What's the deal with the name “Jumpstar Prime”?












8















The currently running arc of Schlock Mercenary features a huge starship (later reconfigured as a city) christened Jumpstar Prime.



Characters in the comic tend to have very strong reactions to that name -- a few love it to pieces, most react to hearing it with something like deep-but-resigned disgust.



To me it just sounds like a small meaningless word salad.



Is it a pun on something the reader is expected to recognize?
To clarify: I'm trying to understand why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" reacts so strongly against it.










share|improve this question

























  • static.schlockmercenary.com/comics/…

    – Valorum
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:07











  • tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AwesomeMcCoolname/WebComics

    – Valorum
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:14











  • @Richard - You found the same link I found...that means I can't be wrong :)

    – user35594
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:18











  • Also there's a question why Chinook loves it ;)

    – Mithoron
    Aug 27 '15 at 0:57
















8















The currently running arc of Schlock Mercenary features a huge starship (later reconfigured as a city) christened Jumpstar Prime.



Characters in the comic tend to have very strong reactions to that name -- a few love it to pieces, most react to hearing it with something like deep-but-resigned disgust.



To me it just sounds like a small meaningless word salad.



Is it a pun on something the reader is expected to recognize?
To clarify: I'm trying to understand why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" reacts so strongly against it.










share|improve this question

























  • static.schlockmercenary.com/comics/…

    – Valorum
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:07











  • tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AwesomeMcCoolname/WebComics

    – Valorum
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:14











  • @Richard - You found the same link I found...that means I can't be wrong :)

    – user35594
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:18











  • Also there's a question why Chinook loves it ;)

    – Mithoron
    Aug 27 '15 at 0:57














8












8








8


1






The currently running arc of Schlock Mercenary features a huge starship (later reconfigured as a city) christened Jumpstar Prime.



Characters in the comic tend to have very strong reactions to that name -- a few love it to pieces, most react to hearing it with something like deep-but-resigned disgust.



To me it just sounds like a small meaningless word salad.



Is it a pun on something the reader is expected to recognize?
To clarify: I'm trying to understand why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" reacts so strongly against it.










share|improve this question
















The currently running arc of Schlock Mercenary features a huge starship (later reconfigured as a city) christened Jumpstar Prime.



Characters in the comic tend to have very strong reactions to that name -- a few love it to pieces, most react to hearing it with something like deep-but-resigned disgust.



To me it just sounds like a small meaningless word salad.



Is it a pun on something the reader is expected to recognize?
To clarify: I'm trying to understand why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" reacts so strongly against it.







names schlock-mercenary






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Jul 23 '15 at 13:43







Henning Makholm

















asked Jul 22 '15 at 20:42









Henning MakholmHenning Makholm

268210




268210













  • static.schlockmercenary.com/comics/…

    – Valorum
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:07











  • tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AwesomeMcCoolname/WebComics

    – Valorum
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:14











  • @Richard - You found the same link I found...that means I can't be wrong :)

    – user35594
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:18











  • Also there's a question why Chinook loves it ;)

    – Mithoron
    Aug 27 '15 at 0:57



















  • static.schlockmercenary.com/comics/…

    – Valorum
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:07











  • tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AwesomeMcCoolname/WebComics

    – Valorum
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:14











  • @Richard - You found the same link I found...that means I can't be wrong :)

    – user35594
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:18











  • Also there's a question why Chinook loves it ;)

    – Mithoron
    Aug 27 '15 at 0:57

















static.schlockmercenary.com/comics/…

– Valorum
Jul 22 '15 at 23:07





static.schlockmercenary.com/comics/…

– Valorum
Jul 22 '15 at 23:07













tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AwesomeMcCoolname/WebComics

– Valorum
Jul 22 '15 at 23:14





tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AwesomeMcCoolname/WebComics

– Valorum
Jul 22 '15 at 23:14













@Richard - You found the same link I found...that means I can't be wrong :)

– user35594
Jul 22 '15 at 23:18





@Richard - You found the same link I found...that means I can't be wrong :)

– user35594
Jul 22 '15 at 23:18













Also there's a question why Chinook loves it ;)

– Mithoron
Aug 27 '15 at 0:57





Also there's a question why Chinook loves it ;)

– Mithoron
Aug 27 '15 at 0:57










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes


















3














It's mentioned here that the original name suggested was "Jumpstart Primer". Schlock, however, wrote it as "JUMPStAR PRiWe!" and removed two letters which renamed the starship to "Jumpstar Prime".



In my opinion, it may have started out as a pun as the following terms are typically defined as:





  • Jumpstart - Restart the engine of a vehicle by means of jump leads or by the sudden release of the clutch while the vehicle is moving.


  • Primer - Normally a form of storage such as a cap or cylinder containing a compound which responds to friction or an electrical impulse and ignites the charge in a cartridge or explosive.


Therefore, my understanding of the pun is that this starship was named so because it could provide a jumpstart to starships with engine problems :)






share|improve this answer
























  • Described as being "too on the nose" e.g. clumsily direct.

    – Valorum
    Jul 22 '15 at 23:22






  • 2





    That doesn't really explain why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" seems to find it a singularly terrible name -- much more terrible than it seems any other random name with the terminal letters stripped off would rate.

    – Henning Makholm
    Jul 23 '15 at 0:15






  • 1





    Umm.. No... The "Jumpstart" and "Primer" referred to the fact that they were going to be using the power from the ship's large Annie Plants to start creating PTU materials, which are required to create more Annie Plants as well as celestial mega-structures. So they were using this ship to jumpstart and prime their PTU production capabilities.

    – Michael Richardson
    Jul 21 '16 at 18:59



















2














I think the general idea is that the title is extremely childish or edgy. It's like naming your ship 'POWER FORCE MAXIMUM' or something like that, when everyone else is naming theirs Beta Sigma Negative, CL-2330, or Courier First Class.






share|improve this answer
























  • When I first read this, it came across to me as a very "Anime" style name. Chinook really liked the name and her current avatar also seems very "Anime".

    – Michael Richardson
    Jul 21 '16 at 19:38



















1














Maybe it's a math joke; jump, star, prime. Prime as in derivative? Something about integrals, maybe.



Could be * as in footnote. In HTML, an anchor to a different location on a page is sometimes called a jump.



Bit of a stretch.



There's clearly a joke here that we're not getting. Ship names are usually puns or at least jokes.






share|improve this answer































    0














    Speculation, but it's the only thing I can come up with: in 6502 assembly, JMP * apparently translates to "transfer execution to the address of the instruction currently executing', i.e. the JMP itself, meaning it's an very tight infinite loop functionally equivalent to "halt and catch fire". I don't know where "prime" came from, unless it's just to "sound cool".






    share|improve this answer








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      4 Answers
      4






      active

      oldest

      votes








      4 Answers
      4






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      3














      It's mentioned here that the original name suggested was "Jumpstart Primer". Schlock, however, wrote it as "JUMPStAR PRiWe!" and removed two letters which renamed the starship to "Jumpstar Prime".



      In my opinion, it may have started out as a pun as the following terms are typically defined as:





      • Jumpstart - Restart the engine of a vehicle by means of jump leads or by the sudden release of the clutch while the vehicle is moving.


      • Primer - Normally a form of storage such as a cap or cylinder containing a compound which responds to friction or an electrical impulse and ignites the charge in a cartridge or explosive.


      Therefore, my understanding of the pun is that this starship was named so because it could provide a jumpstart to starships with engine problems :)






      share|improve this answer
























      • Described as being "too on the nose" e.g. clumsily direct.

        – Valorum
        Jul 22 '15 at 23:22






      • 2





        That doesn't really explain why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" seems to find it a singularly terrible name -- much more terrible than it seems any other random name with the terminal letters stripped off would rate.

        – Henning Makholm
        Jul 23 '15 at 0:15






      • 1





        Umm.. No... The "Jumpstart" and "Primer" referred to the fact that they were going to be using the power from the ship's large Annie Plants to start creating PTU materials, which are required to create more Annie Plants as well as celestial mega-structures. So they were using this ship to jumpstart and prime their PTU production capabilities.

        – Michael Richardson
        Jul 21 '16 at 18:59
















      3














      It's mentioned here that the original name suggested was "Jumpstart Primer". Schlock, however, wrote it as "JUMPStAR PRiWe!" and removed two letters which renamed the starship to "Jumpstar Prime".



      In my opinion, it may have started out as a pun as the following terms are typically defined as:





      • Jumpstart - Restart the engine of a vehicle by means of jump leads or by the sudden release of the clutch while the vehicle is moving.


      • Primer - Normally a form of storage such as a cap or cylinder containing a compound which responds to friction or an electrical impulse and ignites the charge in a cartridge or explosive.


      Therefore, my understanding of the pun is that this starship was named so because it could provide a jumpstart to starships with engine problems :)






      share|improve this answer
























      • Described as being "too on the nose" e.g. clumsily direct.

        – Valorum
        Jul 22 '15 at 23:22






      • 2





        That doesn't really explain why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" seems to find it a singularly terrible name -- much more terrible than it seems any other random name with the terminal letters stripped off would rate.

        – Henning Makholm
        Jul 23 '15 at 0:15






      • 1





        Umm.. No... The "Jumpstart" and "Primer" referred to the fact that they were going to be using the power from the ship's large Annie Plants to start creating PTU materials, which are required to create more Annie Plants as well as celestial mega-structures. So they were using this ship to jumpstart and prime their PTU production capabilities.

        – Michael Richardson
        Jul 21 '16 at 18:59














      3












      3








      3







      It's mentioned here that the original name suggested was "Jumpstart Primer". Schlock, however, wrote it as "JUMPStAR PRiWe!" and removed two letters which renamed the starship to "Jumpstar Prime".



      In my opinion, it may have started out as a pun as the following terms are typically defined as:





      • Jumpstart - Restart the engine of a vehicle by means of jump leads or by the sudden release of the clutch while the vehicle is moving.


      • Primer - Normally a form of storage such as a cap or cylinder containing a compound which responds to friction or an electrical impulse and ignites the charge in a cartridge or explosive.


      Therefore, my understanding of the pun is that this starship was named so because it could provide a jumpstart to starships with engine problems :)






      share|improve this answer













      It's mentioned here that the original name suggested was "Jumpstart Primer". Schlock, however, wrote it as "JUMPStAR PRiWe!" and removed two letters which renamed the starship to "Jumpstar Prime".



      In my opinion, it may have started out as a pun as the following terms are typically defined as:





      • Jumpstart - Restart the engine of a vehicle by means of jump leads or by the sudden release of the clutch while the vehicle is moving.


      • Primer - Normally a form of storage such as a cap or cylinder containing a compound which responds to friction or an electrical impulse and ignites the charge in a cartridge or explosive.


      Therefore, my understanding of the pun is that this starship was named so because it could provide a jumpstart to starships with engine problems :)







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered Jul 22 '15 at 23:15









      user35594user35594

      5,63734398




      5,63734398













      • Described as being "too on the nose" e.g. clumsily direct.

        – Valorum
        Jul 22 '15 at 23:22






      • 2





        That doesn't really explain why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" seems to find it a singularly terrible name -- much more terrible than it seems any other random name with the terminal letters stripped off would rate.

        – Henning Makholm
        Jul 23 '15 at 0:15






      • 1





        Umm.. No... The "Jumpstart" and "Primer" referred to the fact that they were going to be using the power from the ship's large Annie Plants to start creating PTU materials, which are required to create more Annie Plants as well as celestial mega-structures. So they were using this ship to jumpstart and prime their PTU production capabilities.

        – Michael Richardson
        Jul 21 '16 at 18:59



















      • Described as being "too on the nose" e.g. clumsily direct.

        – Valorum
        Jul 22 '15 at 23:22






      • 2





        That doesn't really explain why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" seems to find it a singularly terrible name -- much more terrible than it seems any other random name with the terminal letters stripped off would rate.

        – Henning Makholm
        Jul 23 '15 at 0:15






      • 1





        Umm.. No... The "Jumpstart" and "Primer" referred to the fact that they were going to be using the power from the ship's large Annie Plants to start creating PTU materials, which are required to create more Annie Plants as well as celestial mega-structures. So they were using this ship to jumpstart and prime their PTU production capabilities.

        – Michael Richardson
        Jul 21 '16 at 18:59

















      Described as being "too on the nose" e.g. clumsily direct.

      – Valorum
      Jul 22 '15 at 23:22





      Described as being "too on the nose" e.g. clumsily direct.

      – Valorum
      Jul 22 '15 at 23:22




      2




      2





      That doesn't really explain why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" seems to find it a singularly terrible name -- much more terrible than it seems any other random name with the terminal letters stripped off would rate.

      – Henning Makholm
      Jul 23 '15 at 0:15





      That doesn't really explain why every human character who hears the name "Jumpstar Prime" seems to find it a singularly terrible name -- much more terrible than it seems any other random name with the terminal letters stripped off would rate.

      – Henning Makholm
      Jul 23 '15 at 0:15




      1




      1





      Umm.. No... The "Jumpstart" and "Primer" referred to the fact that they were going to be using the power from the ship's large Annie Plants to start creating PTU materials, which are required to create more Annie Plants as well as celestial mega-structures. So they were using this ship to jumpstart and prime their PTU production capabilities.

      – Michael Richardson
      Jul 21 '16 at 18:59





      Umm.. No... The "Jumpstart" and "Primer" referred to the fact that they were going to be using the power from the ship's large Annie Plants to start creating PTU materials, which are required to create more Annie Plants as well as celestial mega-structures. So they were using this ship to jumpstart and prime their PTU production capabilities.

      – Michael Richardson
      Jul 21 '16 at 18:59













      2














      I think the general idea is that the title is extremely childish or edgy. It's like naming your ship 'POWER FORCE MAXIMUM' or something like that, when everyone else is naming theirs Beta Sigma Negative, CL-2330, or Courier First Class.






      share|improve this answer
























      • When I first read this, it came across to me as a very "Anime" style name. Chinook really liked the name and her current avatar also seems very "Anime".

        – Michael Richardson
        Jul 21 '16 at 19:38
















      2














      I think the general idea is that the title is extremely childish or edgy. It's like naming your ship 'POWER FORCE MAXIMUM' or something like that, when everyone else is naming theirs Beta Sigma Negative, CL-2330, or Courier First Class.






      share|improve this answer
























      • When I first read this, it came across to me as a very "Anime" style name. Chinook really liked the name and her current avatar also seems very "Anime".

        – Michael Richardson
        Jul 21 '16 at 19:38














      2












      2








      2







      I think the general idea is that the title is extremely childish or edgy. It's like naming your ship 'POWER FORCE MAXIMUM' or something like that, when everyone else is naming theirs Beta Sigma Negative, CL-2330, or Courier First Class.






      share|improve this answer













      I think the general idea is that the title is extremely childish or edgy. It's like naming your ship 'POWER FORCE MAXIMUM' or something like that, when everyone else is naming theirs Beta Sigma Negative, CL-2330, or Courier First Class.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered Mar 20 '16 at 1:05









      SuspiciousSuspicious

      211




      211













      • When I first read this, it came across to me as a very "Anime" style name. Chinook really liked the name and her current avatar also seems very "Anime".

        – Michael Richardson
        Jul 21 '16 at 19:38



















      • When I first read this, it came across to me as a very "Anime" style name. Chinook really liked the name and her current avatar also seems very "Anime".

        – Michael Richardson
        Jul 21 '16 at 19:38

















      When I first read this, it came across to me as a very "Anime" style name. Chinook really liked the name and her current avatar also seems very "Anime".

      – Michael Richardson
      Jul 21 '16 at 19:38





      When I first read this, it came across to me as a very "Anime" style name. Chinook really liked the name and her current avatar also seems very "Anime".

      – Michael Richardson
      Jul 21 '16 at 19:38











      1














      Maybe it's a math joke; jump, star, prime. Prime as in derivative? Something about integrals, maybe.



      Could be * as in footnote. In HTML, an anchor to a different location on a page is sometimes called a jump.



      Bit of a stretch.



      There's clearly a joke here that we're not getting. Ship names are usually puns or at least jokes.






      share|improve this answer




























        1














        Maybe it's a math joke; jump, star, prime. Prime as in derivative? Something about integrals, maybe.



        Could be * as in footnote. In HTML, an anchor to a different location on a page is sometimes called a jump.



        Bit of a stretch.



        There's clearly a joke here that we're not getting. Ship names are usually puns or at least jokes.






        share|improve this answer


























          1












          1








          1







          Maybe it's a math joke; jump, star, prime. Prime as in derivative? Something about integrals, maybe.



          Could be * as in footnote. In HTML, an anchor to a different location on a page is sometimes called a jump.



          Bit of a stretch.



          There's clearly a joke here that we're not getting. Ship names are usually puns or at least jokes.






          share|improve this answer













          Maybe it's a math joke; jump, star, prime. Prime as in derivative? Something about integrals, maybe.



          Could be * as in footnote. In HTML, an anchor to a different location on a page is sometimes called a jump.



          Bit of a stretch.



          There's clearly a joke here that we're not getting. Ship names are usually puns or at least jokes.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered Jan 26 '16 at 8:21









          Rob BosRob Bos

          1112




          1112























              0














              Speculation, but it's the only thing I can come up with: in 6502 assembly, JMP * apparently translates to "transfer execution to the address of the instruction currently executing', i.e. the JMP itself, meaning it's an very tight infinite loop functionally equivalent to "halt and catch fire". I don't know where "prime" came from, unless it's just to "sound cool".






              share|improve this answer








              New contributor




              Bob is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
              Check out our Code of Conduct.

























                0














                Speculation, but it's the only thing I can come up with: in 6502 assembly, JMP * apparently translates to "transfer execution to the address of the instruction currently executing', i.e. the JMP itself, meaning it's an very tight infinite loop functionally equivalent to "halt and catch fire". I don't know where "prime" came from, unless it's just to "sound cool".






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor




                Bob is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.























                  0












                  0








                  0







                  Speculation, but it's the only thing I can come up with: in 6502 assembly, JMP * apparently translates to "transfer execution to the address of the instruction currently executing', i.e. the JMP itself, meaning it's an very tight infinite loop functionally equivalent to "halt and catch fire". I don't know where "prime" came from, unless it's just to "sound cool".






                  share|improve this answer








                  New contributor




                  Bob is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.










                  Speculation, but it's the only thing I can come up with: in 6502 assembly, JMP * apparently translates to "transfer execution to the address of the instruction currently executing', i.e. the JMP itself, meaning it's an very tight infinite loop functionally equivalent to "halt and catch fire". I don't know where "prime" came from, unless it's just to "sound cool".







                  share|improve this answer








                  New contributor




                  Bob is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.









                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer






                  New contributor




                  Bob is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.









                  answered 2 hours ago









                  BobBob

                  1




                  1




                  New contributor




                  Bob is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.





                  New contributor





                  Bob is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.






                  Bob is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.






























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