroes* (hence “good guys”), but awful people and parents. And that’s part of PS238’s deconstruction of the superhero genre.
As for Tyler… Despite all the pain his parents have caused him, I’ve a feeling that if they ever found out that he’s an amazing superhero even without powers, Tyler’s also going to rise above spitting in their face.
If Tyler’s smart (and he’s very bright for his age), if he ever gets superpowers he won’t tell his family. Since he is all but nonexistent to them without them it’s literally no loss.
Personally, I think Tyler developing powers would hurt the story. And his mentor seems to get along fine without any…
@Wanderer – I’m pretty sure he’s always had them, but part of them is keeping them unknown. He survives things that would kill Wil E Coyote and is always in the right place at the right time, and makes amazing moral decisions. I think fate has something bigger than a mere superhero life for Tyler.
@ SkulltheTroll: I don’t think that Tyler has, very specifically, Super Powers of any kind. That is to say, he is biologically unpowered human with nothing, be it natural, supernatural, technological, or otherwise, directly affecting him that impersonates or supplies him with anything that could be considered to be Super Powers of any kind. Kind of like how Batman doesn’t have superpowers, only significantly more potent only even more applicable (I know of about half a dozen things in Batman’s History that could be considered as something that should be considered giving him Super Powers, and I don’t read the comics and barely have every followed along from a distance).
That said, I do think that Tyler is a Living Fulcrum of Fate. This is VERY different from someone with Super Powers, more akin to how his having to make the decision of whether or not humanity gets to keep Super Powers. If Fate has a personification like how Death does, and how Murphy is the majority of the personification of Sleep & Dreams, then Tyler being a Fulcrum of Fate means he’s basically either their toy, or their best tool for directing humanity down the path they want. Another example of a Fulcrum of Fate would be the apple Isaac Newton saw fall from a tree that made him question why the apples fall directly downwards (despite the myth, it didn’t hit him on the head). The apple didn’t have any superpowers, either, it just fell at the right time to create a specific response in a specific person watching.
Basically, I’m agreeing that Tyler’s actions, and decisions, will affect the world as internal story time progresses far enough. We’ve already seen the start of his world-affecting actions, like how he directed the Infinite Vanguard from being an 84 Fanclub/FISS Emotional Support Group into becoming an independent Super Hero Team focused on being an effective superhero/super team over a marketable one. I’m just saying that doing so doesn’t make him a Super.
I think people were talking about what was likely to happen rather than what he wanted. Thats assuming specifics werent mentioned in the deal or there being some wiggle room in the wording and how its interpreted.
Right now im thinking he atleast has the option of going hero rather than villain again. The same life essentialy but a different side.
Messenger quoted from the comic of 2016-04-22 how exciting it was for Lester to be a super-villain, but it also got him into trouble. Maybe by now he’d actually choose not to have that at all… though he’s already taken up the hammer of Hephaestus today.
Interesting, he was promised the return to having powers once he fulfilled his end of things which he pretty much has. Seems like maybe he’ll end up becoming a hero after this in regaining those powers or as a requirement of regaining them.
However you slice it though he’s proving one of the most interesting and fleshed out characters of the comic even compared to ones like Tyler.
I’m picturing something more mundane: A buddy-comedy scene with the manacle showing up with him to his legally-required therapy meetings. Bonus points if it gets deputized and becomes one of his case-workers.
Whenever I hear about a talking Object of Power, I am reminded of a magical sword from the Fantasy Hero sourcebooks and its catch phrase:
“Hello, hands and feet.”
In a D&D campaign I was in, one character had a sword with a higher Int. An introduction went, “Hi! I’m and this is my human, .” Pretty much let one know who was in charge….
In the book, “Dreampark,” one of the characters plays “filksongs” during the game. We only hear ONE all the way through. It’s a parody of John Lennon’s “Norwegian Wood,” about someone picking up a +3 sword with an Ego of 12!
Personally, my favorite intelligent weapon is Benelux, from the Justicar and Escalla novels by Paul Kidd. I would love to see her arguing proper combat etiquette with the chain.
No. In the module, the sword’s name was Frangenwhamer, which Kidd thought was stupid. So he put in a placeholder until he thought up a better one, and the placeholder stuck.
It would be hilarious and awesome if future grown-up Moon Shadow becomes an expert driver/pilot who can figure out how to fly unusual vehicles quickly if not easily as a result of doing so much of it as a kid.
Yay! The Lester lot advances!
Chain, chain, chain (Chain, chain, chain) Chain Of Fools…
Ah, the Manacle of Nyrathos, your removed object that, seemingly, gave you magical powers. Yep, you’ll get your old life back from this, but this seems like it’ll be your magical life and not your mundane life. When what you actually want is your mundane life back.
Honestly, I suspect that it’s talking to you because it can’t bond with anyone else at the moment. With the possible exception of Nyrathos, but I would not be surprised if they’re actually just dead.
I think the reason it didn’t talk to him was because he “used [the manacle] to rob and steal”. It’s last line in the update implies it’s a good and noble magic item (or at least one that doesn’t like being used in the manner of petty crime) that has to obey its bearer’s wishes.
As much as most of us interpreted Lester wanting his old life back as wanting his *mundane* life back, going back to look up the name of his magic item (2016-08-2016*) brings us back to Lester’s frustrations with losing his powers: “Getting power is like seeing for the first time! There’s a whole world out there you never knew about, it’s the greatest thing you ever had, and you can’t remember what life was like without it!” (2016-04-22)
We figured Lester wanted his pre-super*villain* life back because of how responsible and caring he was towards Tyler and Ron. It now makes me wonder if Lester was being a good guy because he didn’t have powers and was under penalty for misusing them when he still had them. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t want them back.
* This doesn’t seem like the correct format, but that’s what my address bar says.
I’m suddenly remember Blackwing snarking at Vaarsuvius at the end of Don’t Split the Party. “No, I said I don’t like talking to YOU.”
Yeah.
Awesome of you to make the comparison, BTW.
> It’s last line in the update implies it’s a good and noble magic item (or at least one that doesn’t like being used in the manner of petty crime) that has to obey its bearer’s wishes.
Or at least was used to “proper” magic users with ambition and imagination.
I mean, look at all the flashy magic goofballs in 238, never mind in Nodwick (see that cameo). Compared to them, anyone whose aspirations end at petty thievery is doomed to look… well… like a talking cockroach. It’s not even a matter of ethics.
Or has a major ego and just thinks it can be used for something greater than petty crime
That’s inevitable. If before Lester it was a fashion accessory worn by someone like The Conjuror (at best) for a few decades (or centuries). :]
Huh. Weird. There were people who thought Lester wanted his pre-supervillian life? As per the 2016-4-22 strip, I thought it was super-clear that his supervil life (or at least powered life) was the only one that he considered a “real” life–but he hadn’t expected to get back the fetter itself, just SOME powered item (see him trying out the hammer; not a great fit).
But with him becoming more “worthy”…
Yeah, I got blinded by how responsible and reasonable he was acting towards Tyler and the other kids while chaperoning them. When you’ve got Sovereign and Ultima as “good guys”, it kinda sets a low bar in regards to evaluating the characters of the comic.
Those two are in no way the good guys in this story. I’m really hoping if/when Tylers true powers are revealed and they go to hail him as their son with open arms, he spits in their face. Literally or figuratively. I’m good either way.
@ skullthetroll: They’re super*heroes* (hence “good guys”), but awful people and parents. And that’s part of PS238’s deconstruction of the superhero genre.
As for Tyler… Despite all the pain his parents have caused him, I’ve a feeling that if they ever found out that he’s an amazing superhero even without powers, Tyler’s also going to rise above spitting in their face.
If Tyler’s smart (and he’s very bright for his age), if he ever gets superpowers he won’t tell his family. Since he is all but nonexistent to them without them it’s literally no loss.
Personally, I think Tyler developing powers would hurt the story. And his mentor seems to get along fine without any…
@Wanderer – I’m pretty sure he’s always had them, but part of them is keeping them unknown. He survives things that would kill Wil E Coyote and is always in the right place at the right time, and makes amazing moral decisions. I think fate has something bigger than a mere superhero life for Tyler.
@ SkulltheTroll: I don’t think that Tyler has, very specifically, Super Powers of any kind. That is to say, he is biologically unpowered human with nothing, be it natural, supernatural, technological, or otherwise, directly affecting him that impersonates or supplies him with anything that could be considered to be Super Powers of any kind. Kind of like how Batman doesn’t have superpowers, only significantly more potent only even more applicable (I know of about half a dozen things in Batman’s History that could be considered as something that should be considered giving him Super Powers, and I don’t read the comics and barely have every followed along from a distance).
That said, I do think that Tyler is a Living Fulcrum of Fate. This is VERY different from someone with Super Powers, more akin to how his having to make the decision of whether or not humanity gets to keep Super Powers. If Fate has a personification like how Death does, and how Murphy is the majority of the personification of Sleep & Dreams, then Tyler being a Fulcrum of Fate means he’s basically either their toy, or their best tool for directing humanity down the path they want. Another example of a Fulcrum of Fate would be the apple Isaac Newton saw fall from a tree that made him question why the apples fall directly downwards (despite the myth, it didn’t hit him on the head). The apple didn’t have any superpowers, either, it just fell at the right time to create a specific response in a specific person watching.
Basically, I’m agreeing that Tyler’s actions, and decisions, will affect the world as internal story time progresses far enough. We’ve already seen the start of his world-affecting actions, like how he directed the Infinite Vanguard from being an 84 Fanclub/FISS Emotional Support Group into becoming an independent Super Hero Team focused on being an effective superhero/super team over a marketable one. I’m just saying that doing so doesn’t make him a Super.
I think people were talking about what was likely to happen rather than what he wanted. Thats assuming specifics werent mentioned in the deal or there being some wiggle room in the wording and how its interpreted.
Right now im thinking he atleast has the option of going hero rather than villain again. The same life essentialy but a different side.
Messenger quoted from the comic of 2016-04-22 how exciting it was for Lester to be a super-villain, but it also got him into trouble. Maybe by now he’d actually choose not to have that at all… though he’s already taken up the hammer of Hephaestus today.
Tyler is very knowledgeable in this specific area.
Tyler is a very good student of the Revenant.
😁
‘Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.’ – Samuel Johnson
Based on Tyler’s experiences so far, he’s well aware that if he doesn’t pay attention, he won’t have a fortnight, or even a sennight.
“You never asked”. I bet he never said so much as “Hello, how was your day Manacle of Nyrathos?”.
But no, never one for conversation.
Interesting, he was promised the return to having powers once he fulfilled his end of things which he pretty much has. Seems like maybe he’ll end up becoming a hero after this in regaining those powers or as a requirement of regaining them.
However you slice it though he’s proving one of the most interesting and fleshed out characters of the comic even compared to ones like Tyler.
I’m picturing something more mundane: A buddy-comedy scene with the manacle showing up with him to his legally-required therapy meetings. Bonus points if it gets deputized and becomes one of his case-workers.
I like this idea and agree with it wholeheartedly!
I sure hope that this chapter finishes this year.
And he thought losing his powers was bad…
Whenever I hear about a talking Object of Power, I am reminded of a magical sword from the Fantasy Hero sourcebooks and its catch phrase:
“Hello, hands and feet.”
In a D&D game I once had an axe that called me Meat Puppet
I had a sword that refused to refer to me as anything other than “New Meat”. Perils of using something that’s been around a couple centuries.
In a D&D campaign I was in, one character had a sword with a higher Int. An introduction went, “Hi! I’m and this is my human, .” Pretty much let one know who was in charge….
Now I want to see a game where someone plays as the sword…
In the book, “Dreampark,” one of the characters plays “filksongs” during the game. We only hear ONE all the way through. It’s a parody of John Lennon’s “Norwegian Wood,” about someone picking up a +3 sword with an Ego of 12!
Still remember the ending:
🎵 “Now I use a club, isn’t it good, no ego wood” 🎵
Hmm. A “caped gadget freak” took the Manacle of Nyrathos off of Lester in his “Omnius” days. So how did it get here?
Said caped gadget freak traded it for something else, obviously.
Personally, my favorite intelligent weapon is Benelux, from the Justicar and Escalla novels by Paul Kidd. I would love to see her arguing proper combat etiquette with the chain.
Was she a personification of the low countries?
No. In the module, the sword’s name was Frangenwhamer, which Kidd thought was stupid. So he put in a placeholder until he thought up a better one, and the placeholder stuck.
Stairs to get up to the vehicle and the duel orbs for control, flight of the navigator? But earth grade tech.
It would be hilarious and awesome if future grown-up Moon Shadow becomes an expert driver/pilot who can figure out how to fly unusual vehicles quickly if not easily as a result of doing so much of it as a kid.
Well, at least the manacles aren’t acting like Carvin’ Marvin; initially described as “Don Rickles with a Migrane”. 🙂
If he used them to kidnap Batman’s sidekick would he be accused of using it to Robin steal?