Voidus Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Revealed in a recent SoS signing, Tia does know what Profs weakness is, which has plenty of potential for the events of Calamity and begs the question why he didn't immediately go after Tia when he became corrupted again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Joe in the Bush Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Does Prof know what his Weakness is? Does he know Tia knows? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Can Prof not know if Tia does? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurkistan Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 (edited) Can Prof not know if Tia does? Well Nightwielder didn't know for sure when David found out his weakness. So depending on the circumstances where Tia found out and how Batman she was about not letting Prof knew she knew, Prof could be unaware. EDIT: Ah, you may be referring to Prof knowing his own weakness, rather than just if he knows she knows. I'd still say it's possible that Tia could know Prof's weakness without Prof himself even knowing what it is. Theoretically she could deduce it from observation about his past/character like David's been figuring out—highly unlikely, given that this seems to be a new approach. More realistically, it depends to an extent of how aware Epics are of their powers failing. So if Prof wasn't actively using anything and lost his powers for a second, would he notice? Assuming he'd notice, it's still possible that Tia could have observed some power-failure while Prof was distracted and/or insensate. So if Prof's weakness is melted marshmallows, then she could have noticed a marshmallow-induced burn not healing if Prof dozed off while making s'mores. Another scenario is if Prof's powers fail and he notices it, but he's unable to figure out exactly what triggered it; meanwhile Tia does. Edited October 12, 2015 by Kurkistan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Joe in the Bush Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 There's also the possibility that gifted powers tia had failed in the presence of his weakness. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angsos Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 I find it more likely Prof didn't go after Tia for love. I think as long as Tia doesn't actively try to kill Prof, he won't come after her. There still has to be some of Prof inside the high epic. Incidently, where are the spoiler tags, I can't find them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weltall Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 I think that Prof's decision to go after David first was probably because he was potentially the bigger threat. If Prof knows his weakness and knows that Tia knows, there's a chance that whatever it is it's something David could figure out on his own. In that case, David is a bigger long-term risk because he's pretty good at figuring out Epic weaknesses, he's more dangerous in a fight and he's likely to have fewer hesitations about putting a bullet through Prof's head. If Prof doesn't know his weakness but knows that Tia knows it, he might still have seen David as more dangerous depending on when he realized that Tia knows what it is (ie, if it's something he thinks David could also have observed), for a similar reason. And if he has no idea that Tia knows his weakness then going after David first just makes sense from a 'who's potentially more dangerous to me?' perspective. So I don't have too much trouble with Prof not going after Tia first regardless of what he knew or didn't know. Though I am surprised that David doesn't spare much time in the epilogue worrying about Tia's safety since she's got to be next on the list. Though with Tia monitoring events, she would have had some advance warning and I'm sure she had a few 'get the hell out of here' contingency plans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormgate Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Perhaps Prof's weakness is such that Tia could trigger it at any time, making Prof too afraid of Tia to even try. Or perhaps Tia is Prof's weakness. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sovereign Posted December 18, 2015 Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 (edited) Regarding Prof's weakness I have recently been re-reading Firefight and I think we may have a real clue as to what his weakness is: In the scene where David is bringing boxes in after Prof saves the people from the burning building David goes to check on Prof and prof tells him about his trip to NASA after David inquires about the photo. A little later David mentions the conversation to Tia and she remarks that she had to bring Prof because he was jealous his coworker had won a contest to go train with NASA. She then says that Prof didn't even enter the competition and that he never participates in competition. I suspect that competition is Prof's weakness or maybe something more like the fear of losing. Edited December 18, 2015 by Iron Eyes 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormgate Posted December 18, 2015 Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 I've heard that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSC01 Posted December 20, 2015 Report Share Posted December 20, 2015 The competition thing seems very likely, but it must be specific in some way. He got spooked and ran away when Firefight challenged him, which seems to point to his weakness. However, he fought Steelheart for a long time in the first book and never ran or fell victim to his weakness. I do have an idea. So, Prof should have been able to beat Firefight eventually, even if she was really powerful right after her resurrection. I'm not 100% certain, but I think that he was aware that he was more powerful than her. I also think that he was probably better qualified than his colleagues (at least in his mind) to win that NASA trip. He has an aversion to contests in which his opponent has a chance to beat him, even though he outclasses them. His weakness is based on his fear of being humiliated by losing to someone he should be able to beat. Maybe. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copperkeep Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 The competition thing seems very likely, but it must be specific in some way. He got spooked and ran away when Firefight challenged him, which seems to point to his weakness. However, he fought Steelheart for a long time in the first book and never ran or fell victim to his weakness. I do have an idea. So, Prof should have been able to beat Firefight eventually, even if she was really powerful right after her resurrection. I'm not 100% certain, but I think that he was aware that he was more powerful than her. I also think that he was probably better qualified than his colleagues (at least in his mind) to win that NASA trip. He has an aversion to contests in which his opponent has a chance to beat him, even though he outclasses them. His weakness is based on his fear of being humiliated by losing to someone he should be able to beat. Maybe. I love the idea of abstract kryptonite-factors like this that can push Epics to making seemingly bizarre decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted December 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2015 The competition thing seems very likely, but it must be specific in some way. He got spooked and ran away when Firefight challenged him, which seems to point to his weakness. However, he fought Steelheart for a long time in the first book and never ran or fell victim to his weakness. I do have an idea. So, Prof should have been able to beat Firefight eventually, even if she was really powerful right after her resurrection. I'm not 100% certain, but I think that he was aware that he was more powerful than her. I also think that he was probably better qualified than his colleagues (at least in his mind) to win that NASA trip. He has an aversion to contests in which his opponent has a chance to beat him, even though he outclasses them. His weakness is based on his fear of being humiliated by losing to someone he should be able to beat. Maybe. Firefight is a full fledged reality-warper at resurrection, Prof is one of the strongest Epics but even he couldn't compete with that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xland44 Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Prof mentioned the entire 5th grade classroom he taught was murdered by epics, and we see that it's easier to deal with his personality changes when he does science experiments that reminds him of them. This is much like how Megan is less afraid when she is with David, hence being able to deal with the personality changes more easily. I think that watching the people he deeply cares about dying is his weakness, which means that instead of killing Tia (which he can't due to his powers weakening when attempting to harm someone he cares about), it would be best to kidnap her so that nobody may harm her to use his weakness. This would explain Tia's disappearance - He can't kill her, so he hides her instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Star Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 Well, at least we know Prof's weakness isn't Cola. Though it would be pretty funny if it was, and that was why Tia always kept so much of it around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiLyghtSansSparkles Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 Well, at least we know Prof's weakness isn't Cola. Though it would be pretty funny if it was, and that was why Tia always kept so much of it around. "Why does Tia drink so much cola?" "Oh, you mean Epic repellant?" 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneSpren Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 Well, at least we know Prof's weakness isn't Cola. Though it would be pretty funny if it was, and that was why Tia always kept so much of it around. I wonder what would happen if Cody did manage to take Tia's Cola. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sovereign Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 I wonder what would happen if Cody did manage to take Tia's Cola. I suspect we would see Tia use a gun. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weltall Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 Though it would be pretty funny if it was, and that was why Tia always kept so much of it around. There's already Sourcefield who had a weakness to a drink so that would be doubling up on more or less the same schtick. Still, the idea of cola as Epic repellant is inherently amusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junior Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 In one episode of Darkwing Duck, a superhero - who bore a suspicious resemblance to Darkwing's adopted daughter Gosalyn - died after falling into a vat of her weakness - Kookie Kola. On a slightly more serious note, I suspect that Tia's had plans for quite a while about what to do if Prof turned. Prof might have even forced her to make those plans without telling him the details. And since Tia tends to monitor Prof when he's in the field, she probably knew the instant he turned, and immediately went to ground. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormgate Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 I would like to finish off this thread by stating, once and for all, Tia didn't know Prof's weakness. The members of the 17th Shard, on the other hand, are apparently quite good at guessing it. We got close with him being afraid of contests. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galavantes Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 (edited) Actually I think someone did nail it. I recall someone specifically saying a fear of failure. But I can't recall who. Edited February 19, 2016 by Galavantes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sovereign Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Actually I think someone did nail it. I recall someone specifically saying a fear of failure. But I can't recall who. I got pretty close: Regarding Prof's weakness I have recently been re-reading Firefight and I think we may have a real clue as to what his weakness is: In the scene where David is bringing boxes in after Prof saves the people from the burning building David goes to check on Prof and prof tells him about his trip to NASA after David inquires about the photo. A little later David mentions the conversation to Tia and she remarks that she had to bring Prof because he was jealous his coworker had won a contest to go train with NASA. She then says that Prof didn't even enter the competition and that he never participates in competition. I suspect that competition is Prof's weakness or maybe something more like the fear of losing. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galavantes Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 That was probably it. I'm willing to give you the credit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teegs Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 The trick was Prof... had to admit to failing. It wasn't until David and Megan made him confront the issues that his powers were nullified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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