Ren'Py The Null Hypothesis [v0.5b] [Ron Chon]

[Evil13]

Earth 69 is the nice dimension

 

[Buttholder]

What do you mean? Was Thor different back in the day?

For a long time, Thor's powers have really just been super-strength/endurance/durability and the ability to wield Mjolnir. He couldn't even fly, he'd just toss the hammer and let it carry him where he needed to go. Other than that, his powers have fluctuated wildly over the years: sometimes he can summon lightning, other times he can't, sometimes the hammer can shoot lightning, other times it can't, his durability will let him tank space battleship cannons to the face, he'll have a hard time standing up to Ultron, it's all over the place. Probably another reason why people don't consider him as much of a Superman analog, Supes has always had a pretty constant skillset, though the limits of those powers are all over the place.

Doesn't this describe like every instance of the writing going south? There are very few instances of "bad writing" that don't come off as the writer simply being mean spirited rather than a lack of skill.

It varies. Most of the time it's just a writer having a good idea that doesn't pan out, not being able to stick the landing, the artist not being suited to the idea or, more often these days, plans being changed because of a crossover, event or editorial dictate. I can really only think of a few writers I'd consider 'bad' by any metric, most writers either aren't to my tastes or they just do nothing for me. Former DC editor-in-chief, Dan DiDio famously hated scads of characters and wanted them killed off, turned into villains or just plain written out of existence. He's one of the writers I'd say is just plain bad, but he was also infamously mean-spirited towards the characters he didn't like.

Spill the tea.

I don't actually read Superman, so what I know about his run is mostly second-hand, but people went in expecting huge, epic stories with stuff happening in his first issue that would receive a payoff years down the line, the kind of long-form storytelling he excels at and is loved for. That wasn't quite what happened. There's a lot of small nitpicks, but there's also a couple of big things that really rubbed fans the wrong way. First off, he tried to split up Lois and Clark. You don't have to be a fan of the characters to know that's a huge no-no. They got back together, but that killed off a lot of goodwill he may have had with fans. The other thing is Jon Kent, Superman's 10 year-old son. He's best-friends with Damien, Batman's son and since they were both about the same age, they had frequent adventures together. These were genuinely fun and heartwarming stories - Damien's an edgy try-hard pre-teen who takes after his father, Jon's an over-excited puppy with superpowers who takes after his dad, the comedy just writes itself. This stuff was almost universally beloved and people were begging DC for an ongoing series featuring the kids. First thing Bendis does when he takes over? Ship Jon off to an alternate dimension where time goes faster and ages him up to be about 18. No one liked that and thought it was a waste of a character. And then there's Bendis' 'quirks' of writing dialogue - google 'Bendis speak' for many, many, many such examples. You either love it or you hate it and a lot of people really don't like it at all. It's like Quentin Tarantino's dialogue and monologues, love it or hate it, it's a fundamental core of his style and a big chunk of his appeal.

 

[Crichton]

Somehow seeing it called "Bendis speak" made me suddenly hate it. I think it's cause my brain will now automatically link good examples to the most annoying examples. Does that make any sense, the way I explained it?

 

[rb813]

Probably another reason why people don't consider him as much of a Superman analog, Supes has always had a pretty constant skillset, though the limits of those powers are all over the place.

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, unless by "always," you mean Post-Crisis. In the very earliest stories, he only had super-strength and invulnerability, super-speed, and what comic fans would now call "Hulk-jumps" (able to leap tall buildings in a single bound). X-ray vision, super-hearing and super-breath followed within a year, but it wasn't like there was a single point when they delved into all of his expanded skillset. Each of those abilities were introduced in separate stories where inexplicably having those powers moved the story forward. Flight came into the comics a couple years after that (after he first flew in a series of theatrically released cartoon shorts), so you could almost say that was when he became locked in to his traditional power set. But that was also when he started getting a bunch of wacky and now-discarded powers like super-ventriloquism, hypnosis, and the ability to instantly understand a language he's never heard before (and based on my vague memory of comics I read as a child, those weren't only used in one story, either). The page I linked to doesn't even cover when "super breath" (just being able to essentially blow a gust of strong wind from his lungs) turned into freezing breath, so let's not assume it's an exhaustive list. Superman's skill set was all over the place for pretty much the first thirty years of his existence. Basically writers just gave him the ability to do whatever was convenient for the story in the moment, with no regard for consistency or coherence.

 

[ShinyBoots1993]

Earth 69 is the twink dimension

Earth 69 is the perfect dimension.

Earth 69 is the nice dimension

These are all accurate statements.

First thing Bendis does when he takes over? Ship Jon off to an alternate dimension where time goes faster and ages him up to be about 18.

I thought that was because they wanted Jon to date Tim Drake or something?

DC's better at making animated movies consistent from my experience.

google 'Bendis speak'

I think it's cause my brain will now automatically link good examples to the most annoying examples.

“Bendis speak?” “Yes, Bendis speak.” “Do you know what I’m talking about?” “You mean Bendis speak, like in those comics, from that writer?” “Yeah, you know, like the writer. Brian Bendis.” “Brian Michael Bendis.” “What?” “The writer. I think he’s credited with three names. Pretentious middle name kinda guy.” “Oh.” “Yeah.”

Superman's skill set was all over the place for pretty much the first thirty years of his existence.

Didn't they explain that away with different solar radiations giving different powers?

 

[Rapeseed]

You nerds explaining stuff is so fun.

 

[doizoid.]

Since almost all of you are nerds here I want to know what y'all like (I don't have nerd friends so I'll just geek out here)

What are you all's fav comics? The only super hero comic I've read is the original spiderman comic (the first 100 issues) but my favourite is Y: The last man. If we're counting manga - then it's berserk.

Anyone fan of novels? My fav is stormlight archive (I've just started the 3rd book in the series)

If anyone wants to read a superpower based novel - I can recommend worm. The powers are very unique and eventhough there are fights where it's strength vs strength, the most fun battles are the ones that rely more on strategy - guessing the opponents powers and using your own power creatively. The world building is amazing - there are so many mysteries regarding the origin of the powers and the limitations of the power, secret societies - Its a lot. There's 30 arcs, and although I've only read 10 arc - it's my fav superhero media (the recent Marvel movies have been so shit lol)

 

[chacha95]

Speaking of the twink dimension, any chance for femboy content? Maybe with a toggle for those who don't want it. I mean, I don't know who would be the femboy(s), but hearing that got me thinking. Y'all are doing a good job, by the way. The artwork is great, and the tiny bit you've shown in that, I guess "teaser" version of the vn looks really good.

 

[rb813]

“Bendis speak?” “Yes, Bendis speak.” “Do you know what I’m talking about?” “You mean Bendis speak, like in those comics, from that writer?” “Yeah, you know, like the writer. Brian Bendis.” “Brian Michael Bendis.” “What?” “The writer. I think he’s credited with three names. Pretentious middle name kinda guy.” “Oh.” “Yeah.”

Well when you put it that way, it just sounds like Mamet-speak.

...Yep, when I Googled Mamet-speak to find a good example of it, the first result was the

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, which had a panel from New Avengers as the visual example. The textual example to the left is from an actual Mamet script, if you want to compare how similar they are.

 

[Crichton]

Speaking of the twink dimension, any chance for femboy content?

Not for a thousand years. I think it's a "never say never" type deal.

 

[Rapeseed]

I droll in thoughts of a twink/femboy dimension - Arielle Maxine was the hottest fucking thing when I found him out.

 

[SauceMixer]

You nerds explaining stuff is so fun.

much more fun when nerds make porn game imo. But eh varying degree of fun (and successes)

 

[Buttholder]

Somehow seeing it called "Bendis speak" made me suddenly hate it. I think it's cause my brain will now automatically link good examples to the most annoying examples. Does that make any sense, the way I explained it?

Yeah, it's like when someone points out Joss Whedon's particular writing style and you see it everywhere. I have no problems with his writing, his infamous 'always end with a joke no matter what' quote aside, but he's one of the writers whose style is so influential and all-consuming, even in his own works, I'm really bored with it now. Kieron Gillen's another writer like that, to a far lesser degree: really great stories, fantastic plotting, but I can spot a page of his work a mile off and it annoys me in a way I can't quite put into words.

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, unless by "always," you mean Post-Crisis.

If you wanna count all the issues where he'd receive weird powers for a single issue with no explanation and never use them again, be my guest. A big chunk of the appeal of the Silver Age of comics for modern readers was how it felt like the writers were going 'let's throw the wackiest shit at the wall just in case it works and if not, maybe we can put it on the cover and get people to buy it based on sheer WTF factor'. The creativity was off the charts, but the consistency, not so much.

I thought that was because they wanted Jon to date Tim Drake or something?

I don't know if a reason has really been given. There was a Legion of Super-Heroes reboot that was going to have Jon in it, so it's assumed they aged-him up so they could have a teen Superman join them (despite already having Conner Kent right there). I think a vocal minority of readers also just hated the idea of Superman having a son as well and wanted him out the picture. I don't think Jon shows up a massive amount in the other Super family books, but, again, I don't read Superman, so take that with a grain of salt. They did have Tim and Jon come out as bi fairly recently, but I don't think there was ever any plans to have them date. I believe the plan to have the two come out was reached independently and was just a coincidence. Jon always had more of a friendship with Damian anyway, Tim was more like his friend's cool older brother. DC's had a hell of a time over the last decade or so trying to work out what to do with Tim Drake anyway. He's always been a popular character, so they're reluctant to kill him off, but he doesn't really have a niche he fits into like Damian, Jason, Dick or Cass.

“Bendis speak?” “Yes, Bendis speak.” “Do you know what I’m talking about?” “You mean Bendis speak, like in those comics, from that writer?” “Yeah, you know, like the writer. Brian Bendis.” “Brian Michael Bendis.” “What?” “The writer. I think he’s credited with three names. Pretentious middle name kinda guy.” “Oh.” “Yeah.”

Well when you put it that way, it just sounds like Mamet-speak.

...Yep, when I Googled Mamet-speak to find a good example of it, the first result was the

You must be registered to see the links

, which had a panel from New Avengers as the visual example. The textual example to the left is from an actual Mamet script, if you want to compare how similar they are.

Y'know, I've never seen much Mamet stuff, but it turns out I've seen a lot of stuff influenced by him and reading that, I'm absolutely unsurprised to find out that Bendis worships the ground he works on.

 

[ShinyBoots1993]

What are you all's fav comics? The only super hero comic I've read is the original spiderman comic (the first 100 issues) but my favourite is Y: The last man. If we're counting manga - then it's berserk.

For DC? Batman War on Crime, All-Star Superman #10, and Nightwing #141.
Specifically for these moments.



For Marvel? The 2016-2019 Deadpool and Spiderman run. The 2018 Rogue and Gambit special was good. It had a sequel come out this month that I haven't read yet but I want to. I also like the two runs detailing X-23's origin. Styx can go fuck itself with that though.

Though this is usually a trend for me. In DC I like moments. In Marvel I enjoy storylines.

Reminder these are just the ones that came to mind as I read the question. I have more but outside reading the original Uncanny X-Men as research for this game, I haven't bothered keeping up with comics.

Anyone fan of novels?

ADHD makes it hard for me to sit down and read a full book.

any chance for femboy content?

Not for a thousand years. I think it's a "never say never" type deal.

If we get an artist willing to draw gay scenes then yes.

"teaser" version

That was a leak of a build where Ron was just testing things out. It was never meant for the public as it was just a reskinned RLE intro.

Arielle Maxine

I thought this was a Marvel character for a moment.

 

[Buttholder]

Since almost all of you are nerds here I want to know what y'all like (I don't have nerd friends so I'll just geek out here)

I've been a Deadpool fan for about 25 years at this point, since the original Joe Kelly run. There has been some real low points but he's been a constant for me. X-Men, I've been into since I was a kid as I've said. Vertigo have done more right than wrong for me: The Invisibles, Transmetropolitan, Doom Patrol, all absolute gold. After that, it'd probably be quicker to post some of my shelves or my legitimately purchased comics folders on my PC. I have nearly 2tb of comics that I've purchased with money I earned legally.

For books, John Dies At The End, Bad Monkeys, The Loop, those are things I've read repeatedly and loved to bits. Films, TV shows, we could be here all day, but I've always been into horror and trash movies. I recently got into trailer compilations (stuff like 42nd Street Forever) and video mixtapes - compilations of clips from movies, shows, the news, all kinds of random stuff taken out of context. And yeah, I've been into anime and manga for almost my entire life.

Though this is usually a trend for me. In DC I like moments. In Marvel I enjoy storylines.

I always used to say that Marvel had the better characters, DC had the better events, but I'm really bored with the big events these days. I think Final Crisis was the last big crossover I really loved, and that was almost entirely because of Grant Morrison. line-wide crossovers, like King In Black, Devil's Reign, Dark Nights: Metal, those are good, stuff that's mostly self-contained and doesn't require you to read 70 different issues to get an idea of what's going on. Sins of Sinister is ten or eleven comics, not including the buildup. That's a solid hour or so reading by some great writers, perfect. Compare that to Secret Invasion or Convergence or any of those other bloated crossovers where every comic they release those months has a mandatory crossover and there's about 20 one-shots and minis and the overall story isn't good to begin with.

much more fun when nerds make porn game imo. But eh varying degree of fun (and successes)

I'm sure we'll have more to talk about once we have an initial release. Not much else to discuss other than 'is this in the game?' 'Sure is!/Maybe later/Nah, dude, nah'.

 

[Rapeseed]

View attachment 2482337

I imagine there's a bigger context to this image? I rather like it, if it's to be taken at a face value - seems like something a guy like Superman would say.

I also like the two runs detailing X-23's origin. Styx can go fuck itself with that though.

The two I read? What's Styx?

I thought this was a Marvel character for a moment.

Don't look 'im up, he'll ruin feminine boys for you. He also made transplants, so less of a femboy and more of a trans.

I'm sure we'll have more to talk about once we have an initial release. Not much else to discuss other than 'is this in the game?' 'Sure is!/Maybe later/Nah, dude, nah'.

I got something we could talk about. Favourite female crushes or what version of them/other characters we like the most.
Of course, when I say we, I mean you nerds. I'm just here for the Laura heckin'.

The only character I really remember is Rogue, and I'm somewhat familiar with Kitty before but I don't remember from where; I do remember Storm from the 2000's movies, tho', not a lot, but I found her actress really cute so I somehow remembered her powers.

And I think I got my timeline confused? 'Cause the Wiki says Laura first appearead on Evolution, but she was darker skinned from the pictures I saw; she actually looked like a Latina, which is what Logan suggested and what went over my head in RLE.

 

[rb813]

After that, it'd probably be quicker to post some of my shelves or my legitimately purchased comics folders on my PC. I have nearly 2tb of comics that I've purchased with money I earned legally.

By the way, if people own a lot of comics in physical form and want digital versions of them, there are some torrents that have like every comic published in a given year, for either DC or Marvel. It's been almost a decade since I was looking into that stuff, so I'm not sure how healthy those particular torrents are, but there's definitely a lot of online "libraries" to read comics these days.

 

[Rapeseed]

By the way, if people own a lot of comics in physical form and want digital versions of them, there are some torrents that have like every comic published in a given year, for either DC or Marvel. It's been almost a decade since I was looking into that stuff, so I'm not sure how healthy those particular torrents are, but there's definitely a lot of online "libraries" to read comics these days.

Really? I tried to get the entire X-23 collection a month or so again, and all the torrents I found where either in my language or from 2010-2013, so they were never seeding.

The one I was able to get was from a Russian site, with only Innocence Lost - which I still have.

 

[rb813]

Favourite female crushes or what version of them/other characters we like the most.
Of course, when I say we, I mean you nerds.

My favorite is Jean Grey, because I like redheads, and I think

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color scheme really complements her red hair beautifully. I actually modded a Phoenix costume for Witch Trainer, that's when I adopted this profile pic.

 

[Rapeseed]

My favorite is Jean Grey, because I like redheads, and I think

You must be registered to see the links

color scheme really complements her red hair beautifully. I actually modded a Phoenix costume for Witch Trainer, that's when I adopted this profile pic.

In the first two pictures with the curly hair... uff. Redheads with curly hair are automatic 10/10's for me - I've dated a model, and a girl who was unapologecatily a 10/10, but a redhead with curly hair hits different to me.