PaRARGdox 72
Fate of the Force: This page picks up where we left off with Go!Anna, Tros and Dane… last seen on page 7.59. It might have been 13 pages ago for us but probably less than a minute for them.
So, to briefly recap, after Force Magellan HQ has hit by a huge slab of concrete from an exploding nearby tower, and having found Ranger Bill, moments before he goes to the “Great Smurfland in the Sky”, it seems they have now uncovered the bodies of other Force Magellan members – Punchin’ Judy, Epoch and The Hierophant. Oh no!
The last panel might answer why we see Go! using her comms to talk to Magellan USA during the opening scenes… 😉
Patreon: By the way, should it be a thing that interests you, my Magellan patrons over at Patreon have been getting full previews three updates ahead of schedule. And you can too for as little as $1 a month… 😎
Next update: Wednesday October 14: Speaking of Magellan USA…
Well, we now have the question of how she was contacting Magellan USA in the beginning answered.
I’m really hoping for some time travel shenanigans to fix this. Too many characters I like that are getting killed. Now, I know Grace isn’t afraid to kill off characters if the story calls for it, but this is a massive upheaval. And I don’t want the solution to be having characters resurrected by Olaf, not after last page.
Granted, it has to be something a bit time travel-like, considering the black hole and all that.
This reminds me very much of the Gargoyles episode where everything gets upheaved with the plot completely changed as it reveals the two main characters have been gone for decades rather than weeks and everything went to pot in their absence, characters get killed off left and right, and pretty much everything is never gonna be the same again, which pissed off and upset nearly every fan who watched it in real time……and then it’s all revealed to have been a dream with some prophecy thrown in created by the mischievous fae Puck. Not saying that’s what’s gonna happen here, just saying a massive reset button is likely gonna be pushed at the end of this plot. …….Or Grace really wanted to shock us all by killing off everyone and starting the universe anew.
No! not Epoch! he was my favorite FM character! At least Go!Anna survived. She’s my favorite character ever! She’s so resourceful and a natural leader.
I can just imagine if she decided next page would show Vostok somehow was caught in the blast and died. If there isn’t a reset button if something like that happens, fans might riot.
His robotic ‘walker’ will have been disabled for sure, meaning he wouldn’t be able to dodge any debris or anything. If he didn’t get killed, maybe there’s a possibility his potent telepathic abilities might still function. Since we didn’t catch any glimpse of him on pp 8-9, I’m afraid the outlook for him is bleak.
You realize that you just *guaranteed* her death, right?
but not with honours? I’m confused.
… and the moon base?
One “healed” ranger bill, minus the old mindset, with a possible creepy murder-ish one. Fresh from olaf’s.
We’ve generally gone far past the minute limit of Ambrosia’s abilities to Retcon things.
The repair work to this timeline is going to be extensive. Bill, Judy, Spence, Epoch, Freya, Justine, … pretty sure Heirophant went early. And we have no idea if this scene is being repeated anywhere else in the world.
Either we’re talking about a massive shakeup in the entire heroic community, there’s going to be a massive reset button, or.. or I have no idea.
As much as I’d like to see a “Reset” for the benefit of so many untapped characters with rich stories to tell, it’s also a really, really, REALLY tired trope in popular superhero comics.
Somehow meeting halfway, or otherwise playing this either straight or lampshading it in a creative way are what I think would be the ideal paths to take. I trust Grace will have the storytelling chops to pull it off! But ultimately, if she just wants to pen a tribute to marvel/dc “crisis” story arcs, then I shan’t begrudge that of her. Magellan is her baby (well, teenager now, right?), and I’m sure I will keep reading no matter how this story ends (I mean, so long as there’s still something TO read, assuming the gruesome end we saw at the beginning is avoidable).
@Vile:
That is exactly what I was referring to when I said “massive shakeup”. I can easily see this becoming the cadet’s story in full, though doing so by wiping out hordes of existing characters makes their story built with the taste of ashes, it can still be quite the impressive story to tell.
The major problem being, a lot of those cadets have already been eliminated right along with their former mentors. We’ve lost Nadine, and Fatima for certain. I’m sure lots more. Neither of them really ever finished their stories. We don’t know where Billy or Joe, or Maya, or anyone else went. There were a *lot* of cadets just behind Olga and Rochelle before the big blast went off. Even the ones standing aren’t necessarily in spectacular shape.
The issue with massive changes is, it can easily alienate old readers and turn off new ones. Sweeping changes are just too hard to repair without aforementioned tropes.
I’m in this for the long haul, come what may, but it’s looking more and more like this is a permanent downward spiral.
That is The Hierophant’s remains that Tros is kneeling next to in the first panel 😢
I see where this is going. With so many adult supers killed…. Students will have to take the reigns in the real world early. Not just in this story, but past it. We’ll get to see them all in action without waiting another four years.
Think about it, gang. For 16 years, Grace has told stories of cadets. She has reached the limit of new stories that can be told within the existing framework. The last couple arcs have both shown that the only way to start an adventure as things stand, is with a field trip. And seeing as how another four years of schooling would take another couple decades to tell, Grace is breaking free of those chains. As much as I will miss all the adult supers being killed…. I’ve got mad respect for you right now, Grace. Emphasis on “mad”, lol… but “respect”, too. I for one, as someone who’s read this story for 10 years, look forward to a new era for Magellan.
*takes off sunglasses*
Shit just got real
I’m scared. Not from reading the page, but from reading the comments.
A couple of deaths that have already happened I’m unlikely to either forget or forgive, and might make it hard for me to continue reading in the long run. I dwell too much on what could have been. So far, I think Graceful storytelling will keep me reading, and keep my sorrow and what-ifs at a manageable level. I never doubted that I’d continue to enjoy the Magellanverse stories… until right now.
Now I see many potential ways this could play out where my enjoyment of any future stories would be too badly hurt. 🙁 I don’t expect those too happen… but Grace has a long history of surprising me with her stories. I really really really REAAALLLYyyy … *calming/comforting myself slowly* … hope that if this story surprises me, it does so in a way that helps me keep reading and enjoying, rather than the opposite.
I’m actually scared. Well, that was a surprise in itself.
On the other hand, I don’t seem to have too much of a problem dwelling over real-life deaths. And I often find that how I relate to really well-written characters is very close to how I relate to real-life people, friends and family. Then again, almost all real-life deaths I’ve had to deal with so far have not been too unexpected… the one that was really unexpected was someone I barely knew and that one indeed had an unpleasant and long-lasting impact on me. Hopefully my brain just doesn’t count deaths of Magellanverse characters as unexpected at all. Really, it should know not to, at this point.
🙂
🙁
?
It’s kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario to tackle a story like this one.
Because if there’s a massive reset, something is still lost: All the character development and growth which takes place during the crisis. I’ve reread the whole chapter-to-date about three or four times already over the past couple of months, and it leaves me wondering what Grace may have up her sleeves.
In any event; Grace! This one’s to you:
Keep it up! You’ve masterfully created a world which is populated with characters that are deeply engrossing and have formed beautiful bonds with your fans. You are talented and capable, and even while we fans might be afraid of you writing yourself in to a corner at this point, this story is still yours. Some of us may belly-ache or get terrified, but as far as I’m concerned: Magellan is a work of art. Your art.
Thank you for sharing it with us for all these years.
Nooooo pressure…. 😉 😀
🙊🤐
Coz – Who needs that?
Keep ’em flying!
I second that second paragraph.
It is definitely special, yes even beautiful, how deeply I’ve ended up caring about these fictional characters and their world. How deeply I care about your art – which is, by that very observation, extremely well done. I do hope and think this continues.
I second that paragraph too. It says something about your writing, Grace, that we love your characters enough to be sad at what is happening now. And BTW… you’re not writing yourself into a corner… if you are going where I think you are, then you are writing yourself out of a corner!
What she said….
Gotta agree. While we’re losing a lot of good and talented people here, this is a crisis that will force many of our main characters to step into positions of leadership themselves. We’ve already seen Rochelle doing so. Charisma is facing her own mortality, as well as the death of her father – this may mature her a bit. And Kaycee – well, her skills have always met the test before this.
Magellan has always been about the rising new generation of heroes – this may be the moment where they lose Dumbledore, and have to forge ahead on their own.
Whatever happens, DO NOT LET OLAF ANYWHERE NEAR THE MORGUE!
“There is consensus. Force Magellan will rise again.”
What’s the worse that could happen?
*cackles madly*
It’s probably called ‘paRARGdox’ for a reason. Lack of a reset would be the real shocker.
Okay, there’s going to have to be a reset somewhere. I can’t imagine Grace killing off this many characters.