Superfreaks/ACRA: Superfreaks Season 3 #1

[Martin Phipps]

On Oct 4, 12:58 pm, Tom Russell <milos_par... at yahoo.com> wrote:
> The illustrious Dr. Phipps wrote:
>
> >   "Who was patient zero?" Michael asked.
> >   "Kurt Rasputin.  He died a few days ago.  The
> > funeral is this afternoon."
>
> <snip>
>
> >   "Doctor, what's wrong with Nathan?" Scott asked.
> > "Is he going to be alright?"
> >   Javier sighed deeply.  "Your son has Rasputin
> > Syndrome.  There's nothing I can do to save him."
>
> Now, I know I've given you flack for the way you name characters
> before, and I'm almost certain that you grabbed the last name Rasputin
> because of a certain Marvel mutant who was felled by a certain mutant-
> only virus, but-- c'mon.  Naming a fatal disease after a man who was
> nearly impossible to kill is either (1) odd or (2) ironic.
>
> Either way, you should claim it's # 2. ;-)

Of course it is ironic.  Kurt Rasputin appeared way back in Season 1.
Don't remember him?  That makes him expendable. :)

> Also, the name seems to be a sort of a misnomer anyway, because if
> they know what it does-- kills mutants-- and how it works-- by feeding
> off of their powers--  wouldn't that make it a disease and not a
> syndrome?
>
> A syndrome, as far as I understand it, is a group of symptoms that
> often overlap or occur concurrently.  The symptoms of AIDS are caused
> by the disease of HIV-- AIDS itself is not the disease, but rather the
> results of it.

Eh?  I thought AIDS was the disease and HIV was the virus.  The
analogy here is with AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

For the record, I've been watching Heroes and, yes, they're ripping
off the Legacy Virus storyline right down to the "virus feeds off of
the victim's own powers" explanation.  No kidding.

Martin