They paid for the 4-day headstart, they just haven’t played as much. Without the early access, it’s currently 1 hour 45 minutes to the “official” launch, 8 hours after your comment.
(I didn’t pay for Early Access, inr part because I would have barely had time to play over the weekend anyway, and by coincidence have a few days off this week anyway)
Zaldrak
1 year ago
Something tells me The Troll knew what he was doing when he waited the Diablo 4 release day for this.
They are video games-themed heroes, it probably wasn’t hard to figure out.
And he IS the Troll, after all, picking that date would be especially fitting for him.
can he? His body is at this state not in danger yet (relatively) so if he kills himself now he would just respawn there. Or maybe he would respawn in mid-air seeing as he was on one of Lucas’ arrows earlier which is now gone resulting in him falling to his death and then respawning back in mid-air and then getting stuck in this horrible death-loop.
Like Lara in tomb raider 2 when I managed to save my game when she was hanging from a ladder…
He seems to have some control or its just convenient how he respawns. He’s died in the grasp of villain’s a couple of times and then spawned in behind them.
Demurr
1 year ago
Chills!
Jake
1 year ago
Called it hardcore.
GUNnibal
1 year ago
Ok, the title checks out – a certain hero is going to have to confront their inner demons fairly soon, I expect.
Hunter
1 year ago
It’s time
Epsilon
1 year ago
Welp, looks like The Troll just upgraded from a D-List villian to at least a C or B lister, ’cause the dude litterally commited arson and if that speaker explodes, attempted murder. Maybe even murder if any civilians didn’t get out in time.
The last time they fought, The Troll had civilians tied up real high in the air with actual bombs attached to them. Attempted Murder was already on the table.
And he explained that he only had nintendo, playstation and xbox as options because pc exploded when he was setting up the bomb. Murder is already there as well.
“unfortunately im a bit new at this “homemade explosives” thing, and..lets just say “pc” suffered a “irreversable blue screen” very messy, i am NOT looking forward to cleaning it up”
i had to dig through the archives to get the exact quote. reads tome that while planned murder and attempted murder were a thing, and he would have gone through with it, the pc guy exploding was a accident so i would count that as “accidental” murder being already on the table when he made his big moment.
Incorrect. Use of a deadly weapon, in this case explosives, would have shot that charge right back up to First Degree Murder because the intent to kill existed.
Yeeeeah… But then again – we ARE talking about the guy who once assembled an entire mannequin out of dildos to attract that same person… and succeeded: https://cad-comic.com/comic/analog-and-d-pad-03-06/
And that was BEFORE he got chemical/radioactive goop all over him.
if they didn’t come, then either someone else would see the wall and thus sully Analog’s name further, or it would burn into ash, in which case may as well try again.
TimeViewer
1 year ago
Called it
Nono
1 year ago
I mean, that’s hedging on:
The fire department not responding to the call first
Analog and D-Pad actually responding to the call for fire instead of doing something else like playing Diablo or another distress call
No other heroes swooping in and responding to the call first
Analog himself responding to the direct call for help instead of D-Pad
The fact that they didn’t hear the call until after they’d been on the scene and observed the fire department had it handled suggests that it was triggered in response to their presence. So they’re probably being watched and it was triggered exactly when they were most likely to hear it.
I mean, the other potential hiccups you listed are still a factor, but that certainly reduces the first and third one.
From the set up, it doesn’t look like The Troll needed anyone specific to find this spot… just for someone to find it. If a fireman came upon it instead of Ethan, it is likely that the rumors about Analog deliberately dropping The Troll would surface again, which would still be a win. And that’s before considering the fact that The Troll could conceivably setup multiple events like this to maximize the likelihood that Ethan finds one.
The answer to all those points is, D-Pad is the troll, he made them react to the call instead of playing Diablo, he splashed Analog with water, indicating, Analog should respond to the call for help…Hell, Ethan even had a prophetic dream about Lucas being the troll: https://cad-comic.com/comic/drop-in-p13/
or No matter who finds the Shrine there’s going to be evidence
Brad
1 year ago
I forgot about The Troll. Hell, it’s been 8 years.
Vukodlak
1 year ago
So what if they hadn’t shown up that night? Does he have a box full of extra copies of these clippings.
“This is the fifth setup this week, he’s got to see this one!.”
The best part about comics is we get to see the “perfect” outcome in the multiverse of possibilities, rather than the countless timelines of failure that could exist.
Troll probably didn’t even know that Diablo was that big of a game for Ethan. Think of the buildings that burned when Zelda launched, or Jedi Survivor. Maybe even Hogwarts Legacy got a bit of arson.
EDIT: Heck, he almost definitely didn’t know it was that big of a thing. If he did, he’d have known he wouldn’t leave Diablo night unless someone else twisted his arm. Troll’s plan would depend on Ethan being self-sacrificing, something he clearly doesn’t think he is.
The third.
1) Robots
2) Glitch glove guy
3) Troll
4) ZK part 1
5) ZK part 2
6) ZK/Master
There was also Demolition Duke in there somewhere between 4-6, but I don’t recall exactly when. And one with Dr Eldritch but they did not face him, Lilah was reporting from the scene (trying to, anyway).
Otherwise it’s been a lot of talking and background (this is NOT intended as a complaint, just a fact that much of the story has been slice of life type stuff with Analog & D-Pad).
Ok, thanks. Yeah, I wasn’t sure about the order in which he showed up. All I remembered was “one of the first, but not the first.” I’ve followed Tim’s webcomic stuff for 19 years now. In spite of not being nearly as immersed in the gaming community and culture as most of the people around here, I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything he’s done. And the Analog & D-Pad stories are no exception. I’ve watched and read many works in the “superhero/superpowers” genre (and in fantasy and sci-fi too). But Tim manages to keep even classic and simple ideas interesting and… Read more »
Ben
1 year ago
So the Troll knew they’d likely be responding to this call. That’s… disturbing. It seems likely that they make a habit of responding to calls that are within grapple-gun distance of their apartment. So all the Troll probably had to do was recognize that a lot of their day-saving occurs around a certain zip code. Heck, if he gets enough data and starts checking their average response time against location data, he can probably start to get an idea of what block they live on. It’s a short jump from there to spot which building (or window) they leave by.… Read more »
He doesn’t need to know that much (yet). It’s not like this message was specifically addressed at Analog, it’s merely accusing him. Note how it says ‘Analog threw me’, not ‘You threw me’. This seems more like it was for anyone to find and spread ill will towards Analog. Still plenty disturbing to be targeted like this, just not quite ‘I know everything about you’ levels. And yes, Lilah could very well be in harms way. At the very least she’s the reporter with the most (only?) news/connections about Analog. And it’s even possible the Troll might’ve been aware when… Read more »
Came to say this. I hope The Troll calls him “pathetically predictable, like a moth to a flame.”
Phaet
1 year ago
I like your version of joker.
Kevin Greenbaum
1 year ago
Been wondering when the troll was gonna pop back up after he disappeared from the hospital.
Dom, The Pun-isher
1 year ago
Oh no, it’s the Choker™!
Halosty
1 year ago
I mean, the troll was already horrible before, and as one of the two people physically present he knows this isn’t true. Not that it will make Ethan feel any better.
Alex
1 year ago
Oh, good. He’s out of his coma.
How did God, with all his pillows, let this guy wake up?
Ethan could just be hallucinating from all the heat and smoke, and his mind’s trauma is just playing off it. Just because he can’t stay dead doesn’t mean he’s immune to such things.
Merddyn
1 year ago
Oh good we’re framing D-Pad for Arson are we? Great start.
Anon200
1 year ago
Well figured it was a trap but expected it to be more from zeke testing Ethan
Vedrit
1 year ago
Hey wait, I’ve seen this one before…
Del Cox
1 year ago
“When I failed to kill three people with dynamite, Analog didn’t try hard enough to keep me from falling off a building. What a lunatic.”
Honestly, I have no idea why Ethan’s letting this get under his skin.
if you take on a vigilante roll like him, the way he is, he will always let every death get under his skin especially if he – thinks – he had a chance to save him or “if he’d only…” Here in Belgium we get a lot of videos on the news of people crossing train tracks when the bell is ringing and the lights are and the barriers are down cuz they don’t wanna wait. Even if they do that and they get under the train, the driver won’t just think “meh it’s their own fault”. Not even if… Read more »
This goes a bit further than that, it’s not like the troll suffered from a self-inflicted falling that Ethan failed to save him from. Ethan was the one that pulled him off the ledge in the first place (arguably in self-defense, though just as arguably Ethan could’ve just taken the fall and respawned anyway, so there was no actual danger to him). And Ethan at least believed he might have dropped him on purpose afterwards. For someone with such a strong code against killing, that’s plenty to feel bad about. As far letting this under his skin…the troll is a… Read more »
Saarandir
1 year ago
I forgot about that whole thing, yikes.
And Analog looks just like Raziel here, nice 🙂
Just to be clear, it is absolutely true that Ethan is at least partially responsible for the Troll’s possible death, and that’s not okay. It wouldn’t be okay if Ethan had just failed to save the Troll, and it’s not okay that he caused it. Ethan should feel guilt for it.
The fact the Troll had threatened to kill three people doesn’t really play into Ethan’s own conduct, and shouldn’t. This wasn’t a trolley problem.
But honestly, I think it should have been left to lie with that.
Omegasonic2000
11 months ago
OH SHIT I thought this was just gonna be a Diablo tie-in thingie but no, it’s an actual serious plot
24
Oh sh*t…
Seems like playing Diablo will have to wait…(anyway…there are already level 100 players )
seriously? And here I am, lvl 27. Lol.
Not paying extra for the 4-day headstart? Beginner mistake 😀
They paid for the 4-day headstart, they just haven’t played as much. Without the early access, it’s currently 1 hour 45 minutes to the “official” launch, 8 hours after your comment.
(I didn’t pay for Early Access, inr part because I would have barely had time to play over the weekend anyway, and by coincidence have a few days off this week anyway)
Something tells me The Troll knew what he was doing when he waited the Diablo 4 release day for this.
They are video games-themed heroes, it probably wasn’t hard to figure out.
And he IS the Troll, after all, picking that date would be especially fitting for him.
Well lets suicide out of that quickly …
Quickly being the key word, no one wants the trauma of being burnt alive
Ethan would still remember what he saw.
can he? His body is at this state not in danger yet (relatively) so if he kills himself now he would just respawn there. Or maybe he would respawn in mid-air seeing as he was on one of Lucas’ arrows earlier which is now gone resulting in him falling to his death and then respawning back in mid-air and then getting stuck in this horrible death-loop.
Like Lara in tomb raider 2 when I managed to save my game when she was hanging from a ladder…
Or when she was swimming under a bad guy with a very efficient automatic weapon. Oof…
He seems to have some control or its just convenient how he respawns. He’s died in the grasp of villain’s a couple of times and then spawned in behind them.
Chills!
Called it hardcore.
Ok, the title checks out – a certain hero is going to have to confront their inner demons fairly soon, I expect.
It’s time
Welp, looks like The Troll just upgraded from a D-List villian to at least a C or B lister, ’cause the dude litterally commited arson and if that speaker explodes, attempted murder. Maybe even murder if any civilians didn’t get out in time.
Didn’t he already commit murder? Only attempted on-screen, but at least one heavily implied death in https://cad-comic.com/comic/analog-and-d-pad-03-15/ .
The last time they fought, The Troll had civilians tied up real high in the air with actual bombs attached to them. Attempted Murder was already on the table.
And he explained that he only had nintendo, playstation and xbox as options because pc exploded when he was setting up the bomb. Murder is already there as well.
“unfortunately im a bit new at this “homemade explosives” thing, and..lets just say “pc” suffered a “irreversable blue screen” very messy, i am NOT looking forward to cleaning it up”
i had to dig through the archives to get the exact quote. reads tome that while planned murder and attempted murder were a thing, and he would have gone through with it, the pc guy exploding was a accident so i would count that as “accidental” murder being already on the table when he made his big moment.
Incorrect. Use of a deadly weapon, in this case explosives, would have shot that charge right back up to First Degree Murder because the intent to kill existed.
Yeah if you’re aiming a gun at someone and shoot the guy before you meant to, it’s still murder
Seems like a lot of effort, burning down a building just in case these two show up and the one you want to torment happens to go in
Yeeeeah… But then again – we ARE talking about the guy who once assembled an entire mannequin out of dildos to attract that same person… and succeeded: https://cad-comic.com/comic/analog-and-d-pad-03-06/
And that was BEFORE he got chemical/radioactive goop all over him.
if they didn’t come, then either someone else would see the wall and thus sully Analog’s name further, or it would burn into ash, in which case may as well try again.
Called it
I mean, that’s hedging on:
The fact that they didn’t hear the call until after they’d been on the scene and observed the fire department had it handled suggests that it was triggered in response to their presence. So they’re probably being watched and it was triggered exactly when they were most likely to hear it.
I mean, the other potential hiccups you listed are still a factor, but that certainly reduces the first and third one.
plus, given the choice between the guy who can’t die and the one who can, they’re sending the guy who can’t into the fire
He can’t die, but he can still experience the searing pain of dying from it so like
50/50 chance?
From the set up, it doesn’t look like The Troll needed anyone specific to find this spot… just for someone to find it. If a fireman came upon it instead of Ethan, it is likely that the rumors about Analog deliberately dropping The Troll would surface again, which would still be a win. And that’s before considering the fact that The Troll could conceivably setup multiple events like this to maximize the likelihood that Ethan finds one.
The answer to all those points is, D-Pad is the troll, he made them react to the call instead of playing Diablo, he splashed Analog with water, indicating, Analog should respond to the call for help…Hell, Ethan even had a prophetic dream about Lucas being the troll: https://cad-comic.com/comic/drop-in-p13/
Common enough in superhero stories. Just let the suspension of disbelief ride.
or No matter who finds the Shrine there’s going to be evidence
I forgot about The Troll. Hell, it’s been 8 years.
So what if they hadn’t shown up that night? Does he have a box full of extra copies of these clippings.
“This is the fifth setup this week, he’s got to see this one!.”
The best part about comics is we get to see the “perfect” outcome in the multiverse of possibilities, rather than the countless timelines of failure that could exist.
Maybe the failed attempts happened too, we just didn’t seem them, since the “camera” is focused on Analog & D-Pad, not The Troll.
Troll probably didn’t even know that Diablo was that big of a game for Ethan. Think of the buildings that burned when Zelda launched, or Jedi Survivor. Maybe even Hogwarts Legacy got a bit of arson.
EDIT: Heck, he almost definitely didn’t know it was that big of a thing. If he did, he’d have known he wouldn’t leave Diablo night unless someone else twisted his arm. Troll’s plan would depend on Ethan being self-sacrificing, something he clearly doesn’t think he is.
Maybe but this is also a comedic comic, thus we may learn he has been doing this for weeks.
The thought that anyone else might see this is a part of the power-play.
I love Analog’s Masked Form 😛
Im sorry everyone is referring to “The Troll” but Ive got no memory of him, Id appreciate any reminders.
He is the guy Analog tried to save, even though he didn’t want to.
I suggest re-reading from the beginning. The Troll was like the second antagonist or so.
The third.
1) Robots
2) Glitch glove guy
3) Troll
4) ZK part 1
5) ZK part 2
6) ZK/Master
There was also Demolition Duke in there somewhere between 4-6, but I don’t recall exactly when. And one with Dr Eldritch but they did not face him, Lilah was reporting from the scene (trying to, anyway).
Otherwise it’s been a lot of talking and background (this is NOT intended as a complaint, just a fact that much of the story has been slice of life type stuff with Analog & D-Pad).
Ok, thanks. Yeah, I wasn’t sure about the order in which he showed up. All I remembered was “one of the first, but not the first.” I’ve followed Tim’s webcomic stuff for 19 years now. In spite of not being nearly as immersed in the gaming community and culture as most of the people around here, I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything he’s done. And the Analog & D-Pad stories are no exception. I’ve watched and read many works in the “superhero/superpowers” genre (and in fantasy and sci-fi too). But Tim manages to keep even classic and simple ideas interesting and… Read more »
So the Troll knew they’d likely be responding to this call. That’s… disturbing. It seems likely that they make a habit of responding to calls that are within grapple-gun distance of their apartment. So all the Troll probably had to do was recognize that a lot of their day-saving occurs around a certain zip code. Heck, if he gets enough data and starts checking their average response time against location data, he can probably start to get an idea of what block they live on. It’s a short jump from there to spot which building (or window) they leave by.… Read more »
He doesn’t need to know that much (yet). It’s not like this message was specifically addressed at Analog, it’s merely accusing him. Note how it says ‘Analog threw me’, not ‘You threw me’. This seems more like it was for anyone to find and spread ill will towards Analog. Still plenty disturbing to be targeted like this, just not quite ‘I know everything about you’ levels. And yes, Lilah could very well be in harms way. At the very least she’s the reporter with the most (only?) news/connections about Analog. And it’s even possible the Troll might’ve been aware when… Read more »
I agree. It’s also the only way he could start a fire, knowing they would show up.
I doubt he just got lucky, or set dozens of fires all across the city.
bruh…
Theyn “Green Goblin”ed him!
Came to say this. I hope The Troll calls him “pathetically predictable, like a moth to a flame.”
I like your version of joker.
Been wondering when the troll was gonna pop back up after he disappeared from the hospital.
Oh no, it’s the Choker™!
I mean, the troll was already horrible before, and as one of the two people physically present he knows this isn’t true. Not that it will make Ethan feel any better.
Oh, good. He’s out of his coma.
How did God, with all his pillows, let this guy wake up?
He woke up a long time ago.
Ethan could just be hallucinating from all the heat and smoke, and his mind’s trauma is just playing off it. Just because he can’t stay dead doesn’t mean he’s immune to such things.
Oh good we’re framing D-Pad for Arson are we? Great start.
Well figured it was a trap but expected it to be more from zeke testing Ethan
Hey wait, I’ve seen this one before…
“When I failed to kill three people with dynamite, Analog didn’t try hard enough to keep me from falling off a building. What a lunatic.”
Honestly, I have no idea why Ethan’s letting this get under his skin.
if you take on a vigilante roll like him, the way he is, he will always let every death get under his skin especially if he – thinks – he had a chance to save him or “if he’d only…” Here in Belgium we get a lot of videos on the news of people crossing train tracks when the bell is ringing and the lights are and the barriers are down cuz they don’t wanna wait. Even if they do that and they get under the train, the driver won’t just think “meh it’s their own fault”. Not even if… Read more »
This goes a bit further than that, it’s not like the troll suffered from a self-inflicted falling that Ethan failed to save him from. Ethan was the one that pulled him off the ledge in the first place (arguably in self-defense, though just as arguably Ethan could’ve just taken the fall and respawned anyway, so there was no actual danger to him). And Ethan at least believed he might have dropped him on purpose afterwards. For someone with such a strong code against killing, that’s plenty to feel bad about. As far letting this under his skin…the troll is a… Read more »
I forgot about that whole thing, yikes.
And Analog looks just like Raziel here, nice 🙂
To be fair, troll WAS asking for it…
https://cad-comic.com/comic/analog-and-d-pad-03-13/
Just to be clear, it is absolutely true that Ethan is at least partially responsible for the Troll’s possible death, and that’s not okay. It wouldn’t be okay if Ethan had just failed to save the Troll, and it’s not okay that he caused it. Ethan should feel guilt for it.
The fact the Troll had threatened to kill three people doesn’t really play into Ethan’s own conduct, and shouldn’t. This wasn’t a trolley problem.
But honestly, I think it should have been left to lie with that.
OH SHIT I thought this was just gonna be a Diablo tie-in thingie but no, it’s an actual serious plot