Oots 633

[WalterKovacs]

The Oracle never said he'd keep the ultimate arcane power. I think this is a good way of fulfilling the prophecy without removing V from the comic (because it's widely known that having a super-powerful character as a regular on any plot-centered show/comic is bad news).

True, the temporary part isn't as problematic as some other things (namely that there are three fiends, and he'd have to say 4 words to one right being to get the power, and that there is power greater than those of mortal casters ... for example, the soul binding spell and the time stop effects the fiends are using may not be accessible to him even while he's melded ... which wouldn't be total/ultimate ...)

 

[catsclaw227]

Even worse, as I interpret the bargain, nothing that they've said requires the period of time to be consecutive. They can choose to borrow 10 minutes here, and another 10 minutes there as needed.

This immediately stood out to me when I read the strip. I was reminded of a old childrens series called the Three Investigators (a Hitchcock book series for kids back in the 70s) where the group won the use of a limo for 24 hours. They then were able to twist the wording of the contract and it allowed them to get the limo for an hour or so at a time, whenever they needed it, for like 2 or 3 months. They were kids, they didn't need to get around town that much.

Couple this with the idea that they can use him even before he dies, and it becomes incredibly dangerous. Imagine V about to cast a spell that would thwart a bad dude and *pop*! In comes a demon, stops V from his casting, bad dude gets away. "We really needed him alive. You know, for that end game we talked about."

A really, really, really bad deal.

Roy would kill him if he found out.

 

[Orius]

I think it's more like a time-share.

Which of course just demonstrates how vilely evil this deal truely is.