Somehow, yes. (It is known from one of the short stories that Lupin Madblood’s father was Felix Madblood and was also a killer-robot man.) The fact that the Helens Narbon have traditionally cloned themselves and therefore taken the need for relationships out of the equation is actually LESS disturbing.
I don’t know to what degree Shaenon intended the trip to the moon story to be canon. If it is, it may not be Professor Madblood (from the trip to the moon) but one of his descendents or ancestors. If it was after Mars, I’d have to wonder how he got back.
I’ve just checked. and Victorian Madblood gives his name as Professor Lupin “Wolf” Madblood in Chapter Seven. So this isn’t him.
Statistically speaking, Victorian Lupin is more likely to succeed Ximes than precede him, since there was only 14 years of the Victorian era prior to the Great Exhibition, and 50 years afterwards.
It almost definitely is a title. John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough is pretty much the standard format. The only time you get the name and title aligning is when the peerage was created for the individual, and either the territory was as well (rare), there is no territory, or other similar cases.
However, I can’t imagine any Madblood not claiming all titles to which he was entitled every time he introduced himself. So this Madblood being Count Ximes doesn’t exclude him from being the same as the serial, but the fact that the serial Madblood never referred to himself as a count rather does.
Hmm, I have an idea but I don’t know if I’ve got time today to wade through enough narbonic to confirm or deny it. What are the chances the bus that Dave’s undead head got left on was a SEPTA bus? Because the combined Hitty/Moustachio think they might be headed for Pennsylvania and if so they could be on their way to a Lupin Madblood that is somehow now under employ of A-Sig.
I think the only apt thing to say at this point is… (deep inhale)
♫ From the West to the East
From the greatest to the least
Ev’ry creature, man and beast,
Bow before him!
All ye kings of the lands
From the tundra to the sands
Crawl upon your knees and hands
And implore him: ♫
“O my liege! Here you go!
Take my country! Seize control!
We are beaten- BY YOUR IRON DOGS OF WAR!”
ROBOT ARMY, at this point, just Mustachio (Chorus):
Hail to the name of the Robot King!
Loudly our synthetic voices ring!
Singing the verse he programmed us to sing –
The mighty mighty Madblood!
I’ve got the version you recorded, that Shaenon put up on the Narbonic site, in my big MP3 random-play list. I’ve gotten some pretty weird looks and “what the hell is that?”s a few times when it’s come up when I had people over.
And I’m going to have it stuck in my head all day now.
It really gets harder and harder not to laugh the more times you hear it. I think that last time, I managed to get halfway through it before cracking up.
(Tune: The Official Madblood Battle Anthem, Jeffrey Wells)
From the near to the far,
From Earth to the distant stars,
They will fear the handlebar,
Of Moustachio!
All will now learn their place,
Once it’s welded to his face,
He will swallow those who chase,
Like pistachio.
“Oh, good heavens! It’s not fair!
Automatons with facial hair!
We are beaten by THE MIGHTY HANDLEBAR!”
Hail to the man who soldered my ‘tache!
Whose greatness is stored in my memory cache!
Hail as the Crystal Palace I smash!
For mighty Ximes Madblood!
The phrasing “Madblood, Count Ximes” is rather odd: I’m not sure whether this is Count Ximes Madblood, and Moustachio is referring to him like an index entry, or the Count [of] Ximes, and Moustachio has omitted his personal name but not his surname. In the latter case he could still be “Lupin Madblood, nth Count Ximes”.
Correct – the British (and Irish) equivilant is an Earl.
(Although the Earl’s wife would still be a Countess, go figure.)
I’d suspect (based on where the title of Count was used) that this particular Madblood is French, which could well explain why he was so eager to have his creation RAMPAGE! through a British exhibition…
Weirdly, the term “Count” is an English translation of a variety of titles, none of which are spelled or pronounced exactly like it. The equivalency and translation of noble titles is even weirder than that of military titles, despite both having historical needs for interoperability.
I’m not sure a Narbon would be involved. After all, the Narbons we know are mad biologists. Sure, there was the trip to the moon, but we don’t know if Victorian Helen Narbon is canon. And the modern Madblood has definitely demonstrated his chops at the construction of unstoppable robotic monsters.
I assume this particular madblood went mad from people continually asking him how to pronounce his name.
madbloods reproduce?
Somehow, yes. (It is known from one of the short stories that Lupin Madblood’s father was Felix Madblood and was also a killer-robot man.) The fact that the Helens Narbon have traditionally cloned themselves and therefore taken the need for relationships out of the equation is actually LESS disturbing.
And we did, of course, meet Lupin’s mom in Narbonic.
Oh yes, I am pleased by this development!
So do we get the Victorian Narbon Dave and Mel too? Hmm? Do we? Please?
Is this before or after Mars?
I don’t know to what degree Shaenon intended the trip to the moon story to be canon. If it is, it may not be Professor Madblood (from the trip to the moon) but one of his descendents or ancestors. If it was after Mars, I’d have to wonder how he got back.
I’ve just checked. and Victorian Madblood gives his name as Professor Lupin “Wolf” Madblood in Chapter Seven. So this isn’t him.
Statistically speaking, Victorian Lupin is more likely to succeed Ximes than precede him, since there was only 14 years of the Victorian era prior to the Great Exhibition, and 50 years afterwards.
Count Ximes may be his title, rather than his name.
So Lupin is still a possible.
It almost definitely is a title. John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough is pretty much the standard format. The only time you get the name and title aligning is when the peerage was created for the individual, and either the territory was as well (rare), there is no territory, or other similar cases.
However, I can’t imagine any Madblood not claiming all titles to which he was entitled every time he introduced himself. So this Madblood being Count Ximes doesn’t exclude him from being the same as the serial, but the fact that the serial Madblood never referred to himself as a count rather does.
Hmm, I have an idea but I don’t know if I’ve got time today to wade through enough narbonic to confirm or deny it. What are the chances the bus that Dave’s undead head got left on was a SEPTA bus? Because the combined Hitty/Moustachio think they might be headed for Pennsylvania and if so they could be on their way to a Lupin Madblood that is somehow now under employ of A-Sig.
…this makes WAY too much sense.
I was gonna say that it explains more than it doesn’t.
…Heh. Moustachio got grandfathered into the Machine Union in several ways!
(TUNE: “Onward Christian Soldiers”, Baring-Gould and Sullivan)
Awesome moustache soldered!
Handlebar, with curls!
This is how Victorian
Robots get the girls!
Madblood, greatest genius
Of, perhaps, all time!
See how he has craf-ted
Facial hair sublime!
Awesome moustache soldered!
Smashing, shout “Pip pip!”
Rather seems a shame, though …
I don’t have a lip!
Applause!
I think the only apt thing to say at this point is… (deep inhale)
♫ From the West to the East
From the greatest to the least
Ev’ry creature, man and beast,
Bow before him!
All ye kings of the lands
From the tundra to the sands
Crawl upon your knees and hands
And implore him: ♫
“O my liege! Here you go!
Take my country! Seize control!
We are beaten- BY YOUR IRON DOGS OF WAR!”
ROBOT ARMY, at this point, just Mustachio (Chorus):
Hail to the name of the Robot King!
Loudly our synthetic voices ring!
Singing the verse he programmed us to sing –
The mighty mighty Madblood!
Great minds…
Hee hee! I’m so pleased you remember that…
I’ve got the version you recorded, that Shaenon put up on the Narbonic site, in my big MP3 random-play list. I’ve gotten some pretty weird looks and “what the hell is that?”s a few times when it’s come up when I had people over.
And I’m going to have it stuck in my head all day now.
Now I’m going to have to go searching for said MP3.
There’s a link in the Narbonic commentary here.
It really gets harder and harder not to laugh the more times you hear it. I think that last time, I managed to get halfway through it before cracking up.
(Tune: The Official Madblood Battle Anthem, Jeffrey Wells)
From the near to the far,
From Earth to the distant stars,
They will fear the handlebar,
Of Moustachio!
All will now learn their place,
Once it’s welded to his face,
He will swallow those who chase,
Like pistachio.
“Oh, good heavens! It’s not fair!
Automatons with facial hair!
We are beaten by THE MIGHTY HANDLEBAR!”
Hail to the man who soldered my ‘tache!
Whose greatness is stored in my memory cache!
Hail as the Crystal Palace I smash!
For mighty Ximes Madblood!
What singer did you have in mind for this?
I’m oddly dissapointed by this, despite being a Madblood fan. I think it’s the hat.
Woo! Get ready for some pontification!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The phrasing “Madblood, Count Ximes” is rather odd: I’m not sure whether this is Count Ximes Madblood, and Moustachio is referring to him like an index entry, or the Count [of] Ximes, and Moustachio has omitted his personal name but not his surname. In the latter case he could still be “Lupin Madblood, nth Count Ximes”.
The last is technically correct, but it became a victim of the dreaded panel space economy.
How do you pronounce “Ximes”?
Never been certain, ask the late Clark Ashton Smith.
I believe it’s pronounced, “Throat Warbler Mangrove” but then again it may be the accent throwing me off.
Pass the popcorn, people. This is going to be goooood.
(Would this make Foot and Mustachio cousins, great-grandnephew and -uncle, or some stranger relation?)
I started reading this with the regular voice i use for Madblod, then had to remind myself this one’s the English one
…what?
I’m not sure he is the English one, given that “Count” isn’t an English title. He may talk just like Bela Lugosi, for all I know.
Correct – the British (and Irish) equivilant is an Earl.
(Although the Earl’s wife would still be a Countess, go figure.)
I’d suspect (based on where the title of Count was used) that this particular Madblood is French, which could well explain why he was so eager to have his creation RAMPAGE! through a British exhibition…
Weirdly, the term “Count” is an English translation of a variety of titles, none of which are spelled or pronounced exactly like it. The equivalency and translation of noble titles is even weirder than that of military titles, despite both having historical needs for interoperability.
I cannot state how humorous I find it to be that a Madblood was behind the construction of the Thinkonium.
Probably after a Narbon did all the hard work… with some capable help!
I’m not sure a Narbon would be involved. After all, the Narbons we know are mad biologists. Sure, there was the trip to the moon, but we don’t know if Victorian Helen Narbon is canon. And the modern Madblood has definitely demonstrated his chops at the construction of unstoppable robotic monsters.
So Moustachio was created by (a) Madblood? Nice.