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Theorycraft- Epics-Weaknesses-prof - Etc.


kuchapel

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My broad theory: Epic weaknesses are tied to their past. 

 

Narrower theories: Whatever an Epic's weakness is, it was something that, in the past, had a strong emotional hold on them. I think they fit into one of the following categories: 

 

  1. Powerlessness. Steelheart's weakness is one that practically screams powerlessness. It is something that breaks the strongest hold he has on people, rendering him, literally and figuratively, powerless.

    My theory here is that he was bullied as a teen and fought back by making his tormenters far more frightened of him than he was of them. This would mean that only someone who wasn't afraid of him could stand up to him, making it a natural candidate for his Epic weakness.

  2. Trauma. Firefight's weakness seems to be hinted at in the first novel.

    She reaches for her gun when David showers her in dust. Moments before, she told David how all of Oregon was a wasteland, and David mentions that Epics frequently kill people for exposing their weaknesses. If the destruction of Oregon traumatized Megan, then it makes sense that dust—a result of destruction—would become her weakness.

  3. Self-perception. Fortuity's entire image is "billionaire playboy serial killer." He has no bodyguards, thus telling the world that he considers himself untouchable. The two women he abandons for Megan stand where they are, "not daring to argue," implying he is not above using violence to control women.

    And yet physical attraction is his weakness. My theory here is that he believes himself above all threats, yet the one aspect of his life he believes to have the most control over is actually the chink in his armor.

 

I admit I may be wrong on every count. If all my guesses prove to be nothing but wild speculation, then I fall back on my original theory: Every Epic weakness is the one gift that Epic never got from Santa. :P 

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I also subscribe to the theory that weaknesses are related to their past. The whole Mitosis episode just screams that possibility, not only that but his weakness also caused him to act very out of character and (kind of) confines in a Vanilla about his past and Prof´s reaction just screams denial about the whole deal.

 

That of course still doesn´t answer what exactly Prof´s is. The most glaring trauma in his past in naturally the death of his students but with them death they probably aren´t his weakness, neither is harm/death hitting his subordinates, if anything that shift him into rage mode.

Granted, this could be the wrong direction, especially if Prof is the Epic that killed his student.

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I also subscribe to the theory that weaknesses are related to their past. The whole Mitosis episode just screams that possibility, not only that but his weakness also caused him to act very out of character and (kind of) confines in a Vanilla about his past and Prof´s reaction just screams denial about the whole deal.

 

That of course still doesn´t answer what exactly Prof´s is. The most glaring trauma in his past in naturally the death of his students but with them death they probably aren´t his weakness, neither is harm/death hitting his subordinates, if anything that shift him into rage mode.

Granted, this could be the wrong direction, especially if Prof is the Epic that killed his student.

 

Maybe something about the situation? Granted, we can't make any real guesses about his weakness until we know what that situation was, but I think it was something unique to what happened there. 

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Maybe something about the situation? Granted, we can't make any real guesses about his weakness until we know what that situation was, but I think it was something unique to what happened there. 

If they got killed before he turned into an Epic I´m willing to bet on that but that still leaves open a lot of possibilities.

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I'm betting his weakness is Tia. I think it's pretty clear that she keeps him sane. Maybe she's not his primary weakness but threatening her should bring it out.

My personal guess would be no. Making the weakness someting as specific as a person seems to easy to eliminate and causing an Epic without weakness. (Furthermore, I´m pretty sure that Tia used the Tensor, which she shouldn´t be able to if she´s his weakness.)

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My personal guess would be no. Making the weakness someting as specific as a person seems to easy to eliminate and causing an Epic without weakness. (Furthermore, I´m pretty sure that Tia used the Tensor, which she shouldn´t be able to if she´s his weakness.)

 

It could be something that reminds him very strongly of Tia. I'm not sure what it'd be, but I do think Tia has some sort of connection to his weakness. 

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It could be something that reminds him very strongly of Tia. I'm not sure what it'd be, but I do think Tia has some sort of connection to his weakness. 

Naturally that is so vague it´s completely possible. :P Honestly, what makes me most skeptical about his weakness being connected to her is this: Should weaknesses be connected to the Epics past, Prof´s reaction seems to imply that he´s in denial over it, which would mean it´s something very bad, which would be completely in accord with the theory.

Now, if we connect this to Tia this means there would be something in their past he probably doesn´t want to remember. What could that be? It could be an accident he gives himself the fault for but that would probably already have been foreshadowed with some kind of lasting injury with Tia. Another plausible option I could think of is that Prof something horrible to her before he became an Epic, in which case I´m not sure if she could trust him as much as she does not to succumb to the epic side. On the top of my head I can´t really thing of something else that is directly connected to Tia... unless Prof has a case of crush denial concerning her. :mellow: 

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Maybe Tia isn't his specific weakness but if there's love, threatening or harming her might cause Prof to go completely off the deep end and extreme anger would cause carelessness which more than likely equals death

He already seemed very angry, when David and Megan were in danger and refused to retreat from his fight with Steelheart, even lacking a proper reason to stay, so that isn´t much of a stretch.

Edited by Edgedancer
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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's a random idea with absolutely no basis.

 

What if Prof's weakness is seeing a normal human die in front of him? This could tie in with his past, assuming he wasn't the Epic who destroyed the school he worked at. Seeing his child charges murdered before his eyes could have instilled a sense of powerlessness in his heart deep enough to manifest as a weakness.

 

If this were the case, it could explain why he took the path he did--he'd be unable to commit the random atrocities that other Epics revel in, and might use his powers less as a result. And if he used his powers less, this could lead to further reflection about how his powers change him. Once he realizes the inherent evil of Epics... boom, we have the Reckoners. (Who, as we know, go out of their way to avoid civilian casualties.)

 

Just a random thought, as I said at first. There are plenty of far more substantiated theories out there.

 

Though personally, I suspect his weakness will be something totally from the left field, like hot apple pies thrown in his face or Australian clowns.

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Grad school homework. 

 

And not just any homework: semester projects. 

 

Prof said he never went to graduate school. I believe this was because he had a friend in the library science program, and this friend was weighted down with so many forty-page papers to write (three per semester, usually) that this friend had no social life, no free time, and no money. Seeing it happen to his friend filled Prof with such a feeling of powerlessness that he decided not to pursue a degree. Now, as an Epic, the merest mention of a semester project will cause his powers to short out. 

 

(No, I'm not drawing from personal experience. Why do you ask?) 

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