Panel 1: Note, at upper left, the very rare example of an Empowered moment in which Emp’s long hair actually snags on something—in fact, this might be the only image along these lines in the entire series. In theory at least, long hair would be a very poor tactical choice for a superhero like Emp—though, of course, this smacks of the hilariously selective concern over supposed “realism” that geeks like myself so often solemnly yet hypocritically invoke when criticizing media that is already profoundly detached from reality. I’ve gone so far as to work up an unstated “No-Prize” explanation for why her hair never catches on environmental obstacles nor is yanked on by opponents, with the powers of her “supersuit” not surprisingly being involved—and, presumably, lowering the frictional coefficient of her hair to unearthly levels. I’ve even considered a mildly edgy bedroom scene in which Emp urges Thugboy to pull her hair mid-coitus, but the befuddled lad finds he simply cannot get a grip on her weirdly slippery mane. 

Gotta say, I really do wish that I’d thought of establishing Emp’s long hair as being part of her supersuit to begin with, that it’s effectively a hypermembrane-spawned wig. (Note that this was the case with Marvel’s Spider-Woman way back in the day, as Jessica Drew originally rocked a distinctly Dorothy-Hamill-style short hairdo—apologies for the late-70s reference, by the way—when not wearing her superhero costume.) This would obviously help to explain why no one seems to notice Civilian Emp’s eerie resemblance to a certain masked and long-haired superheroine. 

So, in conclusion: I consider panel 1 to, in fact, be in outright error. Emp’s hair should not be snagging on those two nails at the upper left. But wait, I just thought of an explanation, folks! Remember, this panel is unreliable narrator Emp’s recollection of what happened, and not necessarily a literal depiction of events! So her hair didn’t really snag on those nails after all, though she incorrectly assumes that it must have done so when she recounts the tragic tale to Thugboy and Ninjette! Case closed! *cue the Law and Order “KA-CHUNKK” sound FX* 

-Adam Warren