SFP

Danygalw

I’m still not quite sure what she figured out, but it sounds exciting!

Crysta Swarts

Paladin’s little egg robot gives me the heebie jeebies. Don’t you dare access my contact information! Wait, how do you have my contact information? AAAHHHH!

Devlerbat

Yea I found that invasion of privacy a little terrifying, but I am willing to ignore it for now (as in, I hope we can address it later) in order to focus more on Alison’s awesome idea.
Dean

Paladin should market her flying egg robots as flying smartphones. She’d make a(nother) fortune!
Korataki

There’s a possibility that Paladin could be aware of Al’s former contact with Patrick, from this.
MrSokar

I’m glad its not being glossed over that Lisa seems to have access to anyone’s personal info at any moment. I wonder if Templar has taken and implemented this tech already.
Francisco

I have to agree with you. I didn’t realise that you had already commented on the invasion of privacy until I worked out the correct search keys to use.

Brainsturm

Well huh. She seems to be having a brainwave. I can see that this is something that the comic has been leading up to for a while now, but I’m still not quite certain what it is Alison has come up with.

RobotAccomplice

Do we know who that is yet?

Devlerbat

Considering all the people asking this question and not getting answers, I’m guessing no.

Amati

so… who is Sierra Steel again?

masterofbones

Huh. Not bad Allison. I can actually see this going in a positive direction for once.

Phil

Do we Future Foundation now? Please tell me we’re Future Foundationing.

math_geek

Oh man, I struggle with the characters. Who the heck is Sierra Steel?

Carl Stevenson

Any of us going to comment on how Lisa’s robot is immediately able to retrieve Alison’s contacts… Those are powerful AIs then. Maybe not strong AI but powerful nonetheless.

ApostateltsopA

One nation, under Alison. Indivisable….

wright1

Hoho, she finally sees a way forward. Remains to be seen how many others she can get to help, and how far she’ll get, but still: she’s moving. And the universe may have just trembled, a little.

Hex

that alt text killed me. new reader and really enjoying this comic a lot! thanks for writing it 😀

Shino

Tbh I wonder what Allison is thinking about. Superhuman grassroots movement?

MisterTeatime

I’m really excited to see this chapter coming together as a single story with one consistent theme. The outline for this story that I had in my head (“Alison investigates the Invisible Killer; other things happen along the way”) was a perfectly valid concept… but I like this one a lot better, especially since it provides a reason for all those other events to get so much coverage within the same issue. Even Dr. Rosenblum’s discussion seems to have contributed.*
The reference to traditional superheroing as “another stupid story,” tying it back to what Lisa said about mythology perpetuating counterproductive values, is particularly fantastic- a great distillation of so many objections. (In hindsight, I’m amazed Molly & Brennan got through Lisa’s explanation of that viewpoint without using the word “problematic”…)

*Now I just wish I knew what they all contributed to.** But that’s par for the course. 😛

**Actually a lie. I also wish I knew whether “Sierra Steel” is a company, or an individual with a really cool name.

Joshthulhu

Superhero temp collective?

Shjade

“What exactly is happening right now?”

Right there with you, Paladin. But looking forward to seeing where it leads! 😀

Cherabee

Yes, do the thing with volunteers and public voices and media, give this the attention it deserves.

RaeRae

Can we get a character tree? I keep forgetting who people are.

GaryFarber

Wait, in what version of the legend where does Icarus ever “punch the sun” or do or try to do anything resembling that?

In all the versions of the legend I’m familiar with (which is not exhaustive, and so I’m asking), Icarus’ story is of hubris, of defying his father’s warning not to engage in hubris and fly too close to the sun; Icarus disregards this and his wings melt and he falls into the sea.

There’s no punching anything anywhere by anyone. It is a punch-free story. Does Alison’s world have different Greek mythology than ours?

[scratches head with puzzlement, as this is simply not what happens in the story; at all; not even close]

Jessica

i think she might just be making a reference to herself, what with how her main method of problem solving used to be punching.
Guest

I think it’s a metaphorical sun-punch, and the use of the word “punch” as a literary device furthers the allusion to superheroics. 🙂 Icarus didn’t punch the sun, but you could say “punch the sun” in an off-handed way to indicate a fast, heedless ascent towards a lofty goal.
Loranna

I think, in her exhaustion and excitement over her epiphany, Alison is mis-remembering how the story of Icarus goes – or, perhaps, it’s a Fruedian slip expressing her feelings about her old modus operandi as Mega Girl: punch problems until they stop moving.

. . . Which, in my opinion, ignores the (possibly small, but hopefully, still noticeable) impact she had as Mega Girl as an inspiration to other young women in confronting their problems head-on. Sometimes, being bold and direct is perfectly viable, even the best option. But then, it seems like Alison is still trying to win at the “Fix The Whole World” game, and isn’t satisfied with smaller – and more personal – victories.

Loranna
Aroel

It’s a reference to Excelsior Innovations’ logo, as shown on issue 5 page 55: http://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-5/page-55/
as well as Lisa’s fondness for retelling myths, as she explains on page 62: http://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-5/page-62/
she explains the logo on page 73:
http://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-5/page-62/
- rpenner
  
  Fixed link to page 73 of issue 5:
  
  http://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-5/page-73-2/
Santiago Tórtora

It’s hyperbole. Icarus was already stupid because he was flying too close to the Sun. Trying to punch the Sun is even more stupid than that, and Alison believes that’s how stupid she was being.
Dean

Alison is referring to Paladin’s sun-punching logo.
Danygalw

Paladin has made her own mythology, which involves sun-punching. “Hubris is something you’re punished for” etc.
Insatiable Booksluts

There are a few ways one could interpret this:

Alison, in her sudden rush of adrenaline, got the story wrong while she was trying to get everything that she was thinking out of her head.

Alison, in her sudden rush of adrenaline, used more dramatic, superhero-y terms to make a point.

Alison doesn’t KNOW the actual story in detail.

There can be valid story choices for putting in purposely wrong information. ^_^
Peter G

I believe that she is referring to the classic Icarus you are familiar with. She’s stretching the story to one where Icarus attempts to fly up to the sun and punch it into submission because of some perceived problem with the sun (for instance, he might want the sun to stay up later or shine in his window.) Given modern cosmology, we know that Icarus’s desire to punch the sun is a fool’s errand; it will never succeed because it is a fundamentally wrong approach to the problem. By analogy, Alison is saying that wearing a cape and stopping supervillians is never going to make the world a better place because it is a fundamentally wrong approach.

nschrand

Maybe Al is thinking in terms of the moral sum, not just of what Feral is contributing to society? It’s a large contribution, but the cost is horrible, perpetual agony (and for someone Al cares about personally, which is surely part of her math, even if she doesn’t recognize it as such). It really depends on how one calculates, I suppose.

Now that I think about it, as an ethics tale, Feral is very much a step away from “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”.

Ian Osmond

I have no clue what’s going on. But I am generally pleased that SOMETHING appears to be going on — Allison’s been spinning her wheels for long enough that it’s good that she’s now apparently moving in SOME direction.

… maybe? Maybe good?

Spicier Angel

She has an advantage though–she’s Mega-Girl, in most peoples’ minds. People took her seriously when she was wearing spandex and punching robots/mountains/particularly unlucky people. Even now, they make up reasons why what she’s doing is OK. She can afford to learn from her own mistakes after charging ahead with a crazy/impractical idea, then sit down, calm down, and do something more sensible.

But what fun will be had in the learning? *rubs hands with anticipation*

Potatamoto

I’m quite interested in seeing what she’s planning on putting together…also kind of thinking that whatever was killing the supers that had the ability to change the world single-handedly is going to start taking notice when a bunch of them start making a realistic attempt at doing it as a group.

Also, I have to say that Alison has probably never looked more adorable than she does in panel 2.

Kid Chaos

The Shadow knows!

Rumble in the Tumble

Or, she just got an idea.

I mean, give a gal a break sometime :v

Jerden

Genius, Madness? Probably a bit of both!

Jerden

The only comfort is that at least you don’t have to wait a month or a year for the next issue!

RobNiner

how dare u

dpolicar

http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2305

Markus

Get me a Garfield anthology; the bones of President Garfield; a signed Richard Garfield; P.H.D. card; and meet me in Ivato International AirFIELD, madagasGAR.

Silverwizard

NOPE Not how that works. Also not how mania works.

motorfirebox

Pff, Paladin acting like she doesn’t know what’s going on. She’s an inventor, she knows exactly what’s going on: Alison just had an IDEA.

Francisco

Am I the only one who is freaked out by how much access Paladin has to everyone’s personal data?

Oren Leifer

I actually started playing that just after I read this page.