Today’s page takes us back to Ralph’s Diner, where Captain Heroic proves—once again—that nothing rattles him… not even a surprise soup bath.
Hailey is mortified, Captain Heroic is dripping, and somewhere across the diner, Yazmine Velour is livestreaming the whole thing as heart emojis rain from the internet. It’s a small moment, but one that says a lot about who Cap really is—and why people can’t help falling for him.
Transcript
Panel 1
Hailey (distraught that she has dumped hot soup on Captain Heroic): Omigod Omigod Omigod…
Captain Heroic (turning to another person eating at the diner): Excuse me. Would you hand me a napkin, please? (The person hands him a napkin)
Panel 2
Hailey: I’m so sorry Captain Heroic, sir. I didn’t mean to — {sob}
Panel 3
Captain Heroic (handing her the napkin): Here. Please don’t cry.
Panel 4
Captain Heroic (continues): Most of my first impressions involve disintegration rays. And actual impressions. In concrete.
Panel 5
Captain Heroic: This was far more pleasant — not counting the bay leaf in my shirt.Yazmine Velour (as she livestreams the interaction from the other side of the diner, a torrent of heart emojis flow from her phone as the audience reacts): Omigod Omigod Omigod
After Dark
This week's commissioned MicroFic delivers exactly what you’d want from a pairing between Dynasty and Father Christmas.
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Yes, he lives up to his name.
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Yes, Dynasty knew exactly what she was doing.
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No, the North Pole will never be the same.
I also posted the Goblin Girl MicroFic from the Monster Girl poll — and the response was so good, I might need to make these poll-powered MicroFics a recurring thing!
The
Magnum Opus arc of
Thunderbolts has quickly turned into tone of my favorite passages in this outstanding series. Fan-fave Deadpool is the central attraction as a new team of T-bolts — replacing the old team / current Dark Avangers. Deadpool is trying to get Norm to pay up for a little work the merc-with-a-mouth did back in the Civil War, and he’ll get paid even if he has to rip through this new gang of idiots to do it.
What makes this such a fun read is Andy Diggle’s ability to hit such nice sweet spots in the story. For example, Black Widow II is using a special Oscorp-designed weapon which overrides Deadpool’s cancer — which is kept at bay by Deadpool’s healing factor. The logic here is that eliminating the cancer will cause Deadpool’s healing factor to spiral out of control, thereby killing him.
In the words of Paladin: “You’re tellin’ me Norman Osborn found the
cure to
cancer… an’ he turned it into a
weapon?”
Another wonderful touch is the blossoming realationship between two unlikely black capes. I’m not talking about Black Widow II and Deadpool (although that relationship
is intriguing, if only so reviewers like me can walk right up to the line with double entendres about how she
gave him his
head back).
No, the relationship I’m hoping to see followed after this arc concludes is the Deadpool / Taskmaster buddyship that works so well in the closing pages of Thunderbolts 130. I mean, with “facial” reactions like those to the right, who but Taskmaster could truly play opposite the twisted Deadpool?
