The Powernaut
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Powernaut 2005: 1 2 3 4 5 .
The Rest of the World: Home Startup Escalation 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 The Maker .

POWERNAUT 2005!

Episode 3

WORKIN' FOR THE POWERNAUT! (or, The Dark Maneuvers)

Greeting

Hello, my Power Patrol! Welcome to more of my 2005 adventures - me vs. the modern age! I've got lots of details at my old web log of the Power Patrol! (ref: http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2005/powerpatrol2.htm)

This episode is full of drama! Other people have been writing about this stuff - and they've already written their version in my old web log! So I arranged for third party guest commentary! Enjoy!

(signed) The Powernaut!

Hi, everyone! I'm Vince Cortez. The Powernaut had me write the commentary for the last episode. This episode features Karl Scribner and Wyatt Ferguson prominenty, so he's bringing me back because I'm not either one of them! But I can also tell people things about them both.

Search the Powernaut Archives!

Can a Powernaut Episode Be Psycho-Drama?

Bonus Section: Commentary from Vince Cortez! The Drama of Karl and Wyatt

All the links here can be found under http://www.eilertech.com/stories/ .

The previous Powernaut 2005 strips mentioned a severe and ongoing reality shift. (ref: "Humans of the Earth", 2005/humans.htm) People wished their dead relatives back to existence during that shift. Wyatt Ferguson had disappeared (ref: "Over the Mountain", 2005/after.htm#mountain), so his brother and sister wished him back. But the original Wyatt was still around - shape-changed into Karl Scribner!

Karl is bigger than Wyatt, and has a beard. Karl gained the weight through bodybuilding. (ref: "The Boys of Passover", 2004/passover.htm) He must have always wanted the beard. He was indifferent about his relatives; I never heard him admit he *had* any. But Karl's relatives must not have felt the same way, because they wished back a Wyatt who loved his family!

I saw all the clues about Karl: He's the same age as Wyatt. He has fighting skills like Wyatt. He likes voice commands at his computer, just like Wyatt did. He usually dressed differently, but his only dress shirt and tie were the same style Wyatt preferred. And someone claiming to be Wyatt had also claimed he secretly changed shape to become a FERG employee. (ref: "FERG Letter", 2005/me2005.htm#april) But Karl renounced all the stuff Wyatt had done. I didn't think Wyatt Ferguson would change himself so thoroughly to hide among us.

Oh, You Mean Now??

Bonus Section: Commentary from Vince Cortez! Wyatt Ferguson's Superhuman Powers

All the links here can be found under http://www.eilertech.com/stories/ .

I've always admired Wyatt Ferguson. He does not appear to be powerful, yet he is one of the elder and respected members of the superhuman community. Even Ellipsis regards Wyatt as his *primary* rival. (ref: "Picture the Future", 2004/politics2.htm)

Wyatt's real skill is humility. So his power escapes the notice of cosmic powers. But Wyatt's real power is connection. He's connected to reality in a way that even the world's most skilled mages can only dream about. He draws upon superhuman powers at need, but shows restraint. He's known to have done these things:

  • Wyatt's lived in different universes. Many of his adventures happened among superhumans we only recognize from comic books. (ref: "Me in the Marvel Universe" me.htm) He still walks the universes at will. He sometimes uses that like a teleportation power to move quickly within our own universe.
  • Wyatt's family has superhuman powers in its blood. The blood is sentient. So it has its own idea of how much to cooperate with him. When it cooperates fully, Wyatt becomes one of the world's most powerful superhumans. (ref: "With Great Power Comes Great Irrelevance", power.htm) Even otherwise, Wyatt often gets random superpowers to survive the things that happen to him. For instance, in 2002 he time-traveled to 2022 and then survived the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. (ref: "Make It Never Was", neverwas.htm)
  • Wyatt can store some of his powers in objects. His trenchcoat and his favorite walking sticks all help him fly, and his car can track people. (ref: "As Above, So Below", asabove.htm)
  • Wyatt has been connected with cosmic powers. For instance, in the 1990s he was a Champion of Death. (ref: "Deputy Champion of Death", wave3.htm#death) He's not exactly a mage, but the greatest mages of Earth still consult with him. So do governments. (ref: "DuoPolarity III", duopol3.htm)
  • Wyatt used to *exploit* the things that happen to him. He's been quiet recently. But in 2003 he *became a galactic power*. (ref: "With Great Wealth Comes Great Power", wealth.htm) He then *built an interdimensional alliance*. The multiverse still shudders at the mention of LXMF. (ref: "League of Extradimensional MightyFriends", lxmf.htm)
  • During Wyatt's omniversal adventures, he met *and merged with* several of his alternate selves. He has learned something called the Hyper-Body Hyper-Transfer Protocol to do this. (ref: "Pentahedron", 2005/pentahedron.htm#hbhtp) This explains how he can merge with Karl. He has also *un-merged* on occasion. This explains how he lost his motivation to build trans-universal alliances.

In short: Wyatt is mild-mannered. But if he really wants to do something, the superhuman community pays attention.

How Complete Are YOU?

Gah! Must Fight Evil!

Guess You're Stuck With Us

Bonus Section: Commentary from Vince Cortez! Where Are The Other Heroes?

All the links here can be found under http://www.eilertech.com/stories/ .

Before the latest reality shifts, our Earth had a full spectrum of superheroes and other superhumans. Now, the Earth is apparently what it would have been without them. The U.S. President is the son of our President Bush, because his father didn't resign after invading the Bahamas in 1996 to root out superhumans. The technology is less-developed here; the superhumans in some of the island nations drove some advances.

  • The most powerful superhuman was Ellipsis. He disappeared in January 2005 - the same time Wyatt Ferguson did. (ref: "Over the Mountain", 2005/after.htm#mountain) He was in a universe which claimed to govern other universes - and he was *governing* there. So he could be anywhere now - and most other heroes would oppose him if he reappears here. Except...
  • The other heroes disappeared *just before* the most recent reality shift - the shift which changed the U.S. President from Rodham to Bush. (ref: "Humans of the Earth", 2005/humans.htm) We still don't know where they are.

Bring It Back!

Postlude: Powernaut 2005 HALLOWEEN SPECIAL!

Amateur World Doination!

Bonus Section: Commentary from Vince Cortez! Amateur World Domination

All the links here can be found under http://www.eilertech.com/stories/ .

Our history is full of attempts to mystically change it. But 2005 is special because the Space Jellyfish really did. And then they announced it. (ref: "Humans of the Earth!", 2005/humans.htm)

After that, trying to wish reality changes became fashionable. The most nearly successful attempt by mankind in 2005 was the "Party 'til the World Obeys". (ref: Powernaut 2005 Episode 2) But there were many copycat attempts. The Powernaut himself investigated one of those.


Author's Notes:

Powernaut 2005 continues to re-tell a story I already published in 2005. Backstory is natural for any 2005 comic from the major comic book companies, so I'm wallowing it for the Powernaut.

This episode is psycho-drama which Wyatt Ferguson called "The Dark Maneuvers". I tried to work that title into this series, but the Powernaut had no place for it. Hence the episode title, "Workin' for the Powernaut".

It's already noted, Wyatt and the Powernaut don't quite agree on what happened during this episode. In the original story: Karl and the Powernaut both had met Wyatt; Karl and Wyatt both knew Karl was the original Wyatt; Wyatt claimed a body merge with Karl and the Powernaut; and the Powernaut said "Whatever". I think I've kept this episode true to that and the subsequent stories, without saying any of the original correspondents were lying. And Karl and Wyatt both want everyone to know, all the body absorption stuff was no more creepy than brothers wrestling.

The 2005 correspondent of course did not refer to things more recent than 2005. He talked about 2003 a lot. That part of his commentary explains a lot about the Chancellor Wyatt, an alternate self I published from 2010 onward. Chancellor Wyatt is a *leading* omniversal power, and he shared Our Wyatt's existence through all the interesting stuff of 2003.

This episode is like a cartooning vacation for me. It's psycho-drama, so I can draw lots of faces instead of lots of people hitting stuff. I've hereby tried to hone my cartooning skills. Even so, I'm drawing stuff faster than usual. And this series works better if you read it faster than usual. So I've given the world a Christmas gift of twice-weekly issues for this episode!

I have now published one hundred and ten Powernaut comics. I'm not stopping. After this, big things are coming.

  • The hippie Powernaut was always pivotal to the entire series. His presence made the difference in the big Powernaut 2011 story. Powernaut 1968 will be his origin! It'll be just six strips, but I'll get to play with a different artistic style.
  • After that comes the 2005 followup, Occulator Compuplex. This introduces the Engines of Reality and an alien killing machine into the Powernaut comics, and leads to a situation as big as Powernaut 2011.
  • Then I jump back to Powernaut 1969: Hypergaard! The clues about Hypergaard go from 1966 to 2011. This is where questions finally get answered.

Traditionally I throw in other stuff as the demand arises (like, say, the 1955 origin of Paula Power, earlier in 2013). But Hypergaard plus Occulator Compuplex could actually take up all of 2014 - expecially with the Occulator Compuplex postlude, A Very Powernaut Christmas! So will probably go the remainder of the Third International Powernaut Comics Year. Thanks for reading along.

(signed) Scott Eiler, 27 December 2013.


Uh oh, an extra inning! During Powernaut Halloween 2014, I realized the world needed to see the true story of Powernaut Halloween 2005. And it needs to see it now, before Occulator Compuplex finally gets rolling.

This true story is brought to you by real people:

  • The Banana: Jerome
  • The Gorilla: Max
  • Minnie Mouse: Maotze
  • The U.S. Army: Shui
  • The Creature from Dr. Moreau's Island: Srini
  • The Powernaut: Suresh!
  • World Domination: Scott!

It was originally published alongside The Dark Maneuvers, on the Halloween weekend of 2005, on the Powernaut's letters page. So it goes alongside that story here too. In 2014 it'll have to be published for Thanksgiving, though. Oh well.

As for the Dark Maneuvers, the Powernaut had his own version of events even then. And he's not afraid of making himself look good. That has of course been reflected here... At the actual party, World Domination came a lot closer to winning. Heh heh. But if nothing else, this story illustrates the difference between the Powernaut and other heroes of his ilk: the Powernaut is lots more fun at parties.

(signed) Scott Eiler, 25 November 2014.


Powernaut: Home 1941 1944 1948 1954 1955 1962 1966 1968 (with Stories) 2005 (with Stories) 2009 (with Stories) 2011 (with Stories) .
Powernaut 2005: 1 2 3 4 5 .
The Rest of the World: Home Startup Escalation 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 The Maker .

All artwork and characters in this fiction are copyright © 2013 - 2014 by Eiler Technical Enterprises.