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Brian Hughes
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 15 June 2015
Location: United States
Posts: 416
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| Posted: 18 March 2026 at 3:13pm | IP Logged | 1
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When I was in college in the 80's, I created a superhero called "ROLODEX". He had multiple super powers, but could only use one at a time, like Ultraboy in the Legion of Super-Heroes, though with Rolodex, he did not have control over when his powers would shift. Lucky for him, invulnerability came right after flight as the powers would always shift in the same order. He was a laugh.
Edited for clarity.
Edited by Brian Hughes on 18 March 2026 at 3:15pm
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 135866
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| Posted: 18 March 2026 at 3:30pm | IP Logged | 2
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I had a one-power-at-a-time character. My twist was that he would have only the power he needed--and his problem was figuring the need in a given situation.
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Bill Dowling
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 07 July 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2185
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| Posted: 18 March 2026 at 8:19pm | IP Logged | 3
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Did he know what power he currently had?
I could see a really interesting story starting with him waking up and just sort of knowing that he had the power to shut down nuclear explosions. No idea where this nuclear explosion was going to be, but knowing if he can find it, he can stop it.
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Bill Dowling
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 07 July 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2185
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| Posted: 18 March 2026 at 8:23pm | IP Logged | 4
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JB wrote:"As most of you know, time travel is one of my favorite motifs. As a result I have dedicated a lot of mental energy to the concept. This means I ignore a lot of the physical problems, especially all the different motions that would need to be compensated for. The Earth’s rotation (900 mph), its orbiting the Sun (19 mps), the Sun’s movement (40,000 mph) and, of course, the expansion of the universe." ************************ This is only an issue with Time Travel that also involves teleporting to another time. In the movies Primer and Tenet, you have examples of Time Travel that do not involve disappearing from one moment and appearing in another. You could have Time Travel where you just basically gain the ability to live life backwards until you get to the time you want to be in. It's much less useful, but it neatly avoids things like having to compensate for all the different motions. |
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
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| Posted: 19 March 2026 at 12:14pm | IP Logged | 5
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That doesn’t exactly sound like a simple solution.
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Brandon Frye
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 November 2004
Posts: 1330
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| Posted: 19 March 2026 at 1:19pm | IP Logged | 6
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I still remember seeing The Man with the X-Ray Eyes as a kid. It was the first thing I saw that showed the downside of having a "special power"
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
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| Posted: 19 March 2026 at 1:34pm | IP Logged | 7
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“All the naked women my poor eyes can stand.”Under the heading of “not easy being me”, THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES was probably the first time I started to realize “x-ray vision” would not really work the way it was usually portrayed. X-ray vision, I came to understand, would work in layers, the closest things becoming “invisible”, but not all of something. Thus, the idea of being surrounded by naked ladies would not work. The “x-rays” would not remove clothing but leave skin behind. (And even if it somehow could work that way, the EFFECT of the clothing would remain. Folds, creases, compression. Ugh.)
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Trevor Smith
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 September 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 3669
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| Posted: 19 March 2026 at 2:31pm | IP Logged | 8
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I know this is picking out just one small thing of what you
said, and it doesn't discount your point, but just let me
say that you, JB, are the master of making "creases and
compression" "hot" (I know, I know, lines on paper). For
instance, I *love* the way you draw a bikini/underwear
strap actually making an indent into the hip.
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John Byrne
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| Posted: 19 March 2026 at 2:40pm | IP Logged | 9
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I enjoy that myself! :-)
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
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| Posted: 19 March 2026 at 2:42pm | IP Logged | 10
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I could see a really interesting story starting with him waking up and just sort of knowing that he had the power to shut down nuclear explosions. No idea where this nuclear explosion was going to be, but knowing if he can find it, he can stop it.••• The point of my character was him having to figure out which power was convenient to his situation.
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James Woodcock
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 September 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 8412
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| Posted: 19 March 2026 at 2:54pm | IP Logged | 11
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Trevor - there is an oft posted picture of Red Sonja that JB drew. Her strap
is slightly digging into her thigh.
It is that picture I use to show what separates JB from most other comic
artists.
It adds a dimension of realism, while the pose maintains the dramatic. That
blend is so, so good
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Trevor Smith
Byrne Robotics Member
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Location: Canada
Posts: 3669
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| Posted: 19 March 2026 at 4:21pm | IP Logged | 12
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James - yep, one of the images that comes to mind - perfect
example!
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