1: Take panels 3 to 5.
2: Put something on Dave’s palm.
3: Use Allison’s speech bubble to indicate Solomon just crushed whatever it was that was on his face.
White Chain chose well in finding an Unyielding Opponent,
One who battered and smashed Xyr physical body.
One who tested Xyr resolve, cracking Xyr shell,
Trash talking, Mocking, Solomon the Confident One.
Seeking to Force Xyr into a moment where Xe,
was compelled to yield or be destroyed.
Xe choose this fight in atonement for complicity,
a punishment for past sins.
This provided the opportunity
– to push beyond all present limits.
Solomon is Mighty, oh yes of immense physical might.
Solomon is most Formidable,
accomplished in a dozen and more martial art forms.
Solomon is Lethal, a Ki-Rata master who can kill with a breath,
or within a breath.
Solomon is Empowered,
with the Key essences stolen and accumulated from
a hundred thousand slain Demi-urges,
bearing the names, the names of the God Yisun.
Yet Solomon is limited in Spirit.
He achieved a Pinnacle of Power,
One able to move two suns into place.
Yet became frozen, cyrstalized, unable to progress spiritually.
Witness now, how 82 White Chain and Allyson have switched places.
White Chain the teacher and guide of Angelic martial art forms,
the Adherent One.
Allyson, the mad monk, breaker of all forms and conventions in her searches.
How White Chain has taken that to heart.
“I Realize She is right.
Even if it seems Hopeless, In the face of Unstoppable Evil,
( Rather ) than Nothing at All,
Action is better .
O’ Great Fool,
Once I doubted your Belief,
Now I believe it too.”
O’ White Chain,
What hast Thou become ?
Immanence, Apotheosis, Transcendence ?
What are you, will you, can you be ?
Woman, Flame, Goddess ?
Hark !
A new Incarnation Upon the Wheel of Creation !
The chains falling. The structure falling. The lack of glow. I think Solomon truly prepared himself to lose his power if he lost a drop of blood. and there’s blood all over that wound on his face. He still has Ki Rata, he’s still powerful enough to kill a demiurge, or survive without a sun on a barren world. But he has lost his control over creation.
I think his disappointment is in realizing that what he has been yearning for all these centuries, is actually the last thing he wanted. He never actually wanted to lose his power. Which is what White Chain has been saying all along.
So it’s doubly disappointing for him. He has lost something he valued more than he knew, and his philosophy was wrong all along.
Not going to lie, I was kinda hoping he would slowly crumble after losing his power and say something like, “thank you.” but this is much more satisfying in the context of the entire conversation over the past 20 pages.
Those were just his armband rings, and the structure (which was just some decorative thing above the arena) fell before the final exchange of blows, when Solomon blasted through it to fly above the arena. Also it’s a bruise, Solomon’s hand turns up empty of blood.
I really cant understand how there can be any sort of confusion about this.
SD has been searching for a worthy succeser for -generations- with no luck.
At last. At long last. He fight someone who is able to stand up to his unbeatable Ki Rata attack. Someone who can take his role and set him free from the prison he build.
And she lands a blow upon him. Likely the first one since the multiverse war? So for a moment he is hopeful. Checks his cheek to see if she drew blood?
But she failed to do so. She only bruised him. And thats not enough. The law is crystal clear. She has to -draw- blood.
So in panel 5, SD pauses to curse silently. For a very brief moment, during the fight, he likely felt free. But now he has to resign himself to take up his burden again, because the Empire needs its Emperor.
And that Allison cant understand where White Chain is should also be crystal clear. White Chain’s Apothesis took place in a frozen second.
She might be confused about why there are a naked girl kneeling in the arena. But right now she want to know what happend to her friend the Angel. (who as far as she knows, isnt a naked girl)
I feel kind of betrayed because I’ve mentally resigned myself thinking that we can’t have nice things, White Chain is going to die, but lo and behold! I’m glad, of course:)
i really hope solomon decides to break his own rule a little bit… mostly because white chain was almost certainly right in that nobody had ever come close and now she had just barely failed to meet his ridiculously high standards. at any rate, he almost certainly won’t kill her again…
seriously, though, if he doesn’t realize he can just choose his successor i’ma be pissed. of all the characters in this story so far, only White Chain would be deserving of the power he offers and not because she nearly succeeded at his stupid honey trap.
It’s strange to see that Solomon looks genuinely frustrated over the fact that WC couldn’t make him bleed. It almost seems that, for all his pride and hypocrisy, he does genuinely see his position as a burden, self-made or not.
People take for granted that each of the characters in this have strengths and faults; Solomon is not a ‘evil’ man, he is doing what he sincerely believes in right. Mottom isn’t entirely evil, she’s ruled over by fear that she has to behave and be as she is in order to maintain less disaster and chaos than if she were to simply resign (Much like Solomon, but different philosophies.)
As far as we have seen the only two mischevious and truly egocentric entities would be Incubus and Jagganoth; Gog A-gog is crazy as likely are the thorn knights (Torture drove Metatron insane.) and the dragon himself is long since senile and of diminished awareness.
A recurring theme in this comic as I have observed is how dated beliefs and philosophies by rulers can lead to stagnation and corruption and it is so gradual (given time spans we see) that by the time the rulers could be aware they blame the people for their own poor rulership.
I believe we’ll see some amazing character development for Solomon that better exemplifies his better character traits; plenty of people get too attached to specifically the starring cast forgetting that Abaddon has made an incredible universe of characters with many full of great depth and purpose. Try to remember folks, Solomon lives by the strict Diamond Policies ‘because’ he knows there are only demiurges that factor into the balance and safety of the Universe and he knows he is the only one that has the Will, Sensible Nature, and Power capable of preserving a semblance of Order in an otherwise gone insane reality.
Solomon doesn’t disbelieve heroes exist; he considers someone that is naive or lacking power enough to manifest their vision and will incapable of bearing that burden — and so he carries it in his mind entirely alone. Zodd spoke specifically of this kind of delusion of ‘control’ being what Alison needs to avoid, because in Solomon we see who and what she could have easily become with her good-nature and impulsiveness.
I feel that Solomon has to make incidentally the same change White Chain has undergone. But, while she’s a simple pawn to that “system of order” (as a lawbringer), he is the Emperor. So he will probably get over it. But will probably need a longer time.
I’m not sure if we should call Gog “crazy”. She’s not human and never has been, and as far as we know she’s a unique kind of creature. She just is what she is, in other words.
So, let me get this straight. Solomon David can move quicker than the eye can see and drops rings when he takes damage? He reminds me of a certain blue blur…
Y’all, the themes at play are not especially subtle and it’s not super hard to figure out what the deal is here.
Power is a cage and a wheel. Those who wield it become trapped by it. The more they use it to try to impose their will on the world, the more they are forced to use it solely in the pursuit of holding onto it. Ultimately they failto shape the world and instead being shaped by it into perpetuating cycles of violence.
So far, the only escapes from power we’ve seen are utter annihilation (all the dead demiurges) or abdication (Maya). The central theme of the narrative, more overtly stated this chapter, has been the search for how to escape the cycle of violence and allow power to bring life instead of death.
By now, it is clear that *none* of the demiurges want their position anymore, but are kept trapped within the cycle by their cardinal flaw. Mother Om was lead to envy power as the only escape from her sufferring, and now fears what envy will drive her subjects to do if she tries to change. The Dragon’s greed consumed everything else in his life, and now he knows nothing else. Incubus lusts for the approval of others far more than he has any actual desire to rule, but knows no way to fill that need without using his power to seduce others’ minds. Gog-agog just straight-up enjoys the ability to party and consume without consequences to give it up. The Red God is the only one right now with an actual plan to break the cycle, by breaking everything, but his wrath keeps him trapped in the cycle for now. Solomon is too prideful to admit that anyone else might be able to wield the power better than he has, and so has invented a farce that lets him demonstrate the ‘superiority’ of his approach while leaving the possibility that someone could free him from the power, but only by validating his beliefs in doing so.
Zoss is trying to get Alison to find a way to use power to uplift and empower others; white chain is the first she has inspired to try to fight the system and find a new way. As she said, she is not trying to win by Solomon’s rules.
So solomon is not bleeding. He is legitimately frustrated, angry, and sad that he is not bleeding, not because of cauterization or a technicality, but because narratively it is way more thematically coherent that white chain did not draw blood. If he were bleeding, he truly would have won – he could give up his power while still ensuring that his successor proved that might truly did make right and that all should know their place. Whatever he thinks has happened right now and whatever he plans to do next, he knows that he has been bested by someone who played by a different set of rules.
This is the exact correct interpretation. Solomon felt pain in his cheek, but no blood. That face is not a face of wounded pride (as others have said) that is the face of someone who is frustrated. He was smiling when White Chain came at him. Gave him everything he wanted. He saw that she could overcome his time-stopping power.
While I agree with you and other posters who echoed this sentiment in principle I still think you’re giving Solomon too much credit. I do not believe he honestly wants to be defeated, he states so, he may have even fooled himself but in these tournaments he only find the confirmation of his deep rooted belief that he cannot step down ever because nobody is going to be able to take his place. And he takes a dark, masochistic pleasure in his sacrifice displaying it for all to see and basking in their worship even as he convinces himself that he loathes it.
The moment he touches his face it’s not in hope, it’s in disbelief, there are thoughts racing through his head, not a few of which are probably along the lines of how could he maintain his tyranny through the (self)illusion of sacrifice. Could he say that he’s “going to help the champion grow and pass the reigns of the empire to them when they’re ready”? Or claim they’ve somehow cheated? Or… and then there is no blood.
This is when he can allow himself to be (not just to show, but actually to be) disappointed, this is when he can do “Alas, not even this one”. There is no greater pride than one announcing their humility.
I cannot agree. Solomon, of all of the other Demiurges is the only one that I can actually relate to. Unlike those that are trapped by fear or greed or dementia, Solomon actively -wants- to give up his power. He demands that he only give his power to someone who could defeat him, of course, but he -is- tired.
It’s the same “only the worthy can wear the mantle” story. He thought White Chain was unworthy, but as we saw him smile when White Chain moved, his opinion changed. And yet, even all that.. only a bruise.
Solomon is too powerful to be defeated under his own rule-set by someone else. Only Solomon can defeat Solomon, and that will be the lesson he learns first and foremost.
I agree with Val. Solomon only pretends to want to give up his power, and perhaps has managed to fool himself, but if he were honest he’d admit that no one aside from the Red God has a chance at besting him.
Does he “know” without looking what has happened to white chain?.
He hasn’t looked around, or moved to defend himself, or anything like that. So either he “knows” she is no longer a threat, or he somehow felt or sensed or intuited her transformation, and understands she can’t continue the fight.
Solomon David discovers that he does not actually have blood. His Law is based on a Lie. He had trapped himself and didn’t know it. Unlikely but amusing
Blue string soup was the traditional variety in my day and had great restorative properties. I’m not sure if it works on blue hedgehogs but it might well be worth a try.
Fight’s over. White Chain has taken a drop of Solomon’s blood, and gained her heart’s desire. She didn’t need to LEAVE any on him.
An Angel, a Human and a Devil walk into a ba… fight…
WONDER WHO IS GOING TO REALIZE THEY NEED TO SPEAK TO ABADDON ABOUT MAKING AN ANIMATED VERSION
Memetic mutation challenge.
1: Take panels 3 to 5.
2: Put something on Dave’s palm.
3: Use Allison’s speech bubble to indicate Solomon just crushed whatever it was that was on his face.
“Break On Through To The Other Side”
White Chain chose well in finding an Unyielding Opponent,
One who battered and smashed Xyr physical body.
One who tested Xyr resolve, cracking Xyr shell,
Trash talking, Mocking, Solomon the Confident One.
Seeking to Force Xyr into a moment where Xe,
was compelled to yield or be destroyed.
Xe choose this fight in atonement for complicity,
a punishment for past sins.
This provided the opportunity
– to push beyond all present limits.
Solomon is Mighty, oh yes of immense physical might.
Solomon is most Formidable,
accomplished in a dozen and more martial art forms.
Solomon is Lethal, a Ki-Rata master who can kill with a breath,
or within a breath.
Solomon is Empowered,
with the Key essences stolen and accumulated from
a hundred thousand slain Demi-urges,
bearing the names, the names of the God Yisun.
Yet Solomon is limited in Spirit.
He achieved a Pinnacle of Power,
One able to move two suns into place.
Yet became frozen, cyrstalized, unable to progress spiritually.
Witness now, how 82 White Chain and Allyson have switched places.
White Chain the teacher and guide of Angelic martial art forms,
the Adherent One.
Allyson, the mad monk, breaker of all forms and conventions in her searches.
How White Chain has taken that to heart.
“I Realize She is right.
Even if it seems Hopeless, In the face of Unstoppable Evil,
( Rather ) than Nothing at All,
Action is better .
O’ Great Fool,
Once I doubted your Belief,
Now I believe it too.”
O’ White Chain,
What hast Thou become ?
Immanence, Apotheosis, Transcendence ?
What are you, will you, can you be ?
Woman, Flame, Goddess ?
Hark !
A new Incarnation Upon the Wheel of Creation !
The chains falling. The structure falling. The lack of glow. I think Solomon truly prepared himself to lose his power if he lost a drop of blood. and there’s blood all over that wound on his face. He still has Ki Rata, he’s still powerful enough to kill a demiurge, or survive without a sun on a barren world. But he has lost his control over creation.
I think his disappointment is in realizing that what he has been yearning for all these centuries, is actually the last thing he wanted. He never actually wanted to lose his power. Which is what White Chain has been saying all along.
So it’s doubly disappointing for him. He has lost something he valued more than he knew, and his philosophy was wrong all along.
Not going to lie, I was kinda hoping he would slowly crumble after losing his power and say something like, “thank you.” but this is much more satisfying in the context of the entire conversation over the past 20 pages.
Those were just his armband rings, and the structure (which was just some decorative thing above the arena) fell before the final exchange of blows, when Solomon blasted through it to fly above the arena. Also it’s a bruise, Solomon’s hand turns up empty of blood.
Yon fall’d whatever-it-is-thing be likes as un shinto shrine roof ower sacredsome dohyo.
I really cant understand how there can be any sort of confusion about this.
SD has been searching for a worthy succeser for -generations- with no luck.
At last. At long last. He fight someone who is able to stand up to his unbeatable Ki Rata attack. Someone who can take his role and set him free from the prison he build.
And she lands a blow upon him. Likely the first one since the multiverse war? So for a moment he is hopeful. Checks his cheek to see if she drew blood?
But she failed to do so. She only bruised him. And thats not enough. The law is crystal clear. She has to -draw- blood.
So in panel 5, SD pauses to curse silently. For a very brief moment, during the fight, he likely felt free. But now he has to resign himself to take up his burden again, because the Empire needs its Emperor.
And that Allison cant understand where White Chain is should also be crystal clear. White Chain’s Apothesis took place in a frozen second.
She might be confused about why there are a naked girl kneeling in the arena. But right now she want to know what happend to her friend the Angel. (who as far as she knows, isnt a naked girl)
Allison might not be able to see WC, the fallen whatever-it-is-thing that was above the ring is blocking her view.
I like this interpretation. Well said.
Calling it: He’s going to walk off stage and White chain wins by ring-out.
That’d be perfect. His pride making him just assume he’s won. I love it.
I feel kind of betrayed because I’ve mentally resigned myself thinking that we can’t have nice things, White Chain is going to die, but lo and behold! I’m glad, of course:)
Paper men have edges, sharp
fold when gently poked in heart.
The same goes for ogres at larp.
Panel 3 Solomon is sweating… or maybe just the rain.
Close, but no dice.
Did that hurt, Solomon?
DAMNIT SHE SHOULDA HIT HIM IN THE NOSE!
i really hope solomon decides to break his own rule a little bit… mostly because white chain was almost certainly right in that nobody had ever come close and now she had just barely failed to meet his ridiculously high standards. at any rate, he almost certainly won’t kill her again…
seriously, though, if he doesn’t realize he can just choose his successor i’ma be pissed. of all the characters in this story so far, only White Chain would be deserving of the power he offers and not because she nearly succeeded at his stupid honey trap.
It’s strange to see that Solomon looks genuinely frustrated over the fact that WC couldn’t make him bleed. It almost seems that, for all his pride and hypocrisy, he does genuinely see his position as a burden, self-made or not.
Let’s not be hasty with the paper dolls, Cio…
[pantomime voice] She’s behind you!
Waiting for Solomon Dave to be a reasonable guy and doing some really smart stuff
People take for granted that each of the characters in this have strengths and faults; Solomon is not a ‘evil’ man, he is doing what he sincerely believes in right. Mottom isn’t entirely evil, she’s ruled over by fear that she has to behave and be as she is in order to maintain less disaster and chaos than if she were to simply resign (Much like Solomon, but different philosophies.)
As far as we have seen the only two mischevious and truly egocentric entities would be Incubus and Jagganoth; Gog A-gog is crazy as likely are the thorn knights (Torture drove Metatron insane.) and the dragon himself is long since senile and of diminished awareness.
A recurring theme in this comic as I have observed is how dated beliefs and philosophies by rulers can lead to stagnation and corruption and it is so gradual (given time spans we see) that by the time the rulers could be aware they blame the people for their own poor rulership.
I believe we’ll see some amazing character development for Solomon that better exemplifies his better character traits; plenty of people get too attached to specifically the starring cast forgetting that Abaddon has made an incredible universe of characters with many full of great depth and purpose. Try to remember folks, Solomon lives by the strict Diamond Policies ‘because’ he knows there are only demiurges that factor into the balance and safety of the Universe and he knows he is the only one that has the Will, Sensible Nature, and Power capable of preserving a semblance of Order in an otherwise gone insane reality.
Solomon doesn’t disbelieve heroes exist; he considers someone that is naive or lacking power enough to manifest their vision and will incapable of bearing that burden — and so he carries it in his mind entirely alone. Zodd spoke specifically of this kind of delusion of ‘control’ being what Alison needs to avoid, because in Solomon we see who and what she could have easily become with her good-nature and impulsiveness.
Good work thus far on the comic folks.
I feel that Solomon has to make incidentally the same change White Chain has undergone. But, while she’s a simple pawn to that “system of order” (as a lawbringer), he is the Emperor. So he will probably get over it. But will probably need a longer time.
I’m not sure if we should call Gog “crazy”. She’s not human and never has been, and as far as we know she’s a unique kind of creature. She just is what she is, in other words.
So, let me get this straight. Solomon David can move quicker than the eye can see and drops rings when he takes damage? He reminds me of a certain blue blur…
To know royalty, one must first know where to get the most radical Chili Dogs in the wheel.
Excellent reference
Abbadon i love you dude
Y’all, the themes at play are not especially subtle and it’s not super hard to figure out what the deal is here.
Power is a cage and a wheel. Those who wield it become trapped by it. The more they use it to try to impose their will on the world, the more they are forced to use it solely in the pursuit of holding onto it. Ultimately they failto shape the world and instead being shaped by it into perpetuating cycles of violence.
So far, the only escapes from power we’ve seen are utter annihilation (all the dead demiurges) or abdication (Maya). The central theme of the narrative, more overtly stated this chapter, has been the search for how to escape the cycle of violence and allow power to bring life instead of death.
By now, it is clear that *none* of the demiurges want their position anymore, but are kept trapped within the cycle by their cardinal flaw. Mother Om was lead to envy power as the only escape from her sufferring, and now fears what envy will drive her subjects to do if she tries to change. The Dragon’s greed consumed everything else in his life, and now he knows nothing else. Incubus lusts for the approval of others far more than he has any actual desire to rule, but knows no way to fill that need without using his power to seduce others’ minds. Gog-agog just straight-up enjoys the ability to party and consume without consequences to give it up. The Red God is the only one right now with an actual plan to break the cycle, by breaking everything, but his wrath keeps him trapped in the cycle for now. Solomon is too prideful to admit that anyone else might be able to wield the power better than he has, and so has invented a farce that lets him demonstrate the ‘superiority’ of his approach while leaving the possibility that someone could free him from the power, but only by validating his beliefs in doing so.
Zoss is trying to get Alison to find a way to use power to uplift and empower others; white chain is the first she has inspired to try to fight the system and find a new way. As she said, she is not trying to win by Solomon’s rules.
So solomon is not bleeding. He is legitimately frustrated, angry, and sad that he is not bleeding, not because of cauterization or a technicality, but because narratively it is way more thematically coherent that white chain did not draw blood. If he were bleeding, he truly would have won – he could give up his power while still ensuring that his successor proved that might truly did make right and that all should know their place. Whatever he thinks has happened right now and whatever he plans to do next, he knows that he has been bested by someone who played by a different set of rules.
This is the exact correct interpretation. Solomon felt pain in his cheek, but no blood. That face is not a face of wounded pride (as others have said) that is the face of someone who is frustrated. He was smiling when White Chain came at him. Gave him everything he wanted. He saw that she could overcome his time-stopping power.
And all she gave him was a bruise.
While I agree with you and other posters who echoed this sentiment in principle I still think you’re giving Solomon too much credit. I do not believe he honestly wants to be defeated, he states so, he may have even fooled himself but in these tournaments he only find the confirmation of his deep rooted belief that he cannot step down ever because nobody is going to be able to take his place. And he takes a dark, masochistic pleasure in his sacrifice displaying it for all to see and basking in their worship even as he convinces himself that he loathes it.
The moment he touches his face it’s not in hope, it’s in disbelief, there are thoughts racing through his head, not a few of which are probably along the lines of how could he maintain his tyranny through the (self)illusion of sacrifice. Could he say that he’s “going to help the champion grow and pass the reigns of the empire to them when they’re ready”? Or claim they’ve somehow cheated? Or… and then there is no blood.
This is when he can allow himself to be (not just to show, but actually to be) disappointed, this is when he can do “Alas, not even this one”. There is no greater pride than one announcing their humility.
I cannot agree. Solomon, of all of the other Demiurges is the only one that I can actually relate to. Unlike those that are trapped by fear or greed or dementia, Solomon actively -wants- to give up his power. He demands that he only give his power to someone who could defeat him, of course, but he -is- tired.
It’s the same “only the worthy can wear the mantle” story. He thought White Chain was unworthy, but as we saw him smile when White Chain moved, his opinion changed. And yet, even all that.. only a bruise.
Solomon is too powerful to be defeated under his own rule-set by someone else. Only Solomon can defeat Solomon, and that will be the lesson he learns first and foremost.
I agree with Val. Solomon only pretends to want to give up his power, and perhaps has managed to fool himself, but if he were honest he’d admit that no one aside from the Red God has a chance at besting him.
[Though not perfectly explicit, I love one thing about this best:
Power hoarded traps the hoarder; power shared frees all of us.
A truly important concept, especially today.]
Does he “know” without looking what has happened to white chain?.
He hasn’t looked around, or moved to defend himself, or anything like that. So either he “knows” she is no longer a threat, or he somehow felt or sensed or intuited her transformation, and understands she can’t continue the fight.
Mother Om stands for gluttony. Gog-Agog stands for envy. It’s especially obvious when she mimics the other demiurges at the first concordance.
Solomon David discovers that he does not actually have blood. His Law is based on a Lie. He had trapped himself and didn’t know it. Unlikely but amusing
Oh Al, do you not recognize your Sifu?
I quite expected the Soup Dragon to appear in the first panel, perhaps she will make an appearance later to look in on her friends.
Gurgleurgleurgleurgle
“Woulds tha like some green soup?” (like as not, fer thums nae familiar wi yon cute volcanic-soup-lake-guardin six-legged draconic).
Blue string soup was the traditional variety in my day and had great restorative properties. I’m not sure if it works on blue hedgehogs but it might well be worth a try.