Wapsi Square Forum

MerchManDan wrote:"Thread your arms into these convenient restraints while I shove my face into your chest!! THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!!!"

Thank you for not TVtroping that...

sheik wrote:It's either a lake or a very calm sea with what looks like some land in the distance.

Or the glassy melted surface of where Bud had previously vented her wrath after the first Mapimi explosion.

If that's the case, then it pins down our anti-matter bomb to the sub-kiloton range and very close to the surface, and underground is where the girls need to stay, not leave.

hmm, it should been more like this, but bigger....
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/kerplunk-kerplooie/

Could be that the door has to be closed because the room nearly instantly fills with a shock absorbing fluid, foam, or gel that will protect the occupants from a massive explosion. That large button sort of looks like a kind of plunger activation button, opening some storage tank. A sort of simple fail safe mechanism as opposed to relying on a complex transport mechanism which may or may not work after thousands of years. We don't really know how long it was between the pushing of the button and the explosion. May have been a number of seconds. The room could also be like Bud's body chamber. Anyone in there is pretty much safe from harm as was demonstrated before. Also, it could be Stasie is still in one piece as well, protected by the stasis tube. Hopefully some answers coming tomorrow.

jwhouk wrote:

MerchManDan wrote:"Thread your arms into these convenient restraints while I shove my face into your chest!! THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!!!"

Thank you for not TVtroping that...

Anyone know if there is a trope for people with incredibly useful superpowers who completely forget to use their incredibly useful superpowers at really important times?

Thor wrote:

jwhouk wrote:

MerchManDan wrote:"Thread your arms into these convenient restraints while I shove my face into your chest!! THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!!!"

Thank you for not TVtroping that...

Anyone know if there is a trope for people with incredibly useful superpowers who completely forget to use their incredibly useful superpowers at really important times?

Oh for pete's sake... HERE. Happy? HAPPY?

Thor wrote:

jwhouk wrote:

MerchManDan wrote:"Thread your arms into these convenient restraints while I shove my face into your chest!! THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!!!"

Thank you for not TVtroping that...

Anyone know if there is a trope for people with incredibly useful superpowers who completely forget to use their incredibly useful superpowers at really important times?

Superman- the old TV series. Bad guy shoots at Superman- he stands there looking studly while bullets bounce off his chest. Bad guy's gun goes empty, bad guy THROWS GUN at Superman and Superman DUCKS!!! (OK, the timing wasn't critical, but I still think it's funny)...

Sgt. Howard wrote:Superman- the old TV series. Bad guy shoots at Superman- he stands there looking studly while bullets bounce off his chest. Bad guy's gun goes empty, bad guy THROWS GUN at Superman and Superman DUCKS!!! (OK, the timing wasn't critical, but I still think it's funny)...

That one has a logical explanation... bouncing bullets were photo lab SFX, but the prop gun was real and on the set. (Yeah, it's still funny.)

jwhouk wrote:

Thor wrote:

jwhouk wrote:
Thank you for not TVtroping that...

Anyone know if there is a trope for people with incredibly useful superpowers who completely forget to use their incredibly useful superpowers at really important times?

Oh for pete's sake... HERE. Happy? HAPPY?

I find it hard to believe that they have NO webcomic entries for that category . . . especially considering that most webcomics are one-person operations and have no one to act as editor or fact-checker.

Sgt. Howard wrote:

Thor wrote:Anyone know if there is a trope for people with incredibly useful superpowers who completely forget to use their incredibly useful superpowers at really important times?

Superman- the old TV series. Bad guy shoots at Superman- he stands there looking studly while bullets bounce off his chest. Bad guy's gun goes empty, bad guy THROWS GUN at Superman and Superman DUCKS!!! (OK, the timing wasn't critical, but I still think it's funny)...

In the comics, there's any number of examples of Superman riding in a vehicle wearing a seat belt.

Thor wrote:

Sgt. Howard wrote:

Thor wrote:Anyone know if there is a trope for people with incredibly useful superpowers who completely forget to use their incredibly useful superpowers at really important times?

Superman- the old TV series. Bad guy shoots at Superman- he stands there looking studly while bullets bounce off his chest. Bad guy's gun goes empty, bad guy THROWS GUN at Superman and Superman DUCKS!!! (OK, the timing wasn't critical, but I still think it's funny)...

In the comics, there's any number of examples of Superman riding in a vehicle wearing a seat belt.

Thinking about that, it's not as silly as it seems - Superman would be like a brick on the back shelf of a car or sitting loose on the seat of an air plane.

Under normal operations it's not a cause for concern. However, if the car has to emergency brake or runs into something the brick will cause damage to occupants/interior of the car. Ditto If the plane has to do some extreme manoeuvring.

In other words, Superman uses the the seatbelt not there to protect himself, but to protect other people/thing/the vehicle from him

And that just if Superman is a passenger.

If he is the driver/pilot, a seatbelt would help keep him in the driver's/pilot's seat in the event of extreme manoeuvring

Grantwhy wrote:

Thor wrote: In the comics, there's any number of examples of Superman riding in a vehicle wearing a seat belt.

Thinking about that, it's not as silly as it seems - Superman would be like a brick on the back shelf of a car or sitting loose on the seat of an air plane.

Under normal operations it's not a cause for concern. However, if the car has to emergency brake or runs into something the brick will cause damage to occupants/interior of the car. Ditto If the plane has to do some extreme manoeuvring.

In other words, Superman uses the the seatbelt not there to protect himself, but to protect other people/thing/the vehicle from him

And that just if Superman is a passenger.

If he is the driver/pilot, a seatbelt would help keep him in the driver's/pilot's seat in the event of extreme manoeuvring

Superman has superhuman reflexes and can fly. If the vehicle comes to a sudden stop, he can remain in place without lifting a finger. He's faster than a speeding bullet, after all. And if he's driving/piloting, he doesn't even need to start the engine. He just holds onto the wheel and provides the motive power for the vehicle. And Superman is also not subject to the laws of physics in the slightest. If you have a counter-argument, please make sure it can address all the issues raised by this Superman feat.

The most likely reason Superman is shown strapped in is that it is politically correct to show him doing so. See kids? Even Superman buckles up, and you should too.

And what it shows him doing in that picture should not be possible. For one thing he get's his super power from our yellow sun, so how is he able to do things in deep space? He could not possibly pull those planets fast enough to move them across the universe without killing everyone on them. Even if he could, at light speed it would still take billions of years.

KnightDelight wrote:The most likely reason Superman is shown strapped in is that it is politically correct to show him doing so. See kids? Even Superman buckles up, and you should too.

And what it shows him doing in that picture should not be possible. For one thing he get's his super power from our yellow sun, so how is he able to do things in deep space? He could not possibly pull those planets fast enough to move them across the universe without killing everyone on them. Even if he could, at light speed it would still take billions of years.

The Superman comics before the Crisis on Infinite Earths story event had become too impossible like in this story. Not only could he travel through time on his own power, but he could go faster than light without any relativistic effects. The Superman that was created to replace this was vastly de-powered to the point that he needed an oxygen supply in space and under water. The event was also used to reboot the entire DC universe with occasional variation in 'one of comics' like Superman: Red Son that were not considered to be part of any DC comic continuum at that time.

Thor wrote:

Sgt. Howard wrote:

Thor wrote:Anyone know if there is a trope for people with incredibly useful superpowers who completely forget to use their incredibly useful superpowers at really important times?

Superman- the old TV series. Bad guy shoots at Superman- he stands there looking studly while bullets bounce off his chest. Bad guy's gun goes empty, bad guy THROWS GUN at Superman and Superman DUCKS!!! (OK, the timing wasn't critical, but I still think it's funny)...

In the comics, there's any number of examples of Superman riding in a vehicle wearing a seat belt.

It's required by law, and the Big Blue Boy Scout (as opposed to the Big Red Cheese) would never break the law.

AnotherFairportfan wrote:

Thor wrote:In the comics, there's any number of examples of Superman riding in a vehicle wearing a seat belt.

It's required by law, and the Big Blue Boy Scout (as opposed to the Big Red Cheese) would never break the law.

Here is the example I was thinking of. Here Superman is in a private aircraft over international waters. There is not really any law for him to be breaking by leaving the seatbelt off.

Thor wrote:Here[/url] is the example I was thinking of. Here Superman is in a private aircraft over international waters. There is not really any law for him to be breaking by leaving the seatbelt off.

This one might just be written off to "politeness". Supes is invulnerable, the other three are not... he might just not want to be constantly "rubbing it in" that he's in a class pretty much by himself in that respect.

Also, remember that he spends more time than not in his Casper Milquetoast (pardon, Clark Kent) identity. It's probably good practice for him to keep up simple "I'm just a normal human" behaviors as much as practical, even when he's in his superSpandex... if he's always in the habit of buckling his seatbelt, then there's less chance that Clark Kent will draw attention to himself by occasionally failing to do so.

Thor wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:

Thor wrote:In the comics, there's any number of examples of Superman riding in a vehicle wearing a seat belt.

It's required by law, and the Big Blue Boy Scout (as opposed to the Big Red Cheese) would never break the law.

Here is the example I was thinking of. Here Superman is in a private aircraft over international waters. There is not really any law for him to be breaking by leaving the seatbelt off.

What they're not telling you is that the aircraft is overloaded, and Superman is surreptitiously helping it stay in the air by strapping in and then flying to lift it up...

AnotherFairportfan wrote:What they're not telling you is that the aircraft is overloaded, and Superman is surreptitiously helping it stay in the air by strapping in and then flying to lift it up...

Using power from our yellow sun, instead of fossil fuels – saving the planet, that's Supe's game!

Seeing as how Superman is a role model to lots of kids both in the comic universe and in real life, I'd imagine that Superman / Superman's illustrators would make a habit of him intentionally making a display of taking such everyday safety precautions, even when not apparently necessary for him. "See, even Superman buckles up! You should, too, kids!" That sort of considered public safety propaganda would fit with his personality, from what I know of it.

Plus, as others have noted, it would be best to make it a habit so that he doesn't forget when he's not being Superman and thus spoil his secret identity.