Whoa.
Lots to process here.
First off, since the cafeteria background is gone, I'm going to go with the general consensus that ten foot tall ON FIRE with stars in her hands Monica is something only Cricket is seeing, especially since we know Monica can pull people's souls into her realm.
I'd be willing to bet that all Atsali and Da Bear twins are seeing is Monica staring at Callista with an intense expression.
It also answers a few things. Monica knew about this before hand, if not all the details. She sort of knew what she was getting into.
Cricket, on the other hand, took the "Under the guidance of the Jaguar Girl" as the easy "stay out of jail" option, the way some addicts will take the rehab option to avoid jail time, thinking it will be the easier of the two. She apparently thought Monica would be a pushover, or that the threat of the Jaguar Girl was a lame attempt at scaring her straight. Given Monica's personal history that not even her closest friends know about, she's not likely to go easy on Callista. Before this is over, Cricket may wish she had gone with the "locked in Tartarus" option.
Also, it gives us an idea of how the rest of the supernatural community views Monica's true power. Berdine warned Atsali to steer clear of Callista because they're "like, only slightly less dangerous than elementals".
Shelly, as a half Titan Sphinx, refused to get to between Connie and Bia when Monica suggested Shelly do something about the beat down the Companion was giving the Titan of Force. Bud has called Conscience an elemental and the Sphinxes in the Time Forrest were terrified of her. The reason given was that she was something they had never seen before, but it was also likely that she could wipe the floor with any of them, and they likely knew it. Shelly's ideas about her stay there were informed by Phix, who neglected to tell her that she was Shelly's grandmother and that Shelly was part Titan and was effectively immortal, so it's not outside the possibility that Phix didn't tell her the Appos were terrified of Connie, not because they didn't know what she was, but because they knew Connie would kill them if they tried to hurt Shelly.
And Monica has effectively been given the task of riding herd on a critter only slightly less powerful than that. So, given the fact that everyone around her has been telling her that she's at the Apex, even before her full transformation, that puts Monica squarely at the top of the heap somewhere above even the Sphinxes and Titans. Phix is able to scold her and treat her as pupil for the same reason a 300 lb linebacker does what his 5'4" 120 lb mother tells him to. She's effectively a surrogate mother. That, and the fact that Phix is invulnerable to anyone but other Sphinxes in her place of power. Monica's denial of her true position in the supernatural power structure up till now likely is equal parts lack of exposure to anyone significantly less powerful than herself, and
Dunning-Kruger effect.
As a side note, Monica's lack of exposure to anyone but the top supernaturals and her own recent elevation to power are the reason she doesn't have a problem with beings further down the power scale, and doesn't see anything wrong in including a couple of vampires, the supernatural world's "shitty mosquitoes", on a beach junket. Her newcomer's perspective is also what finally made Phix see that everyone has a place, regardless of their personal power.
And again, given her personal history, Monica is not going to view Cricket kindly. And I think the only reason Cricket was even given the option was because she used Gossamer duplicates. If she had actually compelled them to fulfill her revenge fantasy, either she'd be bound in Tartarus, or the Jaguar Girl would have dispensed Justice in the only way supernatural creatures with that kind of power understand. The only reason she's still alive and/or at large is because she didn't actually go through with it for real, meaning that there is someone worth saving there. She's going to have a tough time proving that to Monica, though.
Heart of a lion, mind of a sociopath, and all that.
AnotherFairportfan wrote:TheCollector wrote:Ok, is the color here a special thing for this one comic, or is the comic going color? I figure I'd ask so I don't get my hopes up for something that may not be happening.
Paul has a tendency to use colour to make a particularly spectacular point.
Yup, Paul goes to color to make an emotional impact and when something huge is going on in the comic.
This is obviously one of those times.
Sorry for rambling, but a lot of things came together in my head with the last couple of comics, and I wanted to share.
Artistic changes and physical "growth" over time aside, the Monica we first fell in love with isn't quite the same beastie as she is today. 