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what could helm be?

Started by sheridan, 12 May, 2020, 10:08:53 PM

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sheridan

Just listening to Space Spinner 2000: Collection 20 – Rogue Trooper Volume 1 Part 1 and Conrad's closing thoughts highlight how passive a character Helm is.  So my question is - if you were writing Rogue back in the early eighties and wanted to give all three chips more to do, what would Chip 1 be?  2 is a gun, which has obvious plots points in a future war strip, 3 is a bag full of grenades (and whatever else the plot needs) but 1 is a hat.

Dark Jimbo

Rennie writes Helm really well; very much the tactician of the group, and occasionally mediator between the others. He also gives him some hacking and decrypting to do. If only Finley-Day had thought as hard about the role!
@jamesfeistdraws

Colin YNWA

Quote from: sheridan on 12 May, 2020, 10:08:53 PM
Just listening to Space Spinner 2000: Collection 20 – Rogue Trooper Volume 1 Part 1 and Conrad's closing thoughts highlight how passive a character Helm is.  So my question is - if you were writing Rogue back in the early eighties and wanted to give all three chips more to do, what would Chip 1 be?  2 is a gun, which has obvious plots points in a future war strip, 3 is a bag full of grenades (and whatever else the plot needs) but 1 is a hat.

There were so many functions he could of performed that the series didn't expliot. First he could have been the eyes and ears of the team, alerting folks to danger. In stead they gave that function to Bagman.

To maintain the literal nature of the chips function he could also have been the brains of the bunch. Maybe to keep the bickering going he could have been arrogant, or over bold or whatever and Rogue more grounded or whatever.

As it was hard frisbee was all he got!

sheridan

Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 12 May, 2020, 10:24:20 PM
Rennie writes Helm really well; very much the tactician of the group, and occasionally mediator between the others. He also gives him some hacking and decrypting to do. If only Finley-Day had thought as hard about the role!

General familiarity with computers has overtaken a lot of old sci-fi which tried to include computers (as can be seen in the early cyberpunk Rogue story).

sheridan

Quote from: Colin YNWA on 12 May, 2020, 10:25:21 PM
Quote from: sheridan on 12 May, 2020, 10:08:53 PM
Just listening to Space Spinner 2000: Collection 20 – Rogue Trooper Volume 1 Part 1 and Conrad's closing thoughts highlight how passive a character Helm is.  So my question is - if you were writing Rogue back in the early eighties and wanted to give all three chips more to do, what would Chip 1 be?  2 is a gun, which has obvious plots points in a future war strip, 3 is a bag full of grenades (and whatever else the plot needs) but 1 is a hat.

There were so many functions he could of performed that the series didn't expliot. First he could have been the eyes and ears of the team, alerting folks to danger. In stead they gave that function to Bagman.

To maintain the literal nature of the chips function he could also have been the brains of the bunch. Maybe to keep the bickering going he could have been arrogant, or over bold or whatever and Rogue more grounded or whatever.

As it was hard frisbee was all he got!

He also acts as a pillow!

SpaceSpinner2000

Every time Bagman scans something or seems to have sensors I get a little angry. That's Helm's job! It's all he's got!

Instead Bagman does almost everything, and seems to be the leader of the group, while Gunnar just wants to fight and Helm occasionally clonks someone upside the head.
2000 AD recap podcast, from the beginning!
Check out the show here! Or on iTunes, Google Play, or your preferred podcast app!

Funt Solo

*PTCHOOOO* [Nort bullet bounces off Helm]

Rogue: "Thanks, Helm!"
Helm: "Huh?"



++ A-Z ++  coma ++

sheridan

Quote from: Funt Solo on 12 May, 2020, 10:48:58 PM
*PTCHOOOO* [Nort bullet bounces off Helm]

Rogue: "Thanks, Helm!"
Helm: "Huh?"






Funny you should say that - the last episode I read was Hats Off to Helm Part 2, and it goes like this:
SPANG!  SPANG!
Helm: "I did it again!  I'm a double hero!"

Rogue: "I thought you weren't going to brag, Helm?"

Funt Solo

It's great - like a sock going "Yep - that was me that encased your feet!"

Rogue: "Let's make camp here for tonight."
LeftSock: "Another blister free day thanks to my cushioning ability!"
Toothbrush: "Lemme at that chem-plaque, Rogue!"
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

SpaceSpinner2000

2000 AD recap podcast, from the beginning!
Check out the show here! Or on iTunes, Google Play, or your preferred podcast app!

IndigoPrime

Helm: tactician and holographic HUD
Gunnar: gun and psychopath
Bagman: supplies and R2D2-like hacker

Also, get some kind of backstory in there that makes their names make sense (see: IDW's reboot) versus idiotic (by a STUNNING COINCIDENCE, they always had relevant names, as per the goofy original).