Question: When Arthur steals Adam's power, why does he crumble to dust?
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Question: I don't quite understand why Dr. Manhattan had to kill Rorschach. That is, I don't quite get why that was the only solution. Rorschach was a valuable member of the Watchmen, and in the type of world they were in (chaos, corruption, murder, etc) one would think that they would want to keep as many of themselves banded together as possible. Couldn't some sort of negotiation or compromise have been reached/agreed to by Rorschach instead of him being killed?
Answer: He has spent years as a costumed vigilante despite the fact that it was illegal. He has a very strict idea of what is right ("never compromise") and has proven himself incapable of doing otherwise. So no, there was no real chance of negotiating with him - Rorschach himself made it clear he'd have to die if they wanted his silence.
Death was not the only choice. Doc M could easily have teleported/banished Rorschach to Mars/anywhere secluded in an oxygen bubble. He could have spared his life and just made him mute or manipulate his brain chemistry/atoms to remove the memory of what happened. The point is Doc M is all powerful and could manipulate matter at his whim; death was just a plot device creating a chance of an emotive martyrdom/sacrificial ending.
Ethically speaking, exiling him to Mars or erasing his memory of the event can be considered just as cruel as killing him, because then his agency is being taken away from him. Rorshach's malcontent with the situation poses a problem for the other heroes, and since Dr. Manhattan isn't willing to let him tell the truth of what happened, he obliges Rorschach's demand that he kill him instead.
Question: What exactly is Edward? Is he some sort of android?
Chosen answer: Just like Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein" we are not actually told how Edward is created. (Most have interpreted it to mean he was made of discarded body parts, though she never actually states that the body parts he stole were used in the monster, just in his "experiments".) In the end, we are left to believe that the inventor created a human-like person from some sort of scratch. Edward has blood, emotions, creativity, and the ability to heal his many wounds. Beyond that, we are told nothing.
Question: Why does the sniper target Stu? What's he done that is so bad?
Chosen answer: Stu is a pretty unpleasant character - he's arrogant, rude, untrustworthy, he's considering cheating on his wife, treats his assistant like crap and so forth. The sniper's intent is to force him to change his ways, to confess his sins to those around him and hopefully, by doing so, put himself on a path towards some sort of personal redemption.
Question: Is there any explanation regarding Adrian Veidts' fighting skill? All Watchmen are obviously very well trained in unarmed combat, but Adrian easily takes out both Night Owl and Rorschach attacking together, and he manage to grab a bullet fired from close range. I'm curious if it's explained in novel or somewhere in the movie that I might have missed.
Answer: Veidt has, through unspecified training, become able to use considerably more of his available mental capacity at any given moment than the average human. This allows him heightened intelligence, speed, reflexes and coordination, allowing him to easily out-think his opponents and accomplish physical feats at the absolute peak of human possibility. More than enough to give him an edge over the well-trained Nite Owl and Rorschach.
Question: Why did/does Skynet launch a nuclear attack against humanity? What were its reasons? I'm just a bit confused because in both movies they give conflicted answers.
Chosen answer: It was a defensive move, basically. As Skynet developed and increased in complexity, it ultimately achieved sentience and became self-aware. The humans tried to pull the plug, effectively trying to kill the new intelligence and Skynet fought back, utilising the nuclear arsenal to attempt to eradicate those who would shut it down.
Question: Instead of fighting the T-1000, why don't John, Sarah and the Terminator lay low for a while, hire a plane and go abroad?
Chosen answer: Because it would be a really dull film. Anyway, they'd know that it's always out there, trying to find them, never sleeping, always searching, relentless. No matter how long it took, it would ultimately locate them. Best to face it now in a proactive fashion than lie low and risk being caught by surprise when it finally catches up with them.
Answer: That's what they were going to do, when Sarah decided to kill the scientist who was working on the robotic arm from the first Terminator.
Answer: Consider a quote from the original Terminator about how terminators work: "It doesn't feel remorse, or pity, or fear, and it absolutely will not stop, until you are dead." Given that, running would be a temporary measure at best.
Question: Why do the writers and producers of 'Heroes' feel the need to kill such great characters? For example, The German. His power was pretty cool and could have been a major new villain in the third season, but they killed him off. Another would be Elle. Why her? She was such a great character.
Chosen answer: The writers kill off characters as and when it serves the purposes of the overall story for them to die. All characters have some potential to them - just as with real life, not all of them will get to live up to that potential. It sucks when a favourite character is killed off, but that's the nature of a TV show - characters, particularly recurring characters like Elle or minor villains like the German, are going to die on a regular basis.
Question: How exactly does Sylar acquire other powers? I know it has something to do with the victims brain, but what exactly?
Chosen answer: It's not been made 100% clear. It was originally assumed that he actually consumed part of the brain, but this has turned out not to be the case. Sylar has been shown all along to have an instinctive knowledge of how things work and how to fix them - this is his actual original power and the ability that made him an exceptional watchmaker and repairer. It appears that he uses a similar process when acquiring new powers - he exposes the brain of the target, allowing him to examine it and determine how their power functions. He can then apply that knowledge to his own brain, allowing him to replicate the ability in question.
Question: I don't get it. How can an eclipse stop evolved humans from accessing their abilities?
Chosen answer: As of season three it has not been explained. The characters gained powers after the solar eclipse of the first episode and temporarily lost them during "The Eclipse". It could be some form of cosmological radiation, Hiro and Ando make Superman analogies (who only has special powers because of Earth's yellow sun), Suresh believes it may be coincidental, or it might possibly be related to the catalyst, or it could be influenced by an as yet unseen character.
Question: Instead of using Rogue to power the machine, why not just build in some sort of automated system? Surely a lot less time consuming.
Chosen answer: Maybe they tried it and they couldn't. Maybe there's something about the specific energies of Magneto's powers that makes the system work. Maybe it would have made for a far less dramatic film if they had. Script-writers make the choices that they make with the aim of crafting as good a film as possible. Dramatically, it's far more interesting to have Rogue used as an unwilling power source than them building some power reactor thing. You may disagree, but it's the choice that they made.
Question: How is Dash Parr able to run across water?
Chosen answer: If any object can move across the water quickly enough, the weight isn't transferred completely. In some Scandinavian countries, they actually DRIVE very quickly across water in adapted vehicles. If the character of Dash could actually run that fast, it is feasible and possible for him to run on the water's surface.
Question: What exactly IS 'The Catalyst'? Are there any theories?
Chosen answer: It's never explained. There are probably many fan theories, but none can currently be considered to hold any weight. With the catalyst lost when Arthur died (something confirmed by the writers), it is unlikely that the concept will be revisited at any point and thus the exact nature of the catalyst must remain a mystery.
Question: When Obi-Wan and Darth Vader are dueling aboard the Death Star, why does Obi-Wan's lightsaber fizzle out?
Question: What were the circumstances behind the Doctor's regeneration, from his 8th incarnation to his 9th?
Chosen answer: The Eighth Doctor regenerated because he died in a crash on Karn, where the Sisterhood revived him to offer him the choice to either die, or regenerate to fight in the war. He choose to become the War Doctor, who regenerated after the events of "The Day of the Doctor" due to the stress of the Time War, or maybe because the war was over, and there was no need to be a warrior anymore.
Question: Could somebody please tell me how the 'Last Great Time War' started and ended?
Chosen answer: Few details have been revealed within the show itself, although Russell T Davies has given a few pointers in an article that he wrote for a Doctor Who annual. He suggests that the Daleks consider the War to have begun with the Time Lords sending the Fourth Doctor back to interfere with their creation, as seen in Genesis of the Daleks. The Daleks took this personally and first tried to replace prominent Time Lords with duplicates, in a similar fashion to their attempt to infiltrate Earth as seen in Resurrection of the Daleks. A peace treaty was attempted, with both sides offering compromise (the Time Lords, for example, handed over the Master for execution, as seen in the 1996 TV movie), but ultimately failed, leading to escalation and eventually the declaration of full-scale war between the races. The war apparently lasted for several years, if a war that takes place on a temporal level can really be said to have a set duration, before the Doctor brought it to its apocalyptic conclusion of destroying all Time Lords and Daleks, as seen in "Day of the Doctor."
Question: I know this is a long shot, but are there any theories as to The Joker's real identity and origins?
Chosen answer: No. Well, there are probably lots of people who have formulated theories of their own after watching the film, but there's been nothing from the filmmakers. The thing is, it doesn't matter who he originally was or where he came from - none of that is relevant to who he is now, so, in all likelihood, they never bothered to come up with any sort of backstory for him.
Answer: According to comic book lore, the Joker came out of nowhere, but as time went on minor back stories were given. He was a mob enforcer working for Falcone. In another, he was part of the Red Hood gang but each one always ended with him facing the Batman at the ACE Chemical Co., falling into a vat of toxic waste and emerging as the Joker.
Question: Is it ever stated why The Master looks in such a bad condition?
Chosen answer: The Master has run out of regenerations - he's keeping his failing body alive through sheer willpower, but it's a losing battle, as his appalling condition shows.
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Chosen answer: Adam is hundreds of years old, and has been kept alive only through his regenerative powers. When that is taken away from him, the years catch up on him, and his body ages so rapidly that he is instantly mummified and crumbles to dust.
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