Not really. Remember that sunny is very hard to kill, even more with the buffs to his armor. Perhaps from her view it might've been an ok decision to make, but in reality it wasn't all that good. She's now exhausted and damaged, then she also has to heal everyone else meaning that Caster will be at full hp with Sunny being the only one able to contend with him in the case of a quick surprise attack (Effie is strong but not fast enough, maybe Cassie would see something but only Sunny has the reflexes and 360° view to act). Not the worst move but not the best either.

Yeah, it's a surprising that the author added it as a flaw. I mean, it could be a flaw if you think about it, but it's more of a power with downsides than a flaw to a power. Even in the worst case scenario where you're tricked because the other person believes something to be true while it's not, it still lies solely on the user to outsmart these kind of situations.

I think it's a strategic move. The author probably decided to give us some cool chapters instead of more build-up. If you think about it, knowing that it's a flashback made you want the chapter where we hop back to the present even more. Some people just get bored when there's too much build-up, so getting them hooked on a taste works well against that. Who knows though, I might be giving the author too much credit or I might be right, can't say unless they answer this.

It's more of a setup to the events before the flashback. I don't think any chapter up to now has been filler, at most a few parts of the chapters, but even that helps bring life to the story and characters so it's not bad. I think the problem is that we know it's a flashback that makes some feel like it's filler.

Mild(ish) spoiler ahead, you've been warned though I doubt it matters. The reason for the obviously childish and irrational behavior is that his soul was damaged. It's explained that, upon transferring to a new world, his soul got damaged and it resulted in a vastly dumber version of himself. It later gets fixed so if that was annoying then keep reading or skip it, then you can decide if the book is to your liking.

He very well realizes this. The problem is that you can't just gather forces at the doorstep of a king and expect everything to go smooth.

There's a lot of potential to unpack in the echoes. Using echoes that are seemingly weak by themselves but become exponentially stronger by combining their powers in strategic ways would be awesome. Kinda like how having a weaker hypnosis combined with a mental weakening ability can make both skills extremely strong when paired up. Keep up the good stuff, you're popping off.

This is fun but I can't wait to get back to the grind and see how Sunny snowballs into commanding an army that efficiently kills nightmares while he relaxes in the comfort of his hiding spot

I feel like sunny might become or go through an eldritch horror phase. Sunjy controlling countless terrifying shadow creatures that sprout from his own shadow? Sounds like a good horror story

Yup, I'm first

I think the point is that by focusing on murder over survival or victory, you assume a position where you mute the fear of injury and you forego the idea of honor or glory.

Although I agree to a certain degree, it largely depends on what that "old self" is. Are you perhaps referring to before an incident that would be likely to change your life? Well, the thing is, I don't quite believe a person will simply return to their "old self" over time. I believe it to be more likely that a traumatic event like your parents being murdered would cause extreme changes made out of hatred and loathing, which are emotions prone to die out at some point. It's more likely that it's just a healing process that tries to remedy the extreme effects like depression, obsessing over the culprits, etc. But it doesn't mean that the experience is lost, or that you haven't changed internally. Regarding the criminal thing, I believe it largely depends on the reason behind why the first crime was committed, and why the crimes continued. It'd be unfair to pair a kleptomaniac and a gang-banger together. Both would have differing reasons for returning or not returning to such old habits. I'll admit, I can't say I'm well versed enough to make a proper conjecture on this.

I'll have to disagree, you can most definitely change over the course of a year, and quite drastically. Your parents being slaughtered will most definitely bring about change in your person, and whether the change is beneficial or detrimental in the long run can be argued. One of the easiest ways for people to change is through adversity, or more commonly seen, trauma. It's usually people who, as children, experienced the naked world, a world that flaunted all of it's facets and shades for them to bare witness. Those experiences serve as a catalyst that affects their development. Problem with being older is that your mind becomes more rigid, it's harder to mold than a child in their growth phase. But if you thrust a man into the wilderness bare naked with no tools for survival, I can assure you he'd be a changed man after a year. If he survives, that is. In any case, this is just what I believe holds true. It's by no means definitive, and you're free to provide a compelling counter-argument.

A person's life can do a 180 in a day, so even just a year can be enough for a lot to happen.

It really depends on how much information Batman has on the alter in question, and how much prep time he's given. Let's say Batman is going to hunt the Solar's. If he was to hunt them down for whatever reason, he'd have to know their weakness first. After gathering the Intel, he'd need to commission others to create the tools necessary to weaken and subdue the members of the Solar family. In this case, the Solar's are basically Kryptonians, so their weakness comes from a particular ore which, when in contact with it, weakens them enough to take damage or possibly die (I'm supposing they're almost a 1-1 with the Kryptonians). Batman would take advantage of this weakness and create weapons or traps made out of that material. So to summarize: Batman needs to know the ins and outs of a particular alter's abilities to actually have a chance of defeating them, and then commission others to create the equipment required to combat that alter and take advantage of the potential weaknesses present. Other than that, the odds are stacked against him in a fight against an alter.

Deadpool ain't a good example. When reading into the next few chapters, you realize that even the weakest alters have enhanced bodies, so getting hit by one without being an alter yourself is very, very bad. I'm not even accounting for the variety of extremely powerful alters that will pop up in the future chapters, because those guys are basically gods amongst mortals. Deadpool is strong because he's extremely erratic in his attacks. He's self destructive, and any damage he sustains has no long-term effects because he just heals back to tip-top shape. If Deadpool wasn't nearly immortal, he'd have died long ago, and the MC is not immortal. Regarding Punisher.. he's the punisher. it's like trying to compare someone with Doomguy, see how that goes. As for his genetics being good because of his parents... it's useless when compared with an alter. Batman has peak human strength, that means he's got the best body a human can have with training - it's the reason he can beat multiple strong villains. But the real reason why he can beat the supervillains is not because of his strong body, or his cunning mind; it's because he's got the technology and information required. Without either of these he falls short of beating most if any supers at all.

A superhuman on what level? If we look at his parents as an example, even the dad would be a terrible calamity if released in our current times. Batman doesn't just have training under his belt, he's also extremely rich and incomparably talented - coupled with his genetics - it makes a force to be reckoned with. I have to agree on the cliche part. For now, atleast.

His facade fell out real quick. It's quite ironic. On a side note, you can very much glimpse a good part of the author's opinions, beliefs, and personality through his writing. The book is, after all, a representation of an author's thoughts in a creative storytelling form.

The collector has yet to evolve his higher calling into a true commanding ability, granting him the ability to command and evolve any monster.