So he strikes…like Thunderball… – Chap. 5, Act 4, Strip 74

So, this is definitely a Thursday update. I can tell by the pixels, and I’ve seen a few Thursday updates in my time (mostly on Thursdays, in point of fact).

It’s definitely not a Monday update, and never was intended to be. Just look at those pixels, right? There. And those over there. And that little cluster at the edge over there. Those would all look totally different if this had been a Monday update. It might be a subtle difference, but just trust my expert knowledge here. *winkwink*

Anyway, independent of the day of the week, this update features the start of the major action sequence that is required at the very end of the story…with the ‘major’ity of course being scaled to a B-movie budget. Since Winston Churchill just showed up in the story, the action sequence will naturally be heavily inspired by James Bond, Winston Churchill’s closest fictional counterpart (if you even consider them separate people at all).

And I’ve always wanted to have something like that cool underwater fight sequence from “Thunderball” in a comic, so when would I get a better opportunity?

Well, admittedly, there would have been a slight margin for bettering the opportunity…since this sequence is set in 1899, and that’s four years ahead of the Wright Brothers’ first flight. But what’s a measly four years after more than a century? So I’ve adapted Clement Ader’s “Eole” for the purpose – after all, it did fly as early as 1890!
… also 50 meters isn’t really enough to reach South Africa from Brie (or from Britain, for that matter), and an altitude of 20 centimeters is a bit below the recommended minimum altitude for parachuting (while on the other hand, you’d hardly need one jumping from that height).

But if we stretch historical reality just a tiny little bit, we’re almost there…let’s say Ader improved his design just a tiny little bit, and the British Army was, for once, eager to adopt the newest technology (which might be the bigger stretch), then there might have been an air transport wing and a parachute regiment by 1899 (the parachute having, in fact been a much older invention). Then Nolan took a look at the budget, and whittled it down to an air transport plane and a parachute squad.

And then it would be totally plausible, of course, that these assets would be put at the disposal of Winston Churchill, since he is clearly the closest fictional counterpart to James Bond.

The German Empire, in turn, might have had an unit of frogmen by that time. Open-circuit scuba gear only came about in the 1920ies … but I guess you can always simply hold your breath, if you’re just gottverdammt determined enough. For the Kaiser!

More on Thurs…uh, sorry, Monday.

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