In case it’s not clear, Grayhawk leapt into the pit and Leo followed him. That little shadow oval under Leo, it probably should have been overlapping the edge of that pit and maybe that would make it easier to read the image… Hopefully, you got it without my little explainer.
Still no correct guess on the other Easter Egg from last week. I think maybe it was too obscure a reference. It was obscure enough that a search of IMDB couldn’t find the quote. I’ll leave it unanswered for now in case a future reader, years from now, subscribes to my comic and while binging over a thousand pages of Kickman, says, “Hey! I get that reference!” And leaves a comment to get his five Kick Points.
Speaking of leaving Kick Points on the table, something that got glossed over a few weeks ago that no one commented on, so I’ll bring it up now: Why is Kickman resistant to Scorpio’s toxin blasts? Super strong legs should not impart any kind of immunity to poison, yet he is able to shrug off the paralysis. Is it just because he made his saving throw? No, actually there is a specific reason I had in mind for why Kickman is at least partially able to resist the toxin. So… 10 Kick Points to whoever can tell me what that reason is. And 5 points for the best incorrect guess.
Remember, the points totally matter.
In a couple days, Cheri and I will relocate from Livermore to El Cerrito, California. We have a one-month sit there taking care of a Shepherd in a house with an amazing view of the San Fran Bay area (this is our third time sitting for this family). However, for about 2 weeks of that time I need to fly back to Longbeach, Washington to pet-sit for my mom and her neighbors. Sigh. Away from the little lady again.
But lucky for all of y’all, I get a lot of drawing done when I’m off on my own. I’ll probably finish a few chapters of my fantasy novel while I’m at it. My loss is your gain.
Have a great week everyone! Feed the good wolf.
I guess he can’t kick himself up towards the slope, then kick again when he reaches the slope, but in the opposite direction, and so on? Hm, maybe the hole is too large indeed. (By the way, I assume Grayhawk is throwing his cable with his left hand in panel 5 and will use it to climb back up with Kickman?)
As for Kickman’s relative immunity to Scorpio’s poison, it might be because he’s a Scorpio himself, or slightly more likely because he’s a Taurus (its opposite). But I think the most likely answer is based on his mullet. I don’t know how yet, but I’ll mull over the notion and come back to you.
Good guesses on the Zodiac signs, but if you go back to Kickman’s origin chapter, it shows that he is an Aquarius. As for the mullet, I’m not sure about the toxin immunity from that. I’ll have to watch Joe Dirt for research…
A couple of things: 1) KM has got some serious upper body definition for someone whose superpower supposedly centers around lower body power. 2) His attacks always (or maybe just “usually”?) seem to take the form of the guy who kicks the ball to the other team after a touchdown. How about some Wham Bam Van Damm or at least Bruce Lee creativity?? 🙂 Do a strip with a fight sequence that is all just completely over-the-top movie karate…
And he’s resistant to Scorpio toxin because being a feet-focused super, he also generates some super powered foot odor that he has had to learn to deal with over the years, building up general resistance to toxic fumes.
1) I know, right?? He doesn’t even lift! Sometime in the past I mentioned that while he’s got like Colossus-level legs, the rest of his body is about Captain America level strength just as a side effect. So he can take some hits and also not kick his own leg off.
2) His kicking expertise predominantly comes from being a soccer striker and a place kicker in football (American). So, yeah, most of his kicks look like that. He does change it up occasionally, but if it broke the bad guy, don’t fix it.
3) Good guess, but no.
Kickman’s full of mutagens and venom from the origin story, right? Could that be a factor? Or does the same thing that let him survive being bitten by radioactive soccer beetles apply here….
Ding ding ding! That is CORRECT! Part of Kickman’s eclectic and convoluted origin of his power stack comes from being bitten by a crate full of incredibly rare, venomous, radioactive soccer beetles. So the radioactive soccer beetle venom in his blood helps to mitigate some of the damage from Scorpio’s toxin blast. 10 points to Archives for guessing correctly. I’ll hold out for a few days to see if anyone else has a good incorrect guess.
Woohoo!
“The only way to win, is not to play” Wargames, Matthew Broderick movie from the early eighties, the actual quote was from the computer system “WOPR”, and references nuclear war.
While that is correct, we already have a correct guess on the War Games reference from jd. last week.
Oh, almost forgot! 5 Kick Points to Vadan for his spoiler comment from last week, guessing that Kickman would get stuck in the hole after using Maneuver 9.
Hm. Since incorrect guesses are still on the table, how about: Kickman has Super Fitness all over but it’s the kicking that is the primary power. So, he is getting poisoned but is so naturally healthy that he barely notices.
I’d say the reason that he’s not too bothered by the toxin blasts is that they just don’t have enough kick to them.