'Soon I will be Invincible' - Watchmen meets Top 10 - General

[B]'Soon I will be Invincible' is a novel by Austin Grossman. [/B] [img]http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7109/invincible.jpg[/img] Thread music : (Ignore the video) [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gaqHi6--U8[/media] [i]"Go out to the last few grains of sand, the smartest of the smartest of the smartest, times a thousand. It makes sense that people would be a little odd out here. But you really have to wonder why we all end up in jail."[/i] Well, my uncle lent me this book when I went on holiday, and I have to say, it's probably the most interesting piece of superhero/villain literature I've ever read (and yeah, it is a book and not a comic, that's just the cover). I figured Facepunch would be interested, seeing how the Watchmen thread went. The story concerns the supervillain Doctor Impossible - the red-and-gold-costume-wearing guy on the front cover. He's stronger and faster than a normal person, and his skin is super-hardened (he can take bullets and survive with mild bruising.) He's also a bit of a loser. However, his claim to fame is his extraordinary intellect - with an I.Q. in excess of 300, he is literally "The Smartest Man on Earth", and a sufferer of "Malign Hypercognition Disorder" - basically, he's an evil genius. The plot is about his escape from high-security prison and the subsequent construction of his 13th doomsday plan. Another plot element is the disappearance of CoreFire - a near-invulnerable superman analogue, who was also a bit of a dick, and Doctor Impossible's nemesis. The narrative is told both from his point of view, and by a superheroine called Fatale - a cyborg who has been chosen to join the elite group of superheroes named "The Champions". She quickly finds herself out of her depth, and feels very out of place - especially since she has replaced a recently-deceased robot named Galatea, beloved by the entire group. There are also plenty of rifts and disturbances between the members of the team, despite their portrayal in the media. So yeah. This isn't a deconstruction (Watchmen) or parody (Top 10) of the superhero genre, but it contains elements of both those comics - Watchmen's themes of existentialism and the reality of vigilantism, and Top 10's humour and bright, bustling world of colourful metahumans (but there aren't as many of them in this). All of the superheroes are flawed, and they're often reminiscent of those stuck-up pricks and bullies you might have encountered at secondary school, despite whatever they may claim. Bottom line is - if you enjoyed Watchmen, you'll enjoy this. Fun fact : Austin Grossman, the author, worked on Deus Ex and System Shock 2. :D Oh, and this is Top 10, which Alan Moore also worked on. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_10_(comics)[/url] My favourite quote from the book - "There are stupid criminals and there are smart criminals, and then there is me." - Doctor Impossible.

[img]http://imgkk.com/i/9hkmVK.jpg[/img] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H2QpaHjO-Q&feature=channel_page[/media]

[QUOTE=Fishyfish vz. 4;16416779]I spot cheetahmen[/QUOTE] That's a tiger.

[QUOTE=Fishyfish vz. 4;16416779]I spot cheetahmen[/QUOTE] And Tinkerbell...? (with a spear) And who is that bitch with ghost tits?

And Magneto on crack.

[QUOTE=ventilated;16416808]And Magneto on crack.[/QUOTE] Magneto didn't look like this [IMG]http://i27.tinypic.com/2elqsz6.png[/IMG] (No, I'm not posting meme shit.)

[QUOTE=Slig army;16416818]Magneto didn't have a facemask.[/QUOTE] he did, you just didn't recognise him when he wore it (because he had a facemask)

I see Captain America

[QUOTE=Uber|nooB;16416838]he did, you just didn't recognise him when he wore it (because he had a facemask)[/QUOTE] Yes, I was referring to the movie. Post edited.

[QUOTE=Seravi;16416797]And Tinkerbell...? (with a spear) And who is that bitch with ghost tits?[/QUOTE] The former is Elphin, who's a fairy (and initially gets a lot of stick from Fatale because she doesn't believe her shit). The bitch with ghost tits is Lily, the third or fourth most important character in the story. I actually have no idea who the Captain America lookalike is. The tiger is Feral and he's a fucking tiger man In hindsight, I should have expected this.

[QUOTE=Slig army;16416818]Magneto didn't look like this[/QUOTE] [img_thumb]http://imgkk.com/i/-nKPAN.jpg[/img_thumb] + [img_thumb]http://imgkk.com/i/3seIIg.jpg[/img_thumb] = [img_thumb]http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7109/invincible.jpg[/img_thumb] It makes sense to me.

[QUOTE=ventilated;16416892][img_thumb]http://imgkk.com/i/-nKPAN.jpg[/img_thumb] + [img_thumb]http://imgkk.com/i/3seIIg.jpg[/img_thumb] = [img_thumb]http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7109/invincible.jpg[/img_thumb] It makes sense to me.[/QUOTE] Dry ice? or sugar rocks?

[QUOTE=ventilated;16416892][img_thumb]http://imgkk.com/i/-nKPAN.jpg[/img_thumb] + [img_thumb]http://imgkk.com/i/3seIIg.jpg[/img_thumb] = [img_thumb]http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7109/invincible.jpg[/img_thumb] It makes sense to me.[/QUOTE] You have to remember it's a book and not a comic, even though it takes a lot of cues from comic culture. I should have known everyone would look at the cover and go "ooh, magneto", "ooh, captain america", "ooh, ripoff". But holy shit they do look extremely similar. Almost the only difference is the gold trim and the face mask.

Looks like there's a nurse manhattan in the top right :v:

[QUOTE=ray243;16416916]Dry ice? or sugar rocks?[/QUOTE] Crack cocaine.[QUOTE=BaconDioxide;16416926]You have to remember it's a book and not a comic, even though it takes a lot of cues from comic culture.[/QUOTE] I got it.

ninjad

Since words are evidently too much for you people (I kid, I kid) : [img]http://www.comicsbulletin.com/rage/images/070716/invinsible.jpg[/img] This is Baron Ether, another evil genius and Doctor Impossible's mentor.

It's disappointing how much effort he put into this thread and you guys start shitting on it, including a moderator.

If he's the smartest guy on earth....why is he on his 13th doomsday plan?

[QUOTE=RayvenQ;16420978]If he's the smartest guy on earth....why is he on his 13th doomsday plan?[/QUOTE] People come and smash his stuff. :( It's basically all because of CoreFire, who's almost completely invincible. His disappearance is a major part of the story.

If he's that smart though, surely he should be able to outwit everyone.

Not smarter than Veidt, obviously...

[QUOTE=RayvenQ;16421067]If he's that smart though, surely he should be able to outwit everyone.[/QUOTE] He almost does though! There's one point in the book where he [sp]fights off the entire champions team, who fail simply because they don't have CoreFire with them, and because he's a clever bastard.[/sp] "And then there was nothing to do but put up my fists, which looked about a third the size of his. I have long fingers, meant for control knobs and test tubes, not striking things. I'm a scientist, I think I should remind you." [editline]10:27PM[/editline] [QUOTE=Slig army;16421085]Not smarter than Veidt, obviously...[/QUOTE] He's a stereotypical supervillain, but he explains [I]why[/I] he's evil, which makes it much more interesting. And Veidt doesn't have a tenth of Doctor Impossible's ego. He acknowledges that his weakness is revealing his plans. He wants the world to know his name, and to fear it. Veidt wanted [sp]to save the world, not conquer it.[/sp] Veidt just stays hidden through the entire course of the story. What a pussy.

[QUOTE=Fishyfish vz. 4;16416779][img]http://imgkk.com/i/9hkmVK.jpg[/img] [/QUOTE] M'aiq knows much, tells some

Huge bump for unbelievably fitting thread music : [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gaqHi6--U8[/media] Just listen to the lyrics. Austin Grossman himself thought this music fits perfectly.