23 Years old and 'Totally a trained Superhero' (minor spoilers)
I was really surprised to read she was 18 in Faultline, also.
Please buff Ice Control.
Late bloomer. Her diet was probably poor because she lived in a slum. Also possible that her physical delay was due to psychic growth spurt taking up most of her body's energy and nutrients.
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Make him a new dev. His job can be fixing lore problems.
![](http://legacy-cdn.smosh.com/smosh-pit/022011/chuck-norris-approves.gif)
Goodbye. Not to the game, but the players. Goodbye. Everyone, remember to have fun. That's all I can say.
![](http://i.imgur.com/VgXCk.gif)
What's worse is that in a few issues, she's totally going to be an authority figure.
Would love to see THAT interview.
Positron: So, Ms. Yin. uh.. as I was telling my forced romance...er, love of my life... Numina. Now that Shalice has passed the Phalanax is now without eyes to the psychic realm.
Penny: Oh, gosh.. That like totally sucks.
Positron. I know. Tammy is so upset. She told me to look her up on the Paragon wiki.. whatever that means, and then tossed my pillows and blankets on the Phalanx sofa! Seriously. I'm know she misses Shalice, but we NEED a mind controller or some sort of psychic *ahem* so, anyway... Why do you think you're qualified to join the Phalanx, Penny?
Penny: Uh.. well... I totally helped out some heroes back when Overbrook was being rebuilt.
Posi: Really?
Penny: Well, uh... I, me and my dad that is, were kidnapped by some lost. The Clockwork King rescued me and left Daddy to burn.. so I had to hired some friend of Jimmy's and SHE rescued dad.. But I helped!
Posi: You did? Of course you did. You're the bestest most awesome psychic ever!
Penny: Yup! I asked CK to give the hero I hired some clockwork gears that...uh.. she didn't remember to use. But that's not important.. I like totally had someone rescue Daddy. Kinda like my own TF *sparkles* There was EVEN a badge!
Posi: *impressed* I see.
Penny: uh... and then, I got kidnapped by some Rikti..*quickly* It was okay, tho. I totally called CK to rescue me who then tried to kill some other people trying to rescue me. Uh...
Posi: Wait... so, you're saying you're entire hero career consists of being kidnapped, and then rescued by folks that are weaker and/or less awesome than you?
Penny: Totally!
Posi: .....*tear* You're like a pantless (or implied pantless or would've been pantless prior to the whole gunslinger fiasco) Marcus that's a girl and higher res that everyone! You can totally join us!
Penny: Really! *sparkles*
Posi: Totally. Well, in truth, your psychic pet already applied..and was accepted.
Penny: ....
Posi: Hey! Don't give me that look! We're scraping the barrel here! And, yeah, you're really high res.
((WARNING: I MEAN NO INFLAMMATORY OR BIAS RACIAL REMARKS IN THIS POST. I'M ONLY STATING WHAT I'VE OBSERVED IN MY EXPERIENCE))
Actually it might be because she's Asian.
Whenever I shave, people in my class mistake my for my late teens, my dad, were it not for his salt and pepper hair, is sometimes mistake to be in his forties or thirties, my sister is easily mistaken for teenager despite being older than me.
A dentist's assistant who used to work at my, well, dentist's office looked to be in her early twenties when she was only a few years younger than my parents.
Heck, my grandfather is in his 90s and still looks the same as he did twenty years ago, so this should tell you something.
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My problem is apparently she's had quite the growth spurt since age 18.
I could have used that, I've been the same damn height since I was 13.
In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.
//off topic//
So the events of Faultline in issue 9 happened 5 years ago. Issue 9 was really released in 2007, so I'm willing to give that bit a pass. I'm not asking for consistency in comic book time, certainly, so I'll let a RL five years be an in-game five years.
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(I9 went live on May 1, 2007. We're only two months and a bit away from May 1, 2012.)
I guess I'm just confused why five years can't/shouldn't equal five years.
Paragon Wiki: http://www.paragonwiki.com
City Info Terminal: http://cit.cohtitan.com
Mids Hero Designer: http://www.cohplanner.com
I guess I'm just confused why five years can't/shouldn't equal five years.
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Maybe it's because of her little nicknames for things, but I do not remember her coming across as 18 years old in her Faultline arc. I'd have to run it again some time to be sure, though.
//off topic//
Um, in my world, 2007 is five years before 2012. Where do you live? (I9 went live on May 1, 2007. We're only two months and a bit away from May 1, 2012.) I guess I'm just confused why five years can't/shouldn't equal five years. |
Because 48 days pass for the characters in-game for each day that passes for us?
Because the events of Who Will Die parts 1-6 span a few days at most, but have taken over 5 months to unravel so far?
I can't speak to Moo's reasoning for feeling that 5 years isn't the right amount of time, but I can say that it's totally reasonable to not expect game time and real time to match up; there's too much precedent of them NOT matching.
@Roderick
The problem isn't that Penny's five years older NOW, it's that she's five years older than an age she clearly wasn't when she was first introduced. Penelope Yin of Faultline fame looks, acts and seems like a child of 12-15 years of age, NOT an 18-year-old woman, even a very childish one. I guess they could just rewrite her dialogue and swap her model, but to be honest, that'd lose a lot of her charm. There are almost no children in City of Heroes, and Penny was one of the few, and the only one that wasn't creepy. Not like that Penny girl...
Wait, let me start that over. Penelope Yin is one of the very few children in Paragon City, and the only one that isn't creepy, like that Penny Peterson kid. Or I guess like Baby New Year, but that's creepy. Or I guess like little whatever his name is from Smoke and Mirrors who's probably not a kid by now.
I mean, I guess they could just pretend Penny was 18 all along and we just never noticed, but then they can pretend Atlas died fighting an alien armada and... Oh... Oh, never mind... I'm really depressed all of a sudden...
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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My problem is apparently she's had quite the growth spurt since age 18.
I could have used that, I've been the same damn height since I was 13. |
That's not always a bad thing...
But to address the OPs concern - whilst I understand what he's saying, I think we just have to accept that time doesn't work in game the way it does in the real world. Hell, how many times have you run the ITF on the same character? Have you done it on different characters?
It's generally accepted that there are fewer metahumans in the CoHiverse than exist in game and missions only get run once despite Ouroboros - and yet we often repeat them many times. That's a paradox we happily accept - in the same way that we accept that in the fifty years of the Fantastic Four, they haven't really aged nor has Franklyn grown up and Sue Richards isn't pushing 70ish...
Penny was a teenager when we first encountered her - now she's grown up. That's ok. I know Praetorian Vanessa De Vore is dead because I saw her body and watched Desmond Moaner take her mask. But I'll meet her again in Praetoria on a lowbie sometime soon.
![](http://repeat-offenders.net/savecoh/SaveCOH_Blue_leaderboard.jpg)
Thelonious Monk
If she was 14 in Faultline and 19 now, I'd buy it. Even 15 and 20. But 18 in Faultline?
No, sorry story Devs, no. That needs re-writing. Because it just does not gel.
Mind you, it DOES gel with the apparent habit of putting ones pants on ones head while doing the SSA arcs, so.... ¬¬
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
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Wait, Penny Yin was eighteen when Faultline happened? Penny? This is difficult to comprehend. I'd have bought that line about Fusionette, whose own age is a big question-mark in my mind, considering body model and behaviour. Penny's too short for an eighteen-year-old, even by the standards of exaggerated height set by most NPCs in the game. I am confused, and shall be in my corner.
It is my experience (dating and planning to marry a Filipino) that most women of Asian descent look far younger than they truly are. The woman of my heart is 25; however, she looks like she 18. My oldest daughter is 23 and she does not look a day over 18. She complained at 18 that she looked like she was 13. It was not until she was not until she turned 20 that her body caught up with her chronological age. All my girls (3 in total) are experiencing the same thing. That is the case here with Penelope Yin. This does not need rewriting because it does not gel. That is a hollow argument. What we see with Yin happens today.
The debate about Miss Yin's age in Faultline is based purely on speculation or assumptions. They, the Developers and Designers of this game, have let it be known that the young lady whose daddy was lost is now a fully grown woman. 5 years ago when i9 launched is 5 years of game time for this game. She's in her "early 20s" according to the description when you meet her in the first mission, not 23 as this thread's originator supposes. They don't give you an exact year simply because that is the smart thing to do in allowing flexibility with the character. This is done with most gaming universes, leaving some ambiguity for involving people, places, and events.
Not believing it is the problem of the person not willing to accept it. Ranting and raving about it is not going to change the facts. Calling the Devs out for making mistakes in the timeline or retconning history for continuity sake when there is no actual quantifying proof, is a reactionarys ploy. It is wrong. One can accept it or not. That is not going to change anything. Ms Yin is now a young woman who is maturing in her powers. It is what it is.
I for one, was extremely pleased to have her part of my team last night alongside my teammate. We absolutely obliterated everyone in a timely manner and we did not speed through this either. 1:22 minutes after starting, we completed the mission. I said to my best friend that I would have Yin on my team any time. If what she can do now is any indication of what she will be like in a few more years with some seasoning under her belt, thugs and super villains are on notice.
Current active characters: Dragon Maiden (50+3 Brute SS/WP/PM), Black Widow Maiden (50+1 Night Widow), Catayclasmic Ariel (50 lvl Defender - Kin/DP), Quantumshock (50 lvl Elect/Energy/Energy), American's Defender (38 lvl Tanker - SD/Mace), Spider-Maiden (15 lvl Corruptor - RB/PD) & Siren Shrike (15 lvl Defender - Sonic/Sonic). My entire stable.
It's been canon that Penny was 18ish since Faultline was established. I was working on a story about the Clockwork King back in 2008 and I asked Hero 1 about her age because the general consensus at the time was that Penny was 12-13ish but that didn't make sense to me given her bio established her running around making deliveries for her father before Faultline ever collapsed ... if she was 12 at the time of the Faultline storyline she would have been making deliveries for her father at 6 and that didn't make sense to me.
Anyway, Hero 1 told me:
Hey BlueBattler, thanks for the question. Penelope Yin is 18. She just recently started her first year at PSU, majoring of course in Psychology (surprise) with a minor in Criminology. Even though she is one of the most powerful psychics on the planet, theres no way Mr. Yins daughter is getting out of a college education. Youre dead on about the Clockwork king wanting to make Ms. Yin her very own Clockwork princess. He however is a little older than her. By now, post 2nd Rikti invasion, hes in his early twenties. Granted, thats a little hard to judge since hes a living brain with eye sockets. The Clockwork King was always one of my favorite villains. Hes such a tragic character and while that does not excuse his actions, it does make us look at ourselves a little deeper. I wonder if Penelope sees that tragedy in him, if she holds some sort of soft spot? Is it possible for a person like that to redeem themselves? Normally, no, because there is rarely anything to come back down that dark path to. But is Penelope enough to turn the clock backwards? Perhaps. Hope that answered you question. Keep them coming. Stay True Hero 1 |
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
I'm having a little trouble with why we're caring about this...
@Quasadu
"We must prepare for DOOM and hope for FREEM." - SirFrederick
OK. Did SSA#6 hero and villain side.
SPOILER ALERT TO SSAs AHEAD......
Thusfar, before the SSAs, I've never had an issue with a character's developmental timeline; all seemed relative and within a common-sense based time frame. There were a few quirks with the Praetorian interactions/invasion missions/arcs/storyline that I was able to easily overlook (for example, Preatorians flooding (ok, dribbling lately) into Talos at level 20+ without so much as a mention of what a 'Praetorian' is up to this point in any main/mandatory story thread).
Then the SSAs were made.
If I do SSA #1 at say level 10, then the Hollows is now suddenly filled with lava. If I go to the Hollows zone after I do this SSA, its not.
Continuity disconnect #1 for me.
Even though I know Statesman dies in SSA 5 (as was highly advertised) and Sister Psyche in SSA 6, it still all occurs as early as level 40. I know future issues will 'change' things to allow for their deaths, but for all our new players 'now' there's a huge continuity disconnect. Anyone that does SSA 5 at level 40+ and then go to do Statesman's Task Force at level 50 (or any other Level 40+ missions that mention Statesman, Sister Psyche, etc), there is a huge disconnect, whether the missions are hero or villains side (LRSF...). I know it'll be fixed soon(tm) but...
Continuity disconnect #2 for me.
THEN I see the new Penelope Yin. A young teen I remember from Faultline that I MAY have helped (not everyone is forced to do her story!) in the past 20 or so levels that miraculously blossoms into a young adult ... in whatever imagined timeframe I've devised for my characters thusfar (as I'm sure most have). I now HAVE to either suspend belief and move on, or somehow CHANGE whatever perceived timeframe by hero/villain is running in to alter for her sudden 5 year development.
Massive continuity disconnect #3 for me.
(sidenote: I'm sorry if I'm offending you David N, but Miss Yin's new costume and looks are horrid. It's too busy and freakish. Although I can truly say I've never 'seen' a look like this before, there is NO WAY I'd ever consider this as anything that should be related to an older Penelope Yin that is soon to be a major player in the game. Yuck.)
Even though Cryptic (and later Paragon Studios) has had a few bugs in their continuity, I've been able to get around it, because the mistakes were either a text-focused mistake, say in a historical plaque, or context from a mission's contact. Text has a value of interpretation, that for the most part, can allow different interpretations or understandings, but now, I have a living, breathing (game-wise) Penelope Yin who is (perceptually) 5 years older literally standing before me in the span of 20+ levels. How can I allow a 'different interpretation or understanding' to that? I have a huge issue even believing she was 18 at the time of her Faultline missions. 13-14 yes; 18 no.
My point being, as much as the SSAs have been 'interesting' to conduct/perform, they have installed (in my opinion) a big continuity disconnect that a player cannot ignore if they do SSA 5 and 6 as they currently are as of Issue 21/22.
I know continuity development and management is a major pain in the backside to maintain, but c'mon folks. After some of the best storylines I've seen/read in a long time all coming from the Going Rogue release, we are now subject to this level of storytelling? For something that has such a HUGE impact on the focus of the overall game, I'd EXPECT continuity to NOT be such a disconnect as it is now to zones, missions, and TFs/SFs.
I'm not a professional writer or have written many stories, but from this side of the window, looking in, you seemed to have lost the game's continuity focus. This continuity disconnect is going to require a backwash of story/zone cleanup to make it compatible to anything going forward from the SSAs.
If continuity in the game (after the SSAs) were a spill in a supermarket aisle, I'd expect to hear over the loudspeaker...
"Cleanup on aisles 1 though 50"
or in associative words...
"Cleanup the content and continuity between levels 1 and 50"
Get the mop out. There be come serious cleanin' up to be done.
Just my 2 Inf.
I know continuity development and management is a major pain in the backside to maintain, but c'mon folks. After some of the best storylines I've seen/read in a long time all coming from the Going Rogue release, we are now subject to this level of storytelling? For something that has such a HUGE impact on the focus of the overall game, I'd EXPECT continuity to NOT be such a disconnect as it is now to zones, missions, and TFs/SFs. |
I'd argue GR and the SSAs have NOT AT ALL been some of the best storylines we've gotten with this game. I'd say exactly the opposite. And I bet I wouldn't be alone.
YMMV.
So no, it doesn't shock me that there are some huge HOLES in the SSAs. There were mack-truck like holes in the GR storylines also.
With that said I don't think the P. Yin issue is that great. It's been well established what her age was at the time of Faultline. I'm not sure why anyone is surprised. Age and look of npc (or pc) model have had NOTHING to do with one another since COH first launched.
Someone who looks in their 20s or 30s can actually be 100s of years old. You CANNOT go by npc model to judge a character's age. Just take a look at Lady Grey's npc models in arcs and then read this:
"Ever composed, ever mysterious, the powerful and otherworldly Lady Grey is rumored to be older than Statesman, and one of the most powerful meta-humans on the planet. She was instrumental in the founding of Vanguard, and runs the organization expertly. She takes a great interest in Vanguard's day-to-day operations, and knows all of her troops by name."
http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Lady_Gray
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
![Big Grin](images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
I always assumed Penelope was 17-19 in faultline. She talked and acted a lot like my 19 year old ballroom dance partner does now, and my dance partner is 19, almost 20.
So ... *shrug*
Lewis
Random AT Generation!
"I remember... the Alamo." -- Pee-wee Herman
"Oh don't worry. I always leave things to the last moment." -- The Doctor
"Telescopes are time machines." -- Carl Sagan
Someone who looks in their 20s or 30s can actually be 100s of years old. You CANNOT go by npc model to judge a character's age.
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After five years of playing this game, I'd 'perceived' her, up to this point, of being a mature yet simple teen, then after your post, I actually went to Paragonwiki and searched for Penelope Yin and saw this...
Many of the heroes who had their bases in Overbrook prior to it's destruction had tales of strange things happening shortly after 'Perilous Penelope' swooped by on her scooter to drop off a delivery from her father's store.
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Penelope_Yin
Scooter. Hmmm. Ok, earliest age shifts to (I'd imagine) around 15 to 16 at the time of Faultline's destruction. Still, the way how her dialect was in the Rescue Yin storyline, she seemed awfully bubbly to be an 18 year old (I have kids that age; none of them or their friends are that 'bubbly').
Also, I noticed this line as part of the store text:
You're the coolest! Hey, do you need a side-kick? No, forget it. My Dad would totally flip out.
Her dad would flip out. Yet, here she is in some form of Longbow...whatever...costume with facepaint, things attached to her face and running into trouble with the Carnival of Shadows and Malta, hanging with level 40s and suddenly all trained up with new powers and an obnoxiously loud glowball following her around.
I can see how the NPC's character model can give the wrong impression of age, but the bubbly dialog, the 'thankyouthankyouthankyou' type end-mission interaction and her simplistic point of view seemed to project a younger teen than what I'm now assessing (after 5 years of obvious erroneous character interpretation) as now '18 or older' with the reference to her scooter prior to the Faultline disaster, etc.
The thing is, there is SUCH a huge change in her in nearly 20 levels. Relatively, I gain a lot of new powers between levels 18ish to 40, and there should be no reason she shouldn't as well, but her new image, demeanor, style...call it what you will, to me, seems out of place and disconnected from what I expected her to progress towards.
Then again, I could just be getting too old to 'understand' the reasoning for the extreme changes that the studio suddenly needed to explode upon her and her character.
As the younger Yin, she's a likable and memorable character. I expected her to develop as a hero, but to toss a sudden extreme change to her like this...I don't know, it doesn't seem right.
Fusionette and Faultline received more evenly-spaced character development over the years and stories; this seems tossed in from far roving left field from over the fence.
To me, the devs lost me in the 'Yin' translation.
As you said, YMMV.
SPOILER ALERT CONTINUES.....
After five years of playing this game, I'd 'perceived' her, up to this point, of being a mature yet simple teen, then after your post, I actually went to Paragonwiki and searched for Penelope Yin and saw this... Many of the heroes who had their bases in Overbrook prior to it's destruction had tales of strange things happening shortly after 'Perilous Penelope' swooped by on her scooter to drop off a delivery from her father's store. http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Penelope_Yin Scooter. Hmmm. Ok, earliest age shifts to (I'd imagine) around 15 to 16 at the time of Faultline's destruction. Still, the way how her dialect was in the Rescue Yin storyline, she seemed awfully bubbly to be an 18 year old (I have kids that age; none of them or their friends are that 'bubbly'). Also, I noticed this line as part of the store text: You're the coolest! Hey, do you need a side-kick? No, forget it. My Dad would totally flip out. Her dad would flip out. Yet, here she is in some form of Longbow...whatever...costume with facepaint, things attached to her face and running into trouble with the Carnival of Shadows and Malta, hanging with level 40s and suddenly all trained up with new powers and an obnoxiously loud glowball following her around. I can see how the NPC's character model can give the wrong impression of age, but the bubbly dialog, the 'thankyouthankyouthankyou' type end-mission interaction and her simplistic point of view seemed to project a younger teen than what I'm now assessing (after 5 years of obvious erroneous character interpretation) as now '18 or older' with the reference to her scooter prior to the Faultline disaster, etc. The thing is, there is SUCH a huge change in her in nearly 20 levels. Relatively, I gain a lot of new powers between levels 18ish to 40, and there should be no reason she shouldn't as well, but her new image, demeanor, style...call it what you will, to me, seems out of place and disconnected from what I expected her to progress towards. Then again, I could just be getting too old to 'understand' the reasoning for the extreme changes that the studio suddenly needed to explode upon her and her character. As the younger Yin, she's a likable and memorable character. I expected her to develop as a hero, but to toss a sudden extreme change to her like this...I don't know, it doesn't seem right. Fusionette and Faultline received more evenly-spaced character development over the years and stories; this seems tossed in from far roving left field from over the fence. To me, the devs lost me in the 'Yin' translation. As you said, YMMV. |
And yeah I do know plenty of 18 year olds (hell some 30 year old women) who are that bubbly. Some folks just have extremely sunny dispositions.
But I will admit that the writing does need a bit of a tweak.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
![Big Grin](images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
It is my experience (dating and planning to marry a Filipino) that most women of Asian descent look far younger than they truly are. The woman of my heart is 25; however, she looks like she 18. My oldest daughter is 23 and she does not look a day over 18. She complained at 18 that she looked like she was 13. It was not until she was not until she turned 20 that her body caught up with her chronological age. All my girls (3 in total) are experiencing the same thing. That is the case here with Penelope Yin. This does not need rewriting because it does not gel. That is a hollow argument. What we see with Yin happens today.
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What this is about is a question of Penny's mannerisms, attitude and behaviour. She sounds and acts like a kid. If the Penelope Yin of Faultline is supposed to be an 18-year-old woman, then she's an incredibly juvenilie one. I get that she's acting cute and friendly and all that, but there are certain mannerisms inherent to children that even young adults don't often keep.
The real tragedy here is that Penny's 14-year-old kid writing is some of the best in the game from a technical standpoint. She sounds spot on as a little kid, and she's probably the only character in the game who manages to act youthful without acting like an idiot.
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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It's not a question of her physical appearance. No, she doesn't look that young. No-one in this game looks particularly young, because our costume editor, for all its strengths, is incredibly abstract when it comes to the finer points of a person's physique.
What this is about is a question of Penny's mannerisms, attitude and behaviour. She sounds and acts like a kid. If the Penelope Yin of Faultline is supposed to be an 18-year-old woman, then she's an incredibly juvenilie one. I get that she's acting cute and friendly and all that, but there are certain mannerisms inherent to children that even young adults don't often keep. The real tragedy here is that Penny's 14-year-old kid writing is some of the best in the game from a technical standpoint. She sounds spot on as a little kid, and she's probably the only character in the game who manages to act youthful without acting like an idiot. |
Minor spoilers ahead. You've been warned.
So the events of Faultline in issue 9 happened 5 years ago. Issue 9 was really released in 2007, so I'm willing to give that bit a pass. I'm not asking for consistency in comic book time, certainly, so I'll let a RL five years be an in-game five years.
However, if you view Penny's info, she was 18 at the time of the events during the whole Faultline arc.
I have trouble with this. Her actions and dialogue were more like an exceptionally level-headed 12 year old's. I'd be willing to go as high as 14.
Her actions and dialogue in this arc were more like a very slightly overconfident 16-18 years old. (And why shouldn't she be? She's got signature powers.)
Seeing that she's supposed to be 'In her early twenties' is a bit much of a stretch and seeing that she was 18 in issue 9 is just completely unbelievable.
It's so much of a stretch that it yanked me out of my willing suspension of disbelief.