I think that points to the knowledge that he cant die. The fact that he’s pretty messed up in the head is a direct result of all of it. He was probably more careful as a child, and his parents kept him safe.
I can’t dig up the strip, but there was one about him still feeling every death, all the pain and that.. messing with his mind, messing with his sanity. I think there was one like that.
You’d think he’d be more carefull about death, I would think. But accidents still happen.
I remember the strip you’re talking about, specifically how he’s so jealous of other powers that are more ‘practical’. He can’t STAY dead. He feels every one, his skull crushing, acid melting his bones, he remembers it all. While other people can ‘pause’ things, fly on psionically controlled energy arrows, or are super strong, so on.
So there he is, a guy who’s all too aware of his lack of intelligence, who is unable to stay dead and can’t even capitalize on it very well beyond trying to train himself as a Batman style hero.
I think it’s a bit of both. I imagine Ethan has always been a bit accident prone, but he probably wasn’t so bad that he would die from his accidents. Getting his powers and not worrying about death being a permanent thing would probably make anyone sloppy. It’s not like having a healing factor type power where you would feel the pain constantly until you are healed.
Daniel Sørensen
2 years ago
Did he break his neck or something? Why did he respawn? I thought the ‘crack’ sound was his jaw smashing up in his skull and breaking his teeth
No reason to vote him down guys. That being said, that is just that – luck. Especially if you can not break the fall, because you are drunk or unaware, the acceleration (or rather, the negative acceleration, when you come to a sudden stop) can VERY easily kill you. Used to study law and one of the side courses I took was forensic medicine. (can be important due to insurance laws and stuff, so interesting to law students too, not just medicine ones) And I still remember the case of one guy they brought in. No really visible injuries from… Read more »
Guys, we already know the real answer, and it’s pretty dark. Don’t you remember that old Winter-een-mas arc, where Ethan wants to play Eternal Darkness, has to go to Megagame, and ends up deliberately injuring himself so the guys there don’t end up blackmailing him? Ethan comes home, recounts the story, casually stabs himself and regenerates mif-story, healing himself. The fall might not have killed him, but Ethan is USED to using his respawning ability as a healing mechanic. So even if he didn’t crack his skull, or break his neck, or down in his own blood, chances are he’s… Read more »
Ben
2 years ago
Ethan, the only man able to hold multiple Darwin awards…
I’m pretty sure respawning automatically disqualifies him for a Darwin award, as you need to actually permanently remove yourself from the gene pool for those.
Though that is true, his nature would scare off most potential mates. Only the very, very, very, very patient would see through to all the good intentions he has. So he’s kinda mostly disqualified, which, if judged in a binary scale, would be 1, not a 0.
Salty
2 years ago
I believe these lives aren’t infinite. I wonder when this will be part of the story, and Ethan will need to learn to be more cautious about his recklessness.
What if for some reason ZeeKay (Zeke) can see how many lives, but doesn’t want to tell Ethan because that just makes it better for him and his ‘spank bank’.
ya its been a topic before. believe it came to him deciding not to be so careless about it. deciding not to be and actually not being are totally different things.
Marcus
2 years ago
man, ethan would be the perfect guinea pig for workplace health and safety officers… if its ethan safe, its good for everyone.
Though in some cases, Ethan sets himself up to pretty much die like he did in this strip. He could’ve easily just moved the stool closer to the shelf he was trying to put that box on.
ShonaSoF
2 years ago
Well I have to clean my drink off my keyboard now. Thanks, Tim.
Matt
2 years ago
Not to bring down the mood, this particular segment is hilarious, but if Ethan’s power really has no limit, won’t it eventually become torturous? As he ages, his body will become increasingly frail and easier to kill. Eventually he will become so old and decrepit that even breathing could kill him, and yet he will respawn. Scott and Lucas have talked about the implications of Ethan’s power before, but only a little. I wonder if this will ever get explored more deeply. The aging part probably not, but in general the psychological impact of not being able to die. It… Read more »
Last edited 2 years ago by Matt
Rea
2 years ago
There is a sort of rule, that the more invulnerable you are, the more often you get into horrific accidents.
Mainly, it’s because you lose that fear of dying, at least from stuff that won’t kill you.
Kevin Greenbaum
2 years ago
Things like this make me sad thinking of how things will be when they find out they were lied to about the explosive.
Andrew
2 years ago
Hi Tim.
Just wanted to tell you that I received my books today.
Funny thing is that 3 years ago, on the same day, I got CAD 1.0.
Logan
2 years ago
Did I miss where Z has seen Ethan respawn before this? That’s a very casual response if he hasn’t.
Critic
2 years ago
Its kinda sad but Ethan, Lucas, and Zeke are now my least favorite part of CAD. Kinda had hoped you would stay away from them for at least a bit since we had a recent arc with them.
24
Proof that Ethan has become more careless since he got superpowers? Or proof that Ethan would be long since dead without them?
I feel like its the second one…
yeah, was probably born with ’em to offset his accident prone behavior, or he’d have offed himself before he turned 2 lol
He wasn’t born with the power… he got it when he was already an adult… thus the question: how did he survive before that event? 😀
maybe, its possible he was born with them, just unlocked them later!
He unlocked knowing about his super power, and him being in the accident sparked Lukas’ transformation.
How do we know he unlocked them at that point? Did he die at all before then and not respawn?
Maybe he preordered his existence and got it as free DLC.
I think that points to the knowledge that he cant die. The fact that he’s pretty messed up in the head is a direct result of all of it. He was probably more careful as a child, and his parents kept him safe.
I can’t dig up the strip, but there was one about him still feeling every death, all the pain and that.. messing with his mind, messing with his sanity. I think there was one like that.
You’d think he’d be more carefull about death, I would think. But accidents still happen.
I remember the strip you’re talking about, specifically how he’s so jealous of other powers that are more ‘practical’. He can’t STAY dead. He feels every one, his skull crushing, acid melting his bones, he remembers it all. While other people can ‘pause’ things, fly on psionically controlled energy arrows, or are super strong, so on.
So there he is, a guy who’s all too aware of his lack of intelligence, who is unable to stay dead and can’t even capitalize on it very well beyond trying to train himself as a Batman style hero.
The real question is how he survived until now
A little from column A, a little from column B…
It must be the first one, as we had ten years of (blisful) comics without superpowers in which he survived. Of sorts.
little column a, little column b
I think it’s a bit of both. I imagine Ethan has always been a bit accident prone, but he probably wasn’t so bad that he would die from his accidents. Getting his powers and not worrying about death being a permanent thing would probably make anyone sloppy. It’s not like having a healing factor type power where you would feel the pain constantly until you are healed.
Did he break his neck or something? Why did he respawn? I thought the ‘crack’ sound was his jaw smashing up in his skull and breaking his teeth
Seems like the hit broke his jaw but also hit the throat, which deformed his pharynx, so he choked in his own blood.
And yes, a hit strong enough can make you that.
I usually survive worse accidents than falling down 50 cm.
.* without major wounds.
No reason to vote him down guys. That being said, that is just that – luck. Especially if you can not break the fall, because you are drunk or unaware, the acceleration (or rather, the negative acceleration, when you come to a sudden stop) can VERY easily kill you. Used to study law and one of the side courses I took was forensic medicine. (can be important due to insurance laws and stuff, so interesting to law students too, not just medicine ones) And I still remember the case of one guy they brought in. No really visible injuries from… Read more »
I guess this is what they mean by having a glass jaw.
He probably choked on his teeth…
It could be a “one hit kill” setup similar to many game mechanics… where touching the turtle kills vs maims mario.
Guys, we already know the real answer, and it’s pretty dark. Don’t you remember that old Winter-een-mas arc, where Ethan wants to play Eternal Darkness, has to go to Megagame, and ends up deliberately injuring himself so the guys there don’t end up blackmailing him? Ethan comes home, recounts the story, casually stabs himself and regenerates mif-story, healing himself. The fall might not have killed him, but Ethan is USED to using his respawning ability as a healing mechanic. So even if he didn’t crack his skull, or break his neck, or down in his own blood, chances are he’s… Read more »
Ethan, the only man able to hold multiple Darwin awards…
I’m pretty sure respawning automatically disqualifies him for a Darwin award, as you need to actually permanently remove yourself from the gene pool for those.
Though that is true, his nature would scare off most potential mates. Only the very, very, very, very patient would see through to all the good intentions he has. So he’s kinda mostly disqualified, which, if judged in a binary scale, would be 1, not a 0.
I believe these lives aren’t infinite. I wonder when this will be part of the story, and Ethan will need to learn to be more cautious about his recklessness.
What if for some reason ZeeKay (Zeke) can see how many lives, but doesn’t want to tell Ethan because that just makes it better for him and his ‘spank bank’.
and as zeke starts seeing ethan get closer and closer to single digits he starts trying subtly to save him…..
I was thinking more along the lines of Zeke seeing how much ridiculously dangerous things he can get Ethan to do to prove his frail human mortality.
I’m waiting for this
Zeke: What would happen when you run out of lives.
Ethan: o.O I never taught about the possibility of having limited lives.
Zeke: of course, you didn’t.
Pretty sure this was brought up as a fear of his at one point. can’t remember exactly when though.
I vaguely recall there being a page where that was brought up, not knowing if there’s a limit to his respawns
then Ethan is more careless than we thought o.O
ya its been a topic before. believe it came to him deciding not to be so careless about it. deciding not to be and actually not being are totally different things.
man, ethan would be the perfect guinea pig for workplace health and safety officers… if its ethan safe, its good for everyone.
Though in some cases, Ethan sets himself up to pretty much die like he did in this strip. He could’ve easily just moved the stool closer to the shelf he was trying to put that box on.
Well I have to clean my drink off my keyboard now. Thanks, Tim.
Not to bring down the mood, this particular segment is hilarious, but if Ethan’s power really has no limit, won’t it eventually become torturous? As he ages, his body will become increasingly frail and easier to kill. Eventually he will become so old and decrepit that even breathing could kill him, and yet he will respawn. Scott and Lucas have talked about the implications of Ethan’s power before, but only a little. I wonder if this will ever get explored more deeply. The aging part probably not, but in general the psychological impact of not being able to die. It… Read more »
There is a sort of rule, that the more invulnerable you are, the more often you get into horrific accidents.
Mainly, it’s because you lose that fear of dying, at least from stuff that won’t kill you.
Things like this make me sad thinking of how things will be when they find out they were lied to about the explosive.
Hi Tim.
Just wanted to tell you that I received my books today.
Funny thing is that 3 years ago, on the same day, I got CAD 1.0.
Did I miss where Z has seen Ethan respawn before this? That’s a very casual response if he hasn’t.
Its kinda sad but Ethan, Lucas, and Zeke are now my least favorite part of CAD. Kinda had hoped you would stay away from them for at least a bit since we had a recent arc with them.