If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States. 1-800-273-8255
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Dammit.
I can’t hate him now.
No, you can still hate him for his actions.
But it is perfectly acceptable to feel bad about it.
Or you can hate what he did without hating him personally. That’s how I do things.
Hatred is an ugly, serious emotion. I don’t use the term lightly. It ignores reason, ignores conscience, burns and consumes until it either eats you alive, or destroys the thing you despise – so you better make sure what you hate is a monster, or you become one. That’s why a desire for vengeance is typically seen as a flaw. I don’t know about “perfectly acceptable.” Acceptable to whom? To modern society? There’s a lot about modern society that’s backwards and twisted. If we all had half as much pity as we did hatred for those we thought of as… Read more »
out of curiostity, why hate him? he seems a super-responsible and -dependable friend, who seems to care. maybe i’ve missed something in the storyline, but if you are referring to the “secret” killswitch, well, after the gathered intelligence and experience, in my opinion too it was the most reasonable thing to do.
Agreed, only thing I’d have done different is replace the Kaboom for a simple shutdown on the limbs or the entire CPU. Much easier to fix.
Lying to your friends is not dependable. Not doing what you say you’re going to do is not reliable. If you think he’s an amazing friend then I’m glad I don’t have a friend like you.
Did you miss the storyline in which it went off, after Lucas and Scott talked about removing the failsafe, not because Zeke did anything dangerous but because he was invited out of his cell? And how Scott refused to listen to Ethan or Lucas during that, and forced Zeke to fight for their life by what he was doing with his phone? If you have missed it, then go back and read. If you read it, then go back and read the comments section. I’ve no interest in getting into a large debate about whether or not Scott did something… Read more »
I wish I could upvote this 100 times. Well said. Very well said.
Well, what do you do when you’re stuck between “being a good friend” and “possibly allowing a murderous robot to go on a preventable rampage killing who-knows how many people”
I’m gonna generally stick with “the majority of the readers are siding against Scott a bit too readily”
Please remember, this is a world with super heroes in it, who generally swoop in and save the day if, say, some villain goes on a killing spree. And, as far as super villains go, Zeke is not necessarily more dangerous than most of the others we’ve seen so far.
Scott’s fear was more xenophobic than rational.
I would say try not to abuse using the term war crime. They aren’t soldiers and this is not a war so that term does not apply. It has a very real meaning for when it needs to be used but this isn’t it. The rest is more or less accurate.
It was perhaps reasonable to leave it in initially. It might even be argued to be reasonable to have it stay in and be remote triggerable. It was not reasonable to have it on such a close proximity trigger. It was also not reasonable to keep lying to everyone about it for so long. And ultimately Scott’s reasoning was fundamentally flawed. The guy who made Zeke was still out there. Zeke was not a unique threat. Even if Scott destroys Zeke that doesn’t remove the existence of self-aware robots. Beyond that this is a universe in which Eldritch horrors from… Read more »
I still blame him. Even here he is only thinking of himself. Not apologising or trying to improve. Suicide is an illness but the precondition here seems to be focusing on himself vs accepting fault and trying to improve. Unless there is a huge timeskip, this looks like 1 day after, having never even tried to apologize or help, while Lucas was still keeping a bridge to him and being understanding.
He grew a full beard in that “1 day” timeskip
Pretty sure it’s a flashback to when Carlie died, and not the aftermath of the current situation.
Uff, this turned grim fast… I expected this to hit him, but not nearly that hard.
I think it’s a flashback?
I thought the opposite, months or years into the future
Nah, pretty sure this is them coming to tell him the news about them getting superpowers.
Yeah exactly. This is him dealing with losing Carly
That and the loss of his legs
Oh ya, thats gotta be it. He doesn’t seem to be this far down currently, tho it wouldn’t be surprising if he does go to a place like this soon.
That picture of two people, was assuming it was Lucas&Ethan but him and his sister makes far more sense.
I guess helping those idiots, one more than the other, became his reason to see tomorrow.
Or maybe, his drive is some form of revenge.
In which case, his view on the case will be incompatible with that of Etan and Lucas.
I keep thinking. Lucas’ words here, that got him spiraling into flashback. “You both want the same thing – to protect others.”
Well, it strikes me that Ethan and Lucas want to protect others by using their powers… and Scott’s actions, as of late, are to protect others from Ethan and Lucas.
Makes me think back to Emily’s argument, that supers do more damage than good. Wonder if we’re going to see that theme come up again.
Agreed, they’re coming to tell him about their new powers. But to take that thought a step further, this is probably more about how Scott felt helpless in an unsafe world after what happened to Carly (and his legs? If that’s the same incident). We’re probably about to learn that he got over the incident because he felt safer having superheroes around in Ethan and Lucas. And being the designer of their gadgets and influencer of their actions, maybe he even felt some measure of control over them, which made him feel safe again. That face in the last panel… Read more »
right, yeah, makes sense. It’s just that when I see a shaved face, then the same face with a beard, I assume a lot of time has passed, rather than it being a flashback.
I can’t figure out why your post was downvoted lol
True, it being a flashback does make sense. He was in a much darker place before.
Shit… That’s not where I expected this panel to go.
My eyesight being what it is, I thought the object on his lap was a medical chart of some kind first. After enough zooming I finally figured it’s a picture of him and Carlie. Makes so much more sense.
Oh, thanks, I didn’t catch that either^^
Another small detail is his beard; looks like its been at least a week since leaving his room. Yikes…
It’s a flashback to after Carlie’s death I’m fairly sure.
For those in the UK here’s the Samaritans details. Don’t struggle alone.
Free number 116123
Email [email protected]
https://www.samaritans.org/
Wait, what? Is this suddenly a timeskip?
Trust me, you’re going to love this. What you’re seeing now is a reverse timeskip, or you could just call this a flashback.
Judging by the beard, some time must have passed, either in the future or in the past.
I assume he spent some time in depression and didn’t bother to get a proper shaving.
Yeah, I just meantn that there is more than a day between frame 1 and 3, either into the future or the past.
I’m not entirely sure if you’re kidding, but it feels obvious to me. This is clearly some time after he had the accident that killed Ethan’s sister and paralyzed him, and it’s the next day after Ethan and Lucas found out they had superpowers. It’s a flashback.
“they can bring the dead back?”
“Well, in some sense…”
It would be quite scary to discover than he is helping Ethan to see if he can replicate his “superhero” event and give extra lifes to other ones…
That would be very much like the Scott I have come to dislike.
That is a badass idea, you made my day regardless of whether or not that’s actually the storyline
I can make it even darker. Scott finally is able to replicate the process and use it in her sister, but one thing he doesn’t consider is the effect in the mind.
Always calling Ethan immature is in fact what keep him sane after each respawn incident, his…more volatile, childish mind allow him to process each death easier. Sadly, is not the same for her sister, she can’t bear it, and of course this lead to even darker plotstories…
That’s a monkey’s paw wish
Pet sematary? Never heard of it ?
??
omg, he’s just like me
That’s one hell of a tonal shift. From a silly comic about superheroes and robots to a suicide attempt.
Some of the best dramatic/dark moments I’ve seen in fiction, happened in usually comedic/silly/shallow stories.
The contrast can be quite effective.
That’s how I see it, at least
If you think the tone of this story has been lighthearted and silly all the time, you’ve not been paying attention.
You thought it was a silly comic about superheroes? yeah there are some gags along the way (particularly the one page shots that don’t really fall into the continuity) but this is much more a drama than a comedy.
This isn’t exactly “Loss” over here. We just had a full arc covering free will and mental enslavement. We watched a character agonize over being involved in the death of a villain. If you think this has been fun and light hearted, either you have some very particular hobbies, or you haven’t been paying attention.
When a friend and I saw Hannibal in theatres, at one point we were both laughing and couldn’t stop, we were a tad hysterical…I suspect those around us thought we had some ..very particular hobbies.
(Eating of brains was involved of the scene in question)
One information that i dont Remember, do we know if Scott was on wheelchair even before the incident of Charlie or he was wounded there?
If I recall earlier strips correctly, I believe one of the characters mentioned the Scott was paralyzed during his attempt to protect Carlie.
I believe he was paralyzed in the accident that killed his sister.
In the UK you can call Samaritans at 116 123, or the national suicide helpline at 0800 689 5652.
Been there where Scott is a couple of times in my life; not a good headspace to live in. Also, it is a really hard thing to be honest to friends about. Things are definitely going to be interesting for a bit.
Yeah, I think some here suspected this was a part of Scott’s past. For those that didn’t see it coming… That’s how it works. Even in fiction, even with hints, those ideas just don’t usually show up in the minds of most. It’s the kind of thing that most often requires some knowledge/experience in the matter, to even consider as a possibility. I don’t expect people in general, to have full and ready awareness on this. What people in general can do to help, is not add to THE STIGMA when the topic arises. The stigma behind suicide, and also… Read more »
At least it works better in the context of this story than “gamer jokes, gamer jokes, OMG sudden miscarriage!”
Because stuff like that always calls ahead to schedule an appointment, right?
Not the time or place, my dude.
It’s been over a decade, Tim explained his reasoning at the time, are you incapable of getting over anything in your life?
I didn’t have any problems with the “loss” storyline. I think it was quite effective.
Do you have a link to where Tim talked about the reasoning?
I’m sorry, my previous comment was totally out of line. I ended up stooping to the level of single-digit-aged midwestern suburbanite brats whose mental capacity is limited only to memes and nothing more. This is a very well-done portrayal of struggling with suicidal temptation, and I’m beyond sorry that I tried to twist it into a joke. I’d say it’s the fault of the brats I mentioned before indirectly influencing me to do that, but that’d be like blaming violent video games for violent behavior. Once again, I am truly sorry.
I appreciate the apology. I wish more people have the guts to apologize for stuff like that.
Genuine apologies on the Internet are so rare, I’m still not 100% sure that FireballDragon didn’t just horribly misspell “LOL STFU NOOB.”
I really am sorry. If I weren’t, I would’ve said something like “Lighten up, it was just a joke, don’t take it so seriously,” like dozens of hundreds of cowardly incels on the internet do all the time. I know full well that genuine apologies on the internet are rare, and that’s part of why my apology was so long; I wanted to fully showcase that I have the capacity to own up to my mistakes. I am saying this as legitimately as possible: If we were talking IRL, I would give you full permission to slap me in the… Read more »
Dude, don’t be a dick
You’re right, I was a dick, I was acting just like an 8-year-old on FunnyJunk, and I’m sorry.
I’ve been there – looking at bottle of whisky & a month’s supply of codeine.
It’s pretty damn’ dark when you get that low but I found enough light to find my way back up.
And once you been that low, it is so easy to slip back to it.
Keep fighting, you’re worth it.
Thank you Tim.
For not taking the easy path and making this a joke comic instead.
For letting characters have feelings. Even when they don’t make us comfortable to know about it.
I think this is one of the key reasons why Tim did the reboot; he wanted to do a complete tonal change, but you can’t really do that with an existing continuity that has a completely different expectation. It’s really paid off, in my opinion.
If you live down under, the number for a helpline is 13 11 14
I’m really glad you’re getting to explore a mature, honest narrative in this structure, and I’m all in.
This turn, considering what Lucas said in the previous page, makes me really wonder if they aren’t coming at things from different places. Ethan and Lucas want to protect people whereas Scott focused his internal feelings on an external source… “stop the bad guys”. Two different philosophies that can seem identical, but for certain specific things- like Zeke.
Whew. This got real grim. I’m ready for more. The storytelling is fantastic Tim
Hrm. Different shirt, different beard. Tim might be playing with the timelines.
Or maybe Scott actually did take the pills, fell into a coma and has been there ever since, and all the crazy stuff that’s happened since has all been just a drea… wait, wait, nooo. Tim writes this comic, not M. Night Shyamalamalan.
“How to Completely Ruin a Storyline One Has Worked so Hard to Build”
You did make me laugh though 🙂
As a person with Depression, this actually makes me think for a moment about our little respawning hero. He can’t even do that. As far as we know, he has endless extra lives. He’ll just keep coming back, watching everyone he loves die, watching everyone he cares about fade away into obscurity while he continues to respawn. Unless old age actually gets him, he’s stuck in place.
I have been kept up at night spiraling, thinking about what would happen to Ethan if he gets old. like, at what point does he respawn? His last “healthy” state? so, before the cancer comes or when he was feeling ok and it hadn’t hit him yet? Would there be a point that his death and respawn would become so close he would fall into a loop of death-respawn with pain and memory forever? How would the powers react to something natural, like old age, dementia, stroke? If he dies due to those, what time does he go back to… Read more »
To be honest, I’m not quite sure where he’s going with this, but I appreciate the message below for those who need it.
nice work adding the suicide awareness links. comics like this can hit hard to vulnerable so i appreciate that.
The awareness towards suicide prevention I really thankful you did that. Suicide doesn’t just effect the one it effects everyone there connected to.
Depressed, lonely, any other mental disorder. There is help, have the courage to seek it out.
well, that escalated somehow quickly – can’t really figure out the time lapse. Could be a week, could be a year. Hoping for some good friend/destiny stuff
Class act Tim
Thank you for addressing this. You may have saved a life of someone reading this.
For Australia, call Lifeline on 13 11 14
Poor guy, Judging by the facial hair, probably a few weeks of stewing with those thoughts to get to that point… Can’t say I’ve gotten that far, but I’ve definitely spiraled like that before.
…
*clears throat, takes a breath*
JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESUS! 8U
I hate this… I did not need to cry first thing in the morning. The difference between me and Scott is that no-one would knock on my door. Been a rough couple of months and think of it every damn day
The chance of someone getting super-powers to talk about is pretty low, too. Usually we are busy beyond our threshold and everybody is just happy to have some moments alone.
I’ve been where you are, the most important thing was knowing that I could decide about it later and to set goals that I’d want to experience. Eventually things got better, in my case I found God and my body got better.
I mean, he won’t know if he doesn’t have a variant of Ethan’s powers, or the ability to mimic other’s, if he doesn’t do controlled testing…..
For people who need to talk about it or have questions:
In Belgium -> 1813
In the Netherlands -> 113
In Switzerland -> 143
In France -> 3114
In Germany -> 1813
Thank you for the mental health alert and awareness comic.
South Africa Help Line: 0800 567 567
Has it ever been confirmed that they caught the guy who shot Carlie and Scott?
Was it ever confirmed they were shot? I can’t remember ever getting specifics about the incident.
Iirc scott got shot trying to save Carlie, may have been a robbery?
Yeah, a guy jumped out to rob them. Scott stepped in the way to take the bullet, but it passed through and hit Carlie. She died, and he was left in a wheelchair.
If he did ever try. Please avoid making that graphical.
I once read that showing suicide induces suicide for the suicidal for some reason.
If that is fake news, feel free to correct me. I remember this being the reason Netflix decided to remove the suicide scene from 13 Reasons Why, which was full on visual originally.
Idk if what you read was true but some people claimed the way Netflix shot the scene romanticized(?) suicide. So that could have been the reason it was removed though plenty of people claimed they didn’t.
That’s a fair point. But I would argue that the rest of the first season (droped after it) would be the true romatization of suicide. Like literally the whole point of the thing, was showing how effective her idea was and how people suffered and/or could be held accountable for what they did to her. I mean, the whole thing is basically a suicidal’s wet dream, “I will kill myself and everyone will pay for what they did to me”. So, if it was that it would more or less reason to cancel the whole thing. Personally I don’t think… Read more »
I don’t know much about Netflix, but I know a little about what DeathUriel is talking about. There is a noted “copycat effect” that happens whenever suicide comes up in media. It’s strongest when it happens in real life, with publicly known people (like celebrities), but also does happen sometimes with fictional characters. That’s why the “Content Warning” is so common to put on things like this – it needs a warning. On the flipside, asking someone directly if they’re contemplating suicide is far more likely to prevent it than anything else. Many people wouldn’t dream of asking a friend… Read more »
Woah…. so the only reason he didn’t end up killing himself is because they got super powers?
It was a coincidence, but yes.
FYI,
For Canadians who are in need, the Suicide Prevention Service phone # is also available 24/7 at
(833) 456-4566
If it wasn’t for that warning I wouldn’t have figured out it’s about suicide.
Was the content warning there from the beginning? Am I really that good at skipping to the comic?
I don’t think the part at the top was there when it was first posted. The part with the phone number underneath it was there, though.
Yes it was there from the beginning.
Ah, sorry for my previous comment, then! I guess it caught me off-guard enough that it disappeared out of my memory. ?
Previous post, I thought he was going to double down. But now I feel like he realizes he was wrong, and doesn’t like what he became. And knowing what happened with Carly, he’s struggling to live with himself.
In some respects, I can relate to that.
Appreciate the callout, and people will always take a serious twist or topic negatively even handled with care as it was here. For future reference, medically its called “suicidal ideation” if you were struggling to find an appropriate term to use.
How does facial hair work? Did he sit there for days or just overnight?
This feels like we went back in time. To when his sister died and the guys just got their powers.
Apparently, I missed the last panel on Wednesday and only realized when today’s started in a way that confused me. XD
http://www.i-mockery.com/re/
it is a first hand heartbreaking story about surviving the suicide of a loved one. This guy is so brave, I truly admire him.