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24

Showdown, p33

January 9, 2026 by Tim


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MarthKoopa
MarthKoopa
1 day ago

That last line seems suspicious

ears
ears
1 day ago
Reply to  MarthKoopa

He’s just happy to see his lover.

foducool
foducool
1 day ago
Reply to  MarthKoopa

lol yeah that’s just Ben, say hi to Ben

Jack0r
Jack0r
20 hours ago
Reply to  foducool

Yeah, if this wasn’t Ben I’d be sure the cop was working with the troll, the way the last line was framed.

Nik
Nik
20 hours ago
Reply to  foducool

By the way my Ben is a Son of a B!tch.

Literally.

52lbs of absolute love and cuteness (with periodic annoyance thrown in).

Nik
Nik
18 hours ago
Reply to  Nik

Okay,

To the fucker who downvoted my Ben.

You must be a pathetic cat person.

Nik
Nik
18 hours ago
Reply to  Nik

Apparently, the Troll escaped and is on the loose.

Last edited 18 hours ago by Nik
Paula
Paula
14 hours ago
Reply to  Nik

What? No, the one who escaped is Black Hat

Ben
Ben
18 hours ago
Reply to  Nik

You mean Ben isn’t a cat? Aww, Ben sounded like the best cat ever…

Nik
Nik
17 hours ago
Reply to  Ben

Okay, if “Son of a B!tch” didn’t give it away. . .

I do not know if I ever want to see a 52 lb housecat.

Lynx or similar maybe, but I don’t know if I would try to domesticate them.

Mike
Mike
10 hours ago
Reply to  Ben

I think Nik means to say Ben is a dog, which makes him a literal son of a bitch, as in female dog.
Twice now, my backyard has been occupied by a big bitch with strong “darling ray of sunshine” energy. I found Princess at school when I was 9, and now Coco is inherited from my uncle.

Urazz
Urazz
6 hours ago
Reply to  Mike

If Nik was trying to be funny, he failed because he was more confusing than anything else.

Jonathan
Jonathan
14 hours ago
Reply to  foducool

If Ethan randomly calls him Uncle Ben, he will die.

Sunday
Sunday
15 hours ago
Reply to  MarthKoopa

Pretty sure it’s just Lucas maintaining plausible deniability for Ben; he is a cop dating an unregistered super (and specifically dating his civilian alter-ego). Openly acknowledging a relationship between Ben and “D-pad” would endanger him- especially since Ben’s login was already used to look up the troll, and he was reprimanded/investigated as a result.

I read this as Ben caring about Lucas’ and Ethan’s safety even when he is supposed to be keeping his distance, and Lucas respecting the fact they can’t admit to knowing each other in front of Huntress (or Troll/Elijah).

Killiak
Killiak
1 day ago

Ooooh, so Ben is going to die. Gotcha.

Tarl
Tarl
1 day ago

Kinda was hoping to see Zeke realize Ethan might have died died and get his reaction.

ReaverRogue
ReaverRogue
1 day ago

So either Ben’s going to die, or he’s going to…

“Stop feeding the Troll”

Excited to find out!

Jedi
Jedi
1 day ago

Smart move, having even more backup at standby…

Scortch
Scortch
1 day ago

Oh jeez, its been so long I forgot about thst bitch Nicole.

Daniel
Daniel
1 day ago

By god, don’t leave Ben alone with the Troll and Elijah, not when there’s overpowered clipping speedster out there having whatever plan B there have!
Send the Thunderess with him. She attributed absolutely nothing to this encounter, but at least she might be bulletproof or something. Her eyes are glowing, after all.

Ben
Ben
18 hours ago
Reply to  Daniel

She didn’t do nothing, exactly. Removing Power Glove from the equation alone was a major contribution, and she fought a bit.

Halosty
Halosty
16 hours ago
Reply to  Daniel

I think we just didn’t focus much screen time on her because she’s not one of the main characters. I’d give her the benefit of the doubt that she was doing stuff unless there’s reason to believe otherwise.

Daniel
Daniel
1 day ago

Also: you should charge your phone more often, Ethan

Chris
Chris
23 hours ago

No one’s going to mention vault-tec? Or did we already know about that?

Raulen
Raulen
23 hours ago
Reply to  Chris

I just took that to mean they are playing F76 together and he’s got a very popular messaging background for her. What interests me is he might use that for her anyway, admitting she’s his dystopian overseer.

Chris
Chris
23 hours ago
Reply to  Raulen

I saw it as just his lock screen. It can look like that and not be for anybody in particular, if you set up notifications to show who called/texted you on the lock screen.

Chris
Chris
23 hours ago
Reply to  Chris

Ethan’s a known Fallout fan. A bit too enthusiastic about Fallout. I remember the old storyline where he’d basically be put out of commission for weeks following any Fallout release, to the point he looked like a haggard addict. His friends would keep Fallout news out of earshot whenever he was around, lest they trigger another episode. This version seems more chill about it, but he’s still a big fan, I would think.

Tim
Tim
22 hours ago

Someone remind me who Nichole is? Was she his ex or the toxic girlfriend?

Daniel
Daniel
22 hours ago
Reply to  Tim

Toxic (ex)-girlfriend

ocramot
ocramot
20 hours ago
Reply to  Daniel

Why ex?

Daniel
Daniel
20 hours ago
Reply to  ocramot

Well, what happened when Ethan left was an ultimatum, where Ethan made his choice. It wasn’t a formal breakup, and I doubt that Nicole said the last word, but I think Ethan lost interest in this relationship

Ocramot
Ocramot
20 hours ago
Reply to  Daniel

Yes I remember the ultimatum, but AFAIR we never saw them actually breaking up, and it seems Nicole is not letting it go so easily. And it’s not clear what Ethan intends to do about it
(I really hope he’s not going back to her, of course)

Austin
Austin
8 hours ago
Reply to  Ocramot

On the bright side, now that Ethan’s confirmed he has his powers back, he’s going to be standing up for himself a lot more. I feel like part of the reason he so easily let himself be controlled was because he was feeling vulnerable without his powers, and she offered the illusion of safety through her confidence. But now that he’s back (and he’s already broken past her ultimatum) he’ll have the backbone to properly end it.

Rufusstan
Rufusstan
19 hours ago
Reply to  ocramot

Wishful thinking. I’m sure there is more drama to go there

Mor
Mor
22 hours ago
Reply to  Tim

Toxic GF… I had to think for a moment there – already forgot about her. 😛

Ian
Ian
22 hours ago

hmm – would the Troll, who’s already met Ben in the prison, put 2 + 2 together that Ben is linked with Analogue + DPad?

Last edited 22 hours ago by Ian
Jedi
Jedi
21 hours ago
Reply to  Ian

Well with the same reason someone might ask more questions at the police hq as Ben somehow seems to be always involved with all the Troll cases …

Not that Brian
Not that Brian
15 hours ago
Reply to  Jedi

I took it more as Lucas throwing Ben a favor since Ben was already at risk since he let Lucas look up information on the Troll.

Ben being able to bring the Troll in should help clear his name.

Joseph
Joseph
10 hours ago
Reply to  Not that Brian

I really hope so. If I were a suspicious minded IA investigator having to deal with comic book bullshit on a daily basis, I might view any further association between him and the Troll as a potential sign of guilt. Particularly given how he seems to be one of those villains who loves concocting elaborate schemes.

Urazz
Urazz
6 hours ago
Reply to  Ian

The Troll met Ben at prison? I don’t recall that. I thought it was Ben left his work laptop out for Lucas to look through to find out where the Troll was locked up at, hence why Internal Affairs was looking into him when the Troll escaped.

Del Cox
Del Cox
22 hours ago

Maybe it was ultimately superfluous, but I really wanted to see the Zeke-Dpad-Analog exchange of information about the powers situation.

Boof
Boof
19 hours ago

They win!

But can glove kid phase them out of prison?

Aeroprism
Aeroprism
18 hours ago

I’m a bit worried for Ben here. These two in the same car? He might be a cop, they’re beyond dangerous. I really like Ben, I’d hate to see something happen to him.

Also: Excellent string of comics these last few days. Thank you for finding the perfect balance between suspense and delivery. You truly respect your readers and the payoff was absolutely delightful!

Curtis
Curtis
16 hours ago

Anyone feel like a strip is missing here? Like, should have been some sort of interaction between Locus and Ethan after they discover his powers still worked? Some interaction with Zeke? But it just goes from them all being inside after he respawns to all of a sudden being outside. I even hit the the back button thinking I missed an update.

MarthKoopa
MarthKoopa
16 hours ago
Reply to  Curtis

yeah it’s an odd jump

Figgly
Figgly
15 hours ago

Ah yes, sending the armed and dangerous criminals who literally just escaped from prison and threatened the entire city, both of whom are confirmed or attempted mass murderers… Back to prison… in the same car…

I see absolutely nothing that could possibly go wrong here in the short OR the long term! 🙂

Lonewolfcavalry
Lonewolfcavalry
9 hours ago
Reply to  Figgly

If you look closely Elijah is still “paused”, and the trolls “power” is social manipulation, something ben is obviously not about to succumb to

Urazz
Urazz
6 hours ago

Yeah, but Blackhat is still on the loose and can easily go attack Ben’s squad car and break Elijah and the Troll loose. Leaving Ben alone is just asking for trouble

Granted, Blackhat may not even give a crap about them since he seemed more focused on money than anything else.

JozMk.II
JozMk.II
15 hours ago

Really hope Ethan quickly breaks up with her. I don’t want another several dozen painful pages of him dealing with that toxic See You Next Tuesday.

Paula
Paula
14 hours ago

Oh, that was…underwhelming. I was hoping for a Lucas and Ethan hug and Zeke being confused and then they explaining it to him. I also wanted to see the troll reacting to Ethan being alive (and he recovered quite well from Zeke’s hit). I don’t know. It is just I wanted to see more immediate aftermath of what happened, not a 19 years later thing.

Austin
Austin
8 hours ago
Reply to  Paula

I forgot. Didn’t Ethan tell Zeke about his powers being potentially gone when he reunited with them in that alley? If so, then Zeke was doing a really good job hiding their worry for Ethan, but I honestly don’t remember if that was part of their conversation.

Gonfrask
Gonfrask
13 hours ago

You have just jinxed it…

Nzall
Nzall
13 hours ago

How many pages are usually in these A&D serials? 36?

Victual Brother
Victual Brother
13 hours ago

Theoretical question regarding the Troll and any potential charges being brought: would he be charged with Murder or Attempted Murder of Ethan? I’m curious to hear opinions.

Figgly
Figgly
11 hours ago

why not both?

GeorgeV
GeorgeV
11 hours ago

Not a lawyer or law person, but I’d guess it has to be attempted murder. Ethan is alive, and there is no way to actually prove he died. For all we know his respawn could even be a ‘right before dying, instead this happens’ thing.

Chrispy
Chrispy
12 hours ago

Livestreamed terrorist threat and only 1 officer “happens” to be nearby?

Urazz
Urazz
6 hours ago
Reply to  Chrispy

Yeah, I found that odd as well. Especially when the location was found/given.

Paula
Paula
2 hours ago
Reply to  Urazz

Yes. When the thunderess arrived I thought she said something about they setting a perimeter or something but I am probably misremembering. It is odd though.

Last edited 2 hours ago by Paula
Mike
Mike
9 hours ago

How did Elijah’s legs get straightened? Game Boy and Thundress working together probably, but it just feels odd we didn’t see it.

Digi
Digi
8 hours ago

Uh-oh….Is something gonna happen to the cop now? Seems awfully like a cliffhanger.