SMBC Comics Forum

Given the amount of controversy this comic has generated, I think the decent thing would be for Zach to take the comic down until we can all agree on what would make it better, then re-issue an amended version.

I expect he's already working on it.

Alternatively, this takes place in an alternate DC universe where Captain Boomerang actually has powers that make anything he throws come back to him. She slowed down in what would have led to her trip back, but the way Flash is holding her kept her firmly in place, canceling the power. The fiends real plan was that the he put some sort of deadly trap in the way of the path she would've taken to come back to him. To simply let her die from the fall wouldn't suit his theme after all.

Things in comic books are not real.

Jay Garrick Flash has never consciously displayed this ability, but Wally West eventually developed the ability to add and remove speed to moving objects. It's feasible to think that, given his intrinsic connection to the speed force he could subconsciously slow the woman's decent during his approach, allowing him to catch her safely.

Queue 3 posts of people pointing out that something in a comic book isn't' real.

The flash could climb the building and jump out a window so that he reaches terminal velocity when he's right next to the woman, and then grab her and deploy a parachute.
He might have to dig a pit first to give them enough room to slow down, though.

My lame attempts at geekery are overcome by the posts preceding this one. But here was my FB post on this strip:

1) If the Flash ran that far without super strength which he's established in DC books as not having, he'd get crushed trying to catch a woman falling from the top of the ESB. Perhaps a super speed tornado (yep I went there) might have explained this away.

2) And she would be pulp being caught by ANY superhero just above the same ground which would have destroyed her.


Captain Boomerang reference is so great here, thx SMBC.

Even assuming the science is decent with the speed force--wouldn't catching the woman who is at or near terminal velocity just serve to kill both flash, who doesn't have super strength, and the woman? The stop is still too sudden. Also, how does the guy in the first panel find out that boomerang man threw her off the building? Did he miraculously answer his phone and get the information to flash in less than a second? Is that his job? Or does he have ESP or some other link with someone in New York who happened to be watching the empire state building at just the right time while the guy happened to be chilling with flash? The accepted portions of this comic bug me more than the bits it pokes fun at.

smiley_cow wrote:

DonRetrasado wrote:The doctor's a woman, and she can't operate on her son!

While I appreciate the commentary on Feminism, I never did understand why the kid couldn't have two dads.

I dunno. Maybe you're allowed to operate on someone if they're not biologically related??

DonRetrasado wrote:The doctor's a woman, and she can't operate on her son!

While I appreciate the commentary on Feminism, I never did understand why the kid couldn't have two dads.

There is such a thing as Kansas though

Oldrac the Chitinous wrote:Oh! I know this one!
Duluth and Houston are the names of two Goldfish!

How dare you analyze my story. It is my story. You don't have the authorship, so you can't say what it means.

Damn post-structuralists...

The doctor's a woman, and she can't operate on her son!

Oh! I know this one!
Duluth and Houston are the names of two Goldfish!

Guest wrote:If the comicbook explanation wasn't relevant, the Flash wouldn't move that fast.

This comment made me laugh.
Because you defend the comic book fictional physics, because without it the fictional character wouldn't be able to perform a fictional skill.
And no fictional character can possible move fast with out a physics explanation.
Except of course in my uber-short story I just wrote:

Jon ran from Duluth to Houston in under 3 seconds.

People, people.. we've gone way off track with all this debate about magic and science. Hopefully we can all agree that today's six-panel comic was not funny at all.