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.
I briefly thought that the cop might be one of the Troll’s followers, but then had a look and realised it’s Ben.
Whether he just got there as part of the job or Lucas contacted him, remains to be seen (or not, if Tim just skips over it).
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
22 days ago
Ooooh, so Ben is going to die. Gotcha.
Tarl
22 days ago
Kinda was hoping to see Zeke realize Ethan might have died died and get his reaction.
SomeoneElse
22 days ago
Oh Lucas, you poor poor fool. You just doomed your lover to get killed by two villains on the drive back.
What’s worse, you tempted fate. You might as well have said “What could possibly go wrong” or include “… and he’s only two days away from retirement.”
ReaverRogue
22 days ago
So either Ben’s going to die, or he’s going to…
“Stop feeding the Troll”
Excited to find out!
Jedi
22 days ago
Smart move, having even more backup at standby…
Scortch
22 days ago
Oh jeez, its been so long I forgot about thst bitch Nicole.
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.
Of course, I don’t blame her – she probably tried her best – but the one who assigned her to this mission. Knowing well what powers the supervillains had, the City supposed to send someone with superspeed, or time slowing, or literally any ranged power. Hell, Ethan and Lucas had the wit to call a hero with stopping powers to deactivate both the bomb and the speedsters, and they’re just two guys with exactly one (1) superguy on contacts. But you’re right. Maybe all the suitable official heroes for the mission gone to field trip and the Thunderess was literally… Read more »
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
22 days ago
Also: you should charge your phone more often, Ethan
That was the toxic bitch running it down. I’m going to call it now. She’ll have a fight with him, he’ll shout back, then she’ll kill him, like previous boyfriends.
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.
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.
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
21 days ago
Someone remind me who Nichole is? Was she his ex or the toxic girlfriend?
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
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)
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.
Oh you sweet summer child, that’s not how toxic relationships work. It won’t end this neatly. Not only will Ethan need to cut ties decisively after she doubles down, she might even return as a villain later.
I just hope he’s able to distance himself from her before she can learn his secret identity because that will be a whole other can of worms.
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.
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
21 days ago
Maybe it was ultimately superfluous, but I really wanted to see the Zeke-Dpad-Analog exchange of information about the powers situation.
He might be able to (I vaguely recall him clipping Lucas underground, so he probably can extend his power to other people), but he was only in it for the money.
Now that Troll was recaptured, stealing from banks etc. would be simpler and more direct way of getting them than springing him from prison to -maybe- get paid.
Nightdagger
21 days ago
I have a sinking feeling that the mention of Black Hat is a Chekov’s Gun and that something’s going to happen to Ben when BH inevitably breaks The Troll and Elijah out of custody, which is going to have a devastating effect on Lucas…
Aeroprism
21 days 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!
Sadie Cutter
21 days ago
I FORGOT about psycho Nicole!!!
Curtis
21 days 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.
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! 🙂
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
21 days 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
21 days 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.
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.
If we’re thinking about the same scene, wasn’t thart with GameBoy and not Zeke?
Gonfrask
21 days ago
You have just jinxed it…
Nzall
21 days ago
How many pages are usually in these A&D serials? 36?
Victual Brother
21 days 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.
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
21 days ago
Livestreamed terrorist threat and only 1 officer “happens” to be nearby?
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.
…if you don’t take care of that, maybe you really won’t have the motivation to come back next time
Crestlinger
20 days ago
So guessing that purple glow is a powers restraint?
Keep Ethan far away from it. Like Rube Goldberg safe distance.
Kasaix
20 days ago
I thought his power would glitch out, and he would forget everything from after the last time he respawned.
Eric DiDomenico
19 days ago
23 Missed Calls from Nicole? Also, she’s shown signs of emotional abuse; even more so with issuing an ultimatum to choose her before he left for the night. Ethan, it’s time to get out.
Creepyunicorn
19 days ago
I had a girlfriend like nicole once. 23 calls over a few hours is pretty good. Had about 100 in an hour. Had to take out a restraining order in the end when she started to camp outside my apartement in her car…
24
That last line seems suspicious
He’s just happy to see his lover.
lol yeah that’s just Ben, say hi to Ben
Yeah, if this wasn’t Ben I’d be sure the cop was working with the troll, the way the last line was framed.
I mean…the two things are not mutually exclusive. How well do we REALLY know Ben?
By the way my Ben is a Son of a B!tch.
Literally.
52lbs of absolute love and cuteness (with periodic annoyance thrown in).
Okay,
To the fucker who downvoted my Ben.
You must be a pathetic cat person.
Apparently, the Troll escaped and is on the loose.
What? No, the one who escaped is Black Hat
You mean Ben isn’t a cat? Aww, Ben sounded like the best cat ever…
as someone with a 26lb cat (he’s not fat, he’s just a meter long) a 52lb cat who’s mother was a dog sounds horrifying
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.
I think the cougar is the same genus as the housecat, so yes, such big housecats exist. 😅
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.
If Nik was trying to be funny, he failed because he was more confusing than anything else.
The person that downvoted you possibly didn’t recognise that you were referring to your dog.
The Downvotes on this one, though?
Probably because calling someone a “pathetic cat person” is as offensive as calling someone a “brain dead dog person”.
There’s nothing wrong with being a dog person, any more than there is with being a cat person…
I may be a pathetic cat person, but I also love Ben!
If Ethan randomly calls him Uncle Ben, he will die.
I briefly thought that the cop might be one of the Troll’s followers, but then had a look and realised it’s Ben.
Whether he just got there as part of the job or Lucas contacted him, remains to be seen (or not, if Tim just skips over it).
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).
Ooooh, so Ben is going to die. Gotcha.
Kinda was hoping to see Zeke realize Ethan might have died died and get his reaction.
Oh Lucas, you poor poor fool. You just doomed your lover to get killed by two villains on the drive back.
What’s worse, you tempted fate. You might as well have said “What could possibly go wrong” or include “… and he’s only two days away from retirement.”
So either Ben’s going to die, or he’s going to…
“Stop feeding the Troll”
Excited to find out!
Smart move, having even more backup at standby…
Oh jeez, its been so long I forgot about thst bitch Nicole.
Oh. Right. 😳
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.
Right?!? Especially when Thunderress just said he went below the road!
She didn’t do nothing, exactly. Removing Power Glove from the equation alone was a major contribution, and she fought a bit.
Of course, I don’t blame her – she probably tried her best – but the one who assigned her to this mission. Knowing well what powers the supervillains had, the City supposed to send someone with superspeed, or time slowing, or literally any ranged power. Hell, Ethan and Lucas had the wit to call a hero with stopping powers to deactivate both the bomb and the speedsters, and they’re just two guys with exactly one (1) superguy on contacts. But you’re right. Maybe all the suitable official heroes for the mission gone to field trip and the Thunderess was literally… Read more »
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.
Also: you should charge your phone more often, Ethan
Letting my phone get below 30% always gives me anxiety lol
That was the toxic bitch running it down. I’m going to call it now. She’ll have a fight with him, he’ll shout back, then she’ll kill him, like previous boyfriends.
Depending on what apps he has running in the background and if he has Mobile Data on, 22% is nothing to sneeze at after the showdown.
No one’s going to mention vault-tec? Or did we already know about that?
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.
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.
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.
Someone remind me who Nichole is? Was she his ex or the toxic girlfriend?
Toxic (ex)-girlfriend
Why ex?
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
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)
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.
Oh you sweet summer child, that’s not how toxic relationships work. It won’t end this neatly. Not only will Ethan need to cut ties decisively after she doubles down, she might even return as a villain later.
I just hope he’s able to distance himself from her before she can learn his secret identity because that will be a whole other can of worms.
Well, fortunately, Ethan can fake his death by doing real death
Wishful thinking. I’m sure there is more drama to go there
Toxic GF… I had to think for a moment there – already forgot about her. 😛
hmm – would the Troll, who’s already met Ben in the prison, put 2 + 2 together that Ben is linked with Analogue + DPad?
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 …
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.
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.
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.
Maybe it was ultimately superfluous, but I really wanted to see the Zeke-Dpad-Analog exchange of information about the powers situation.
They win!
But can glove kid phase them out of prison?
He might be able to (I vaguely recall him clipping Lucas underground, so he probably can extend his power to other people), but he was only in it for the money.
Now that Troll was recaptured, stealing from banks etc. would be simpler and more direct way of getting them than springing him from prison to -maybe- get paid.
I have a sinking feeling that the mention of Black Hat is a Chekov’s Gun and that something’s going to happen to Ben when BH inevitably breaks The Troll and Elijah out of custody, which is going to have a devastating effect on Lucas…
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!
I FORGOT about psycho Nicole!!!
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.
yeah it’s an odd jump
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! 🙂
If you look closely Elijah is still “paused”, and the trolls “power” is social manipulation, something ben is obviously not about to succumb to
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.
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.
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.
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.
If we’re thinking about the same scene, wasn’t thart with GameBoy and not Zeke?
You have just jinxed it…
How many pages are usually in these A&D serials? 36?
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.
why not both?
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.
Livestreamed terrorist threat and only 1 officer “happens” to be nearby?
Yeah, I found that odd as well. Especially when the location was found/given.
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.
Look, superpowered battle is not a place for a cop to be in. Why would the police surround the scene if they can’t help?
How did Elijah’s legs get straightened? Game Boy and Thundress working together probably, but it just feels odd we didn’t see it.
Uh-oh….Is something gonna happen to the cop now? Seems awfully like a cliffhanger.
even Death won’t save your from your abusive, gaslighting girlfriend
…if you don’t take care of that, maybe you really won’t have the motivation to come back next time
So guessing that purple glow is a powers restraint?
Keep Ethan far away from it. Like Rube Goldberg safe distance.
I thought his power would glitch out, and he would forget everything from after the last time he respawned.
23 Missed Calls from Nicole? Also, she’s shown signs of emotional abuse; even more so with issuing an ultimatum to choose her before he left for the night. Ethan, it’s time to get out.
I had a girlfriend like nicole once. 23 calls over a few hours is pretty good. Had about 100 in an hour. Had to take out a restraining order in the end when she started to camp outside my apartement in her car…
How are they moving Elijah when he’s paused?
I think it is like a mannequin. Also, perhaps Gameboy can pause him by parts? So, one leg at the time, they put them in the right position?
I asked about this too; my best guess is Thundress held him by the neck so that he cooperated with being moved.