282

Expulsion
Posted on July 8, 2015 by David M Willis

282 thoughts on “Expulsion”

  1. Jen Aside

    he did say he was more a cat person

    1. CommunistCanada

      At least in this universe, his girlfriend is also a cat person.

      1. thebombzen

        I think Amber is more of a “complicated feels” person

        1. Roborat

          Which pretty much describes a cat.

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      Well he is the type to pussy-foot around…

    3. Plaid

      Jeez, quick, pithy, and A+ reference game

      I don’t think anyone could compete

    4. lomie

      as impressive as first post with that relevant link is, a link to a pic of him in a catwoman suit woulda been immeasurably more so.

      1. Tacos

        Like this then?
        http://s61.photobucket.com/user/Kryss_LaBryn/media/Random%20Stuff/DannyCatwoman..jpg.html

        1. Opus the Poet

          I’m getting a 404 on that link…

        2. das-g

          let me try again: link

        3. Tacos

          Uh hold. How about ?

        4. Tacos

          Let’s try this again

          I’m not used to HTML.

        5. Znayx

          Dude, under the box where you write your comment, it basically tells you how to use HTML.

          …besides not telling about how to close tags, you know with the slash thing, but that’s pretty minor.

      2. Jen Aside

        k, I’ve tried that before, but it’s a big rush to get a middling response

        or, it’s not done in time

  2. Plaid

    She’s like an adorably concerned parole officer

    But with more sex

    1. sps48

      Jeez, Danny, don’t be her catwoman, ffs

      1. Doctor_Who

        Be her Talia instead. The you can both have unresolved daddy issues.

        1. David Herbert

          No, be CatMAN. Thomas Blake is sexy as hell. Also, he’s bi so he fits.

        2. Doctor_Who

          He doesn’t have any flirtatious and unresolved sexual tension with Batman though. Though you can’t tell me it never crossed Gail Simone’s mind. 🙂

        3. No One Special

          Awe, Doctor, I’m surprised and disappointed that you didn’t go with the Cpt. Jack Harkness reference: “sidekick with flirtatious and unresolved sexual tension [with everyone] seems like the perfect description of him.

        4. Viktoria

          There’s at least an implication of Catwoman being bi in her current series. Though yeah, Thomas fits better.

        5. thebatman22

          Implication my bum, she kissed a chick

        6. Viktoria

          She was kissed by a chick, IIRC. That says far less about her orientation than if she’d been an active and energetic participant.

        7. DarkVeghetta

          Thought it was always pretty obvious that Catwoman is just sexual – regardless of the sex of her target.

        8. Nono

          Nah, Drew’s Catman.

        9. AustKyzor

          I don’t think either of them should be responsible for a kid right now – even if said kid is a trained super-ninja

      2. Plaid

        Knowing Danny, if he’s going to be her Catwoman, it would probably be Catwoman as played by Halle Berry

        1. iforgetwhatiputhere

          So, on some subconscious level, he actually wants to suck?

        2. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          Why else would he keep Danning everything up all the time? 😛

    2. Brendan

      I’m reminded of the very first Partially Clips strip:

      http://partiallyclips.com/2001/10/28/screaming-woman/

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Now that’s what I call a punch-line!

  3. shadowcell

    danny had better start making a bunch of horrible cat punnuendoes

    right meow

    1. Leorale

      You beat me to this comment, but only by a whisker

      1. Jen Aside

        TThink of the catlateral damage this could claws!

        1. A Scientist

          I need that game. I need it so much. I’ll get my claws on it some day.

      2. Plasma Mongoose

        It’s not easy to spin a yarn you know.

      3. Kris

        You could say shadowcell had purrrfect timing!

        1. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          These are the best puns you lot can come up with?

          You’ve gotta be kitten’ me!

        2. N0083rP00F

          Well if they mess up it would end up as a catastrophe.

        3. sps48

          Those were puns?

    2. Too Old To Be Cool

      When you say “meow” to a cat and the cat meows back, she’s not talking to you – she’s trying to correct your pronunciation and/or accent.

      1. Opus the Poet

        Aren’t those pretty much the same thing?

        1. wwwhhattt

          Nope – people can use the same phonemes to say a word (same pronunciation) but say the phonemes differently (different accent). At least I think that’s how it works.

      2. Osaru Sensei

        … And you just blew my mind.

        Well played, sire.

    3. Doctor_Who

      Yeah Danny, stop pussyfooting around.

  4. Too Old To Be Cool

    Catwoman has better legs.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Catwoman had better everythings.

      1. Too Old To Be Cool

        Damn straight. Julie Newmar is still one of the hottest things on the planet.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          *nods* but I did fancy Lee Meriwether’s version in the 60s Batman movie.

        2. Pierre-Eric

          What about Michelle Pfeiffer? I mean the costume was trashy but it fit with the movie at the time and that woman was in playboy. Plus she had the best attitude
          “I’m Catwoman, hear me roar!”

          I think we can all agree Halle Berry’s is last on the catwoman list, anyway…

        3. Kyrros

          I’m suprised noone has brought up Adrienne Barbeau yet…?

        4. Kyrros

          *looks at gravitar*

          Oh geeze? Really?… now I can only post for the next few months if I’m being condescending or condescending while correcting someone.

          /wrist

        5. Deanatay

          No love for Eartha Kitt?? Best Catwoman on TV!!

        6. Roborat

          Second the Eartha Kitt nomination, although to me it has always been a toss up between her and Julie Newmar

        7. theheroesofcrash

          Halle Berry’s at the top of my list, but I’m biased because she’s been one of my celebrity crushes for a long time (I even based one of the characters from my own webcomic on her appearance). Also, despite loving his rogues gallery, I’ve never been a fan of Batman himself (I get little enjoyment from a character who’s never happy), so I take a little bit of schadenfreude out of a Batman movie without Batman.

        8. Li

          I actually thought that movie was really solid. With an interesting, hyperfeminine concept for a villain, and taking the concept leaveraged in Batman Returns, of a mousy girl who then becomes Catwoman and stops giving any fucks, to another level.

          It’s better than most superhero movies, and Barry’s perfectly believable in it. Bad rap undeserved, imho.

        9. WolfLann

          To be fair, The Catwoman movie has little to do with Batman universe beside the name and how she came to be. It is not even the same character. (Patience Phillips vs Selina Kyle)
          Also in Batman universe she doesn’t really have super powers. She is just very fit, with good reflexes and a lot of training just like Batman.
          I enjoyed the movie only because of Halle but for me it is not part of the Batman universe at all and not a very solid movie either.

        10. Li

          Not being actual Batman entry doesn’t make it not a good “Batman movie”. The Incredibles isn’t actually the Fantastic Four, yet the first Fantastic Four movie script had to be canned because it was determined to be too close to the plot of The Incredibles.

          I mean, in your opinion it’s a bad movie no matter what, but the obvious inspiration is obvious. And with the way Catwoman is legacy’d as an identity in this movie, Patience could easily be pre- or post- some sort of AU Selina.

        11. Adork

          That’s stretching it even if you’re giving them the benefit of the doubt.
          It’s a DC movie of Catwoman, the target audience would be people who knows the comics, the character, and etc. That was just slapping the DC logo and Catwoman name to a movie that had the bare minimum of what was needed to pass it off under that title.

          It would be like if the next Superman movie was about some guy hit by a meteor that leaves a S on his chest and gives him super speed. And he wears speedos and a cape.

          Catwoman wasn’t a good movie not simply because it strayed from what people knew of Catwoman, so much CGI, they went too far on the cat jokes/references, how he didn’t know that she was Catwoman was just stupid. This wasn’t the actors fault, I’m not hating on any of them. The only real joy I got from the movie was watching the Nostalgia critic review it.

          But the thing that really upsets me about this movie is that with a few changes it would have worked better as a movie for Vixen rather than Catwoman.

        12. WolfLann

          Not saying it is a bad movie. It has some entertaining value. But it is far from a masterpiece. Even Halle Berry herself said it. (I think her words were “A piece of Sh*t”)
          I know that originally it was intended as an official spin-off from Batman Returns but things changed over time and they took some liberty with the storyline and the character that took it a bit further from the source material.
          I did enjoy it a tiny bit. Just not as a Batman or Batman related movie.

          Some of The Incredibles did remind me of Fantastic Four characters when I first saw it and I enjoyed that movie a lot. Speaking of which, there is another one coming soon!!

          As for the nominations I hesitate between Eartha Kitt (Didn’t remember her name since I watched that series when I was a kid)
          and Michelle Pfeiffer (She seems to be the topic of a few songs these days)

        13. Opus the Poet

          Pfft! Urtha Kitt will always be the One True Catwoman.

        14. Bicycle Bill

          Sorry, Opus.  My vote goes to Julie Newmar.

        15. Opus the Poet

          misspelled Eartha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXrLJEN0jAQ

        16. m-m

          agreed! she was purrrrrrfect….

        17. lightsabermario

          My vote goes to Adrienne Barbeau.

        18. HMRC4EVR

          I feel the need to at least mention Catwoman/Selina Kyle from Batman: TAS was a well done character with a great design and solid voice work. Granted, you can’t really add her to any ‘hottest Catwoman’ discussion list since she’s animated, but at least her character should be remembered.

        19. Coco Pommel

          >Animated can’t be hot
          …
          …
          …
          u wot m8?

        20. Plasma Mongoose

          I totally agree, in no small part to the fact that I have had a 2D-complex for a number of decades now.

        21. Roborat

          What do you mean an animated character can’t be hot? What about Jessica Rabbit?

        22. Tacos

          “Animated can’t be hot”? Rule 34 begs to differ.

    2. AgentKeen

      I don’t know, we haven’t actually seen Danny’s legs in skin-tight leather/latex (depending on your preferred Catwoman). I think we have to do a side by side.

      1. saki

        Ooh. Amber would like that.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          Who wouldn’t?

        2. saki

          True.

          I am now picturing Danny parading around in that outfit and people running after him fangirl-style. And Ethan, watching from behind a bush, with hearts as eyes.

        3. Kryss LaBryn

          Oh, come on, you know it would look like this. Heh.

        4. saki

          Don’t you go ruinin my fantasies ಥ_ಥ

      2. N0083rP00F

        The Julie Newmar Lurex catsuit from the TV series instead of the silly stitched together leather suit. The mistress of a sewing machines and sge couldn’t find matching thread? Like really?

      3. Jerden

        I’m not gay, but that is something I’d love to see. For the comedic value! Honest!

  5. dailybrad

    I think I like Sassy Danny.

    1. Disloyal Subject

      I know I do.

  6. Henry

    The challenge is in the alt text.

    Make it happen, internet.

    1. Taigan

      Seriously. It’s been six hours and I haven’t seen anything yet

      1. Spencer

        What’s tumblr waiting for? All they do is characters boning and they haven’t jumped at the chance to draw a cute guy in a skintight catsuit with cat ears? For shame, tumblr.

        1. Kryss LaBryn

          UGH, FINE. This is absolute crap, but fine. Here ya go: Danny as Catwoman. It’s all your guys’s fault, lol.

        2. Plasma Mongoose

          Lulzy YES, sexy NOOOOO!

        3. Roborat

          Yea, where is Yotomoe anyway, this is a perfect opportunity for his skills.

    2. Halloween Jack

      First entry by “Wavid Dillis”.

    3. Tenn

      I was so excited about the possibility of fanart of Danny as Catwoman, I even forgot to read the alt text. And then I was kind of disappointed that it just said what I was already thinking.

  7. Jen Aside

    Hey, my votes are top and bottom! Seems appropriate ;3

    1. MeghanTheWorldEater

      Hah! Mine too. Great minds eh?

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      And by top and bottom, did you also mean seme and uke?

  8. Tacos

    Alright Tumblr, y’all saw the alt text. Get to it already.

    1. Cholma

      Someone’s gonna screw up and put Danny in a female cat costume from the Broadway play, CATS.

      “Memory, all alone in the moonlight….”

      1. Tacos

        That’d be equally interesting too.

  9. Stephen R. Bierce

    Give in to the Spandex side, Danny. There is Truth and Justice in the Spandex side.

    1. JustCheetoDust

      “The truth is that this catsuit does my legs justice.”

    2. Opus the Poet

      Oh Hells yes, and my legs look fantastick in spandex tights.

    3. N0083rP00F

      Lurex people, Lurex! Spandex is so Schwarzenegger.

  10. Kris

    As Amber she’s a human weak corruptable. She has to remain a symbol of something stronger!

    1. Doctor_Who

      “Criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot. I must become something fearful…terrible.”

      Suddenly a frisbee crashes through the window. On is one of th Minions from Despicable Me.

      “Yellow and blue! Perfect!”

      1. JessWitt

        Man, I don’t get the appeal of yellow Twinkies in farmwear.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          I think it’s the noises they make. Like Ewoks, but slightly inciteful of murderous rage.

        2. Disloyal Subject

          *slightly less. Twinkies are just strange and obnoxious, but Ewoks are a whole category of evil.

  11. Shanunu

    Who wants to tell Amber that her gay ex boyfriend might be why Danny is taken away and not the police,

    1. dailybrad

      Why would he be kicked out of a non-religious college for that? Why would his parents pull him out of school for that?

      1. Plaid

        Taken away *from her*, I think.

      2. Lord Stoneheart

        I think they might mean “taken away” as in Ethan will take Danny away from Amber as a romantic partner? (Not that I agree with that. For one thing that wording would imply that Danny doesn’t have agency in this. And if anything ends Danny/Amazi Girl I think it will be one of them realizing just how unhealthy this has gotten).

        Either that or they believe that Danny’s parents reaction to his bisexuality would be to pull him out of school. Do we have any ideas what their attitudes towards that might be?

      3. John

        ‘Cause they’re kind of asshats?

        Though, really, I suspect they’d be less concerned about Ethan being a guy, and more concerned about whether he’s going to be successful enough to carry Danny’s useless ass.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          I don’t know, I’m fairly certain Ethan can find a use for Danny’s ass.

    2. BenRG

      Seriously, I don’t think that this is necessarily as catastrophic outcome as it could be. Remember: Amber and Ethan have unresolved relationship issues in between themselves too and this triangle could easily end up in an outcome that none of the three principals particularly want to be reminded about ever again. An entry in the ‘weird shit I did at college’ story file, to pass on to children and grandchildren when the time comes to warn them of the moral temptations of dorm life! 😉

  12. Leorale

    Yes to CatDanny, that sounds adorable.

  13. LeslieBean4Shizzle

    Danny as Catwoman.
    … eh, he’d be better than Hallei Barey.

    1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

      Ahem. Halle Berry.

      1. Plaid

        Made a similar comment so much later and now I feel like a plagiarizer

        Is that an actual word? Plagiarizer?

        1. Bicycle Bill

          Try “plagiarist”.

    2. Paul

      Barely.

      1. JessWitt

        He’s a real Halle Barely.

        1. merbrat

          Heh. Here is your internet.

        2. Disloyal Subject

          How many does she have now?

        3. Opus the Poet

          They make a new one every day.

  14. otusasio451

    Anyone else picturing Danny in Halle Berry’s Catwoman costume? And cringing internally?

    1. Idon'tcarenomore

      Yeah

    2. Doctor_Who

      That movie is a single cringe 104 minutes long.

    3. Jen Aside

      now that I remember this monstrosity…

      yeah, thanks

      1. Disloyal Subject

        It annoys me a little when, of all the ridiculous oversexualization in comics, people focus on characters’ flexibility of all things. It’s a silly pose, but not as impossible as people make it out to be.

        1. saki

          Agreed. The poses aren’t the problem, they’re a result of the problem.

        2. dralou

          Knowing the artist posted this earlier that year, I’m pretty sure he was aware of the problem and still created that cover…

        3. dralou

          beware, it’s NSFW.

        4. Li

          frankly I think it’s a testament to how used to the problem we are that we can look at these images with what appear to be broken spines and genuinely think “oh she’s just flexible”. No. That’s just your desensitization talking.

          I mean, there’s a reason why comic book movie posters don’t feature boob and butt poses. They try, but real people don’t naturally bend like that. It’s super uncomfortable, whether you’re flexible or not, to stand with your ass and chest facing in the same direction.

      2. Plasma Mongoose

        Apparently super bendy spines are the second Most Common Superpower.

  15. caesaria82

    Ok, adorable. And AG is looking really cute here. And yes to Catwoman!Danny. All around good strip, yes.

  16. TSB

    The Amazi-Girl/Amber psychic divide is really striking and explicit in this strip. It seems like they’re leading up to a discussion about which identity/identities Danny is/should be dating. Hope that happens and it goes well.

    1. dmaxx

      What is most likely to happen is that danny find he’s getting much closer to ethan and that he like him more then just friends and that Amber/AG finds out about it and they talk it over which most likely end the relationship with AG but since AG and amber is “different” people and thus since he did only break up with AG his friendship with still continue with amber since she think of it as nothing something that happen to her but to AG and thus did not happen in the first place….

      heck, it may even be the catalyst that make her decided to throw away AG due to the mention privious events….

  17. otusasio451

    So, is Sal the Joker? Would that also make Danny Two-Face? Seriously, this is gonna haunt me all night.

    1. Tacos

      So who’d be the Riddler or the Penguin?

      1. BenRG

        Mike is definitely Two-Face, only his switch trigger is drunkenness/sobriety rather than a double-headed coin.

    2. JessWitt

      Maybe Blaine’s the Joker?

      1. otusasio451

        Crap, you’re right. Sal’s not the Joker, she’s Joe Chill!

      2. Someone

        Nah, the Joker doesn’t have enough to do with Batman’s past. The closest I can think to Blaine is Ras a Gul

    3. Boojum

      Mike is The Joker.

      “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

      1. otusasio451

        He’s WAY too negative to be the Joker. Although, he IS cynical and cruel enough.

        1. Lou

          Joyce.

    4. saki

      And does all that make Ethan Robin? (I’m seriously asking because pretty much all I know about batman and his surrounding characters comes from the recent movies, the Gotham series and uh Teen Titans.)

    5. otusasio451

      I meant ETHAN. Would that make ETHAN Two-Face? Geez, brain.

  18. Heavensrun

    Goddammit, every time I get annoyed at a character for doing something terrible, they turn out to have some painfully sympathetic ulterior motive that makes me feel bad for being annoyed.

    1. Heavensrun

      I’m starting to wonder if we’re going to find out later that Blaine was actually being manipulated by a yakuza boss he pissed off, and that if he didn’t treat his family like shit, it turns out they would’ve been murdered years ago.

      1. Someone

        And the yakuza boss turns out to be Ruth’s grandfather!

        1. Heavensrun

          But then you find out he’s only a monster because he was gay back in the 40’s and he was given a lobotomy to “cure” him which turned him into a sociopath.

        2. Someone

          all the pieces are falling together

        3. Ridureyu

          But Mike and Malaya are still jerks.

        4. Someone

          Chaotic neutral, there both not evil enough to count as villains. At least not on the sheer level of fuckery of Blaine or Ryan

        5. Disloyal Subject

          I’d classify Mike as evil. Good and Evil don’t necessarily correlate to Hero and Villain; even someone with no morals can be a team player out of practicality, for example.

        6. podian

          No, Mike is a paragon of goodness – because if he weren’t, the world would end five times by now.

        7. Heavensrun

          Malaya, at least, befriended a disabled person, and went out of her way to learn sign language to communicate with that person. She may be kind of a jerk, but she’s got her redeeming qualities too.

          Haven’t seen anything from Mike on that front. I got a stronger impression in the walkyverse that Mike was a jerk to prove some larger point, but here, a lot of times it just seems like he’s mean for the sake of it.

        8. xKiv

          He’s got exactly the same reason – his parents.

      2. Jen Aside

        What “terrible” thing? Being upset about someone getting drunk?

        (disclaimer: not saying I’m upset you think law-abiding is terrible, genuinely curious because I feel like I’m misreading something)

        1. Lord Stoneheart

          I think the “terrible thing” is that in the earlier conversation, Amber was being a hypocrite with what she was saying. (Her only explanation at the time was that underage drinking was wrong because it was illegal, and we know that Amber breaks the law quite frequently).

          Though now that she has time and privacy we can see that her actual reasons for being upset are a lot more sympathetic. Though her concern that her reaction to losing Danny would be to lose control herself is a giant red flag.

          I do admit to being in the “Amber is a hypocrite” crowd a few comics back, and looking back that was an unfair judgement. I should have realized that there was clearly more to Amber’s reasoning than what she would be willing to say in front of a room full of people, mostly comprised of people she barely knows.

        2. claudewicked

          Might wanna watch your wording there, Jen. You seem way too invested in this by saying “…That you think law abiding is terrible…”

        3. Jen Aside

          look, I allot myself so many minutes a night to comments, I can’t phrase everything perfectly

          “You are saying Amber did something terrible? What was it? Was it that she didn’t want Danny underage drinking? Is that what was terrible? Because that seems like a terrible thing to think is terrible, so I hope I’m misreading that.”

          and even that might be bad but since it’s a new day practically no one is looking for follow-ups so I’ll just quit while I’m ahead [Donald Trump style]

        4. Heavensrun

          What Stoneheart said. Her initial behavior with Danny as amber came off as really hypocritical, because the underlying assumption, for me, was that she was railing on him for doing something illegal when she’s a vigilante, which is waaay more illegal than sneaking one spiked cup of Sprite.

      3. BenRG

        I will say that all versions of Blaine that I’ve seen may have less freedom of action than we initially are led to think. Desperate men, especially unethical desperate men, do desperate things.

        He’s a monster for wanting to use and abuse Amber for his own ends but he may also literally have a gun pointed to her head. Solving the true mystery of her father’s behaviour may be Amazi-Girl’s last and greatest triumph because, after Amber learns that truth, she may not need her anymore.

        1. BenRG

          Damn it! I meant “literally have a gun pointed at HIS head”! Curse this lack of an edit button!

  19. Plasma Mongoose

    I don’t know about Catwoman, but will Danny end up as Ethan’s Catman?

    1. JessWitt

      That would be purrrrr-fect.

  20. Captain Batson

    I found the last panel to be rather adorbs.

  21. nothri

    Oh wow. Yotomoe, I think the alt text is calling you out now. Gauntlet thrown down, sir. Do you dare to pick it up?

  22. toddtr

    Isn’t dressing up running around beating people up and dispensing vigilante justice against the law?

    1. AgentKeen

      She does specify that she just has to follow her rules and self-imposed guidelines (which could be ‘don’t break the law except for vigilantism’).

      1. Narf

        What about the time she broke into Billie’s room for no other reason than to verify that Danny and her didn’t have sex?

    2. saki

      This strip tells me she’s only against breaking the law when it suits her. I mean, the real reason she’s upset about Danny drinking is because it could get him kicked out. If that weren’t a factor, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have nearly as big a problem with him drinking as she does now.

      1. HeySo

        I’m pretty sure she clarifies that exact point, yes.
        And no, she just can’t take vigilante action unless someone is breaking the law, she’s never actually displayed any obsessive desire to uphold the law.
        For her, it’s always been an excuse of some sort.

    3. BenRG

      I don’t know; technically, we’ve only ever seen her use violence to protect someone from a reasonable expectation of harm. We’ve never seen her use violence, only the threat of violence, against others. When pushed, she’s tried to find alternative solutions to violence against non-threatening perps.

      There are anomalies where she’s tried to pick fights or gone far beyond ‘prevent harm to others’ but both those occasions were wrapped up with her mental health issues. Any attempt to prosecute on those would run into a quagmire almost immediately with a halfway-competent defending counsel.

      It’s a humongous grey area but I suspect that what she does falls within the spirit if not the letter of citizens’ arrest by-laws for some parts of the world (although an Indiana legal expert would have to rule on whether it is the case for this particular area).

      1. Lumpy Frogsnuggler

        What about the incident with Sal’s friends? Nobody was in danger and she attacked them with no provocation.

        1. Spencer

          Attacking Sal is probably, legally and morally, the worst thing she’s ever done, and a big burning sign for why she needs to stop. Even putting Blaine in the hospital, while legally questionable, was still a child lashing back at her abusive father, and she was technically doing it do defend Danny, who was in physical danger. Other than breaking into Billie’s room which was mostly just played off as a joke Amber hasn’t done *much* out of legal bounds, other than removing that Dead End sign so she could clean it and bring it back. A lot of her on-panel Amazi-Girl actions have been her taking down muggers, thieves, bullies and harassers, and then you get the parts where she’s just doing silly stuff like rescuing cats from trees and telling Duncan to put his beer away.

          Basically if Amazi-Girl was just a particularly diligent civil servant in a cape, there wouldn’t be much to worry about.

        2. BenRG

          Sal & Co., was mental illness acting out. Sal is Amber’s #2 demon after her father. She was fighting a monster in her head.

        3. Charles RB

          Lucky Dorothy when IIRC she wasn’t aware of that told her “Amazi-Girl’s important!”, eh? Otherwise Amber might’ve had to think about that!

        4. Spencer

          Which, you know, is probably a part of what’s spurring Amber’s descent even further. She has confirmation from a third party, and then the entire girl’s dorm, that her actions are awesome and acceptable, her dad lied about who beat him up so she’ll never face any consequences for that, she gets to solve the mystery of all these penises drawn on the whiteboards, she banged her boyfriend, and later she’ll get to have another confrontation with her nemesis. Because that is what Sal is to her. Not some scared, desperate child doing a horrible thing out of a sense of crushing loneliness, she’s just evil.

          Between her own psychosis and the cheers of the student body, Amber has it in her head that she’s on a perfectly acceptable and reasonable course of action.

        5. Greenygal

          Looking back at the parking lot incident, she actually didn’t attack them–instead she invites them, multiple times, to come at her. The only blows she actually lands are on Malaya, who technically initiates.

          I’m not saying that she didn’t start it; she comes up and clearly indicates that she wants a fight. But she makes a point of not throwing the first punch, and I suspect that’s her self-justification for how it’s okay.

        6. Someone

          Wasn’t there a strip where a tagger is able to defeat her by not attacking her? Because she’s not a cop so she can only fight him if he makes the first move.

      2. Narf

        Remember when she broke into Billie’s room for no other reason than to verify that she and Danny never had sex?

        How can that be explained away as “she only breaks the law to do good things?”

    4. Deanatay

      There’s no such thing as a ‘law-abiding vigilante’ – a vigilante, by taking the power of enforcing laws into their own hands, breaks the law. Vigilantes have to accept and deal with this dichotomy in order to function. They have to form their own moral code, and place it’s importance above that of the law, in order to BE vigilantes. Perhaps they enforce specific laws, but that’s merely coincidental.

  23. Idon'tcarenomore

    Amber is laying it flat out on the line about how deep her feelings for Danny run (while as AG of course), and with two totally opposite reactions to the same scenario wherein Danny gets caught.

    This is about as close to a nice sharp physic break as you can get without falling off, isn’t it?

    She really needs help. I don’t think Danny is good for her at all, he really feeds her split viewpoint of herself vs herself.

    So when and if he finds himself and she really loses him: what happens to her then?

    1. BenRG

      That isn’t a given. Danny is apparently bi and is attracted to Amber too.

      I have to say that I wonder if Ethan may actually tend towards asexuality – homosexual in inclination but with no real desire for intimate relations.

      1. HeySo

        Homoromantic Asexual is what you’re looking for. And given how he’s reacted to shirtless men and thoughts of men in the comic, the ace bit seems unlikely.

  24. AgentKeen

    ‘Shitlord’ is such a good word, and an excellent descriptor for Blaine.

    1. Disloyal Subject

      It’s good, but awfully mild for Blaine.
      It’s also tainted in the eyes of many by some of its users.

  25. Ry

    I find it funny that we have no less than three ships built explicitly on self-disassociation as a coping mechanism for the sexy- and lovey-feelings brought about by the coupling.

    Or at least I *would* find it funny if it weren’t for the fact that I could see myself going down a similar road… (damn you Willis!)

  26. Someone

    I feel like shitlord isn’t quite profane enough to describe Blain. I would call him
    fuckingshitheadshitlordasshole.

    1. zach

      Would you call him a poopybutt?
      Don’t make him sound grandiose.

      1. lightsabermario

        blighterpoop.

  27. Ridureyu

    Just wait until she learns that he’s more attracted to Ethan than to her…

    1. Someone

      Amber: Why does this keep happening!!!

    2. Disloyal Subject

      “More?”

      1. Deanatay

        Yeah, not sure I support that particular fanboy distortion. Dan is attracted to Ethan, but he’s very attracted to AG/Amber, and committed to their relationship. I don’t think he’s as high on the Kinsey scale as you fantasize.

  28. zebrathinker

    man, we were drinking WITH the RAs at my school.

    (though i assume this is over-protective Amber concern and not an actual strict policy of the school??)

    1. saki

      This is I-don’t-want-to-be-abandonded Amber concern.

    2. John

      One of my friends was an RA. I got him to write himself up for underaged drinking one night. (“Nature of Offense: I AM DRUNK”) He handed the form in to the dorm director and everything. It went straight into the dorm director’s blackmail drawer.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Almost want to get a bigger filing cabinet now, just so I can dedicate a drawer to blackmail material.

        1. podian

          That sounds so much like Autumn.

    3. Li

      it is actually the for-real policy of the school, which you may or may not recall also has a dry campus policy forbidding even legal drinking on its premises.

    4. JohnnyO

      IU actually has a very strict policy. I looked it up because I was wondering the same thing. At my school a first time drinking offense on-campus gets you a $100 fine and a warning.

      At IU they may suspend you, and will refer you to the police. Which is actually a way huger deal than Amazi-amber is making because Indiana’s underaged drinking laws are EXTREME.

      Here in NC you get a misdemeanor and a $200 fine (and at my school you won’t even get those because they won’t report to the police unless you’re a repeat offender). In Indiana you can get a $500 fine, your license revoked for a year, referral to a counseling program, AND 60 days in jail.

      1. thejeff

        Yeah, but the policy on paper is one thing and what actually happens is something else. IU’s got a bit of a rep as a party school despite being a “dry campus”. They’re not busting a significant percentage of the drinkers.

        Nor, more specifically, is Ruth going to report anyone for drinking. Take it away. Threaten them with violence. Harass them. Steal their femurs. All of that, sure. But she’s not going to be reporting anyone unless she absolutely has to. Not her style of running things.

        1. Tacos

          I think Amber is more scared of the off chance that somebody actually cares enough about the policy and report it to the school. Ruth probably wouldn’t give a damn but that doesn’t guarantee that some other person could report the underage drinking.

  29. Skizz

    Best final line of this strip, ever.

  30. Mr. Random

    Someone’s drawing this. I guarantee it.

  31. Palamdrone

    Danny is Dannying Danny…that is to say today Danny is being awesome.

  32. Tim m

    Does this mean Ethan is Amber’s Penguin?

    1. Tacos

      I see Ethan as more of an Alfred than anything else.

      1. HeySo

        Oh, you’ve seen the Batman x Alfred slash as well? I’m still shipping them as a tri-poly-romance, so maybe Ethan can be.. er.. no, Robin is even creepier than Alfred. Batwoman?

    2. Nono

      That sounds more affectionate than it should have been.

  33. Bagge

    That’s kinda sweet. Creepily possessive but sweet.

    But there is that passive threat of violence again that crop up FAR to often in their relationship. “If you don’t behave I might beat someone up.”

    Good call, Amazi-girl – to make comic book references is the best way to romance Danny #NotSarcasm

    1. ThatGuy

      Book this.

  34. Bri

    Okay, but Danny has never been more likable then he is being right now.

  35. Boomwolf

    I now have the most terrifying image of Danny in a Catwoman themed suit…. I’m just gonna go some fire to burn that image from my mind.

    1. podian

      1. podian

        OK, apparently posting links here is harder than I thought. I was linking to this panel from EGS: http://imgur.com/y5X3R5J

  36. TJ Pittsburgh

    Completely random question: did we ever find out who Agatha’s roommate is, the (according to Sarah) “notorious bongowad”? I was archive binging and realized that I didn’t know . . .

  37. Saaaam

    So what was her reason for trying to beat up Sal and the gang.

    1. Riku

      She’s crazy

    2. Ransom

      Sal was the one who robbed that convenience store and took Ethan hostage in Amazi-girl’s origin story.

      1. takashid

        a crime for which she was already held accountable for and served her punishment, so no, still not a justification for amber attacking sal and her group.

        1. claudewicked

          Yeah, thats what the first response was for.

    3. Spencer

      She’s turned Sal into her Joe Chill and, thinking that Dorothy was going to blow the lid on her identity, felt the need to confront her and prove that she wasn’t the same scared little girl she was when Sal took Ethan hostage.

      Amber deserves closure, and she’s fully in her rights to hate Sal for the rest of her life, but attacking her isn’t going to solve anything.

  38. The Thing

    >Danny in a Catwoman suit

    http://i.imgur.com/aZp4P39.png

    1. HeySo

      My disappointment is legendary.

  39. Adam Black

    And this is the page where Danny first outs himself as bisexual to Amber

    1. TBeckett

      Right?! The parallel is totally intentional

  40. David

    Isn’t having sex in a dorm room also against campus rules?

    1. Incomitatus

      Depends on the campus. It was actively encouraged at my university. That was in Scotland, though, and definitely not Indiana University.

      1. Rowen Morland

        Actively encouraged because it was a safer environment?

    2. Someone

      I looked through the Indiana campus rules and I can’t find anything about sex being banned. Its usually allowed at all but the most religious schools.

  41. shoeboxjeddy

    Underage drinking at my university (in the dorm like they were) resulted in: writing a paper to the RA’s boss about why underage drinking is wrong and dangerous. Only repeated reckless infractions would do anything so serious as calling the parents or going on any kind of probation.

    Maybe the fictional Indiana University has insanely strict rules, but it seems more like Amber is being hyper.

    1. David M Willis

      Amazi-Girl is quoting Indiana University student policy almost word-for-word here.

      1. HeySo

        A lot of times universities use strict writing to cover their asses from the law, but don’t actually enforce it; for one thing, enforcing it would eff over the greek houses 😛

        1. HeySo

          *That’s just an assumption; but in none of the 5 places I went to was drinking ever treated but with a passing wave. Might be a southern thing, though.

    2. ahuh

      Extrmely strict rules are not always enforced on college campuses, people can be very good at hiding things or co-opting officials, mountains high emperor far away, etc.

      1. Well_Played

        True. God knows Rutgers never enforced theirs.

    3. Soh

      I get dangerous, but how is drinking “wrong”?

    4. AgentKeen

      I mean, my university was a wet campus, so alcohol was ok, but even of age drinking could get you in trouble if you were noticeably drunk. Comparatively, I did a summer internship at a dry campus, and it was pretty much a guaranteed call of the police in there was enough reason to suspect drinking in the dorms.

    5. JohnnyO

      Real Indiana University has insanely strict rules. Certainly compared to my university.

  42. BenRG

    “That sort of makes me your Catwoman”.

    Amber, if I were you, I’d veto Danny wearing a skin-tight purple leather outfit with thigh-high kinky boots. You’d never get any work done!

    So, we are reminded that Amber is, in the end, a lonely, insecure and damaged little girl. One who does not want to lose one of her only friends to a random act of thoughtlessness. I wonder if Danny ever appreciated just how high-maintenance this relationship is and just how badly insecure her heart is!

  43. Soh

    Drinking is bad, but vigilantism is A OK.

  44. BenRG

    I just want to go on the record that I want Ethan to have a relationship with Joe. Because a guy who is that aggressive about bedding women is hiding something form himself.

    1. Nightsbridge

      I think it’s more Joe hiding from actual emotional attachment to anything than insecurity in his sexuality, but you may be right.

    2. Lord Stoneheart

      Joe doesn’t seem to react negatively to all things non-heterosexual as one would expect from someone who’s closeted and intent on proving they are heterosexual. He does seem hellbent on ignoring all the feels. (His negative reaction to Danny asking him about liking guys was centered on the fact that he would have to get into a talk about feelings).

      1. Spencer

        I await with terrible glee the day Joe totally fucks up when Danny decides to come out to him.*

        *Saying something like “I don’t care about your sexuality so shut up and never talk about it while I describes tits” counts as fucking up.

        1. Lord Stoneheart

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/02-threes-a-crowd/knockers/

          I mean, Danny basically came out to him here. I mean the only way Danny could have been more transparent while still being implicit would have been to play the “I have this friend…” card. And Joe’s reaction was pretty much “Do we have to this thing with the feelings!” I don’t think it was particularly homophobic, but it was unsupportive, and probably falls under your definition of fucking up.

          (I assume that Joe wouldn’t be flat out homophobic by taking him at his word here: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/sharp/)

  45. nkh

    Impatiently awaiting Danny-in-Catwoman’s-suit fanart.

  46. read all over

    Does this mean that look she was giving Ruth was her waiting to fight her if she said anything?

    1. BenRG

      Quite possibly and it would have been a much fairer contest than Ruth vs. Billie at the orientation meeting.

    2. Phlebas

      Yup. And the reason she’s so upset is that Danny put Amber in danger of beating Ruth to a pulp.

  47. Torra

    I don’t know why it’s suddenly hit me in this strip that the whole ‘danny dating amazi-girl and not amber’ is weird, but just reading this strip made me think that if I was danny I would be weirded out a bit. Amber has literally gotten changed and is now “Amazi-girl” just to be able to talk about this with Danny and the fact that she keeps referring to Amber as a third person is worrying. The whole thing with Amber-Amazi-girl is worrying actually, but its only this strip that weirds me out about it. Maybe ’cause Danny’s treating this like its normal.

    Also lol Danny as Catwoman, i wish fanart of this existed

    1. BenRG

      I’m not sure that Danny realises just how bad this could be in terms of Amber’s mental health. I think that he’s treating it as a kind of role-playing kink and it’s frustrating him that Amber is so dogmatic about keeping the two personae separate.

      1. Torra

        Yeah, thinking about it that would make a lot of sense! Seeing as theyre both into superheroes and comics, I would see why he would like the whole superhero-roleplay. She has said a couple of times how important it is that she can be amazi-girl to deal with stuff, but again I don’t think Danny does quite get how bad the situation is and assumes she has a handle on it.

        1. saki

          “I don’t think Danny does quite get how bad the situation is and assumes she has a handle on it.” He really doesn’t. I can hardly blame him, though. He’s just an 18-year-old kid with what looks like zero previous experience with anyone having mental health issues, never mind the separate personae kind. And I’m guessing he doesn’t spend his free time reading about those things on the Internet. So, him being Danny and all, it’s pretty much inevitable that he’d have no idea. It makes me kind of wish Dorothy were closer to them, because I feel like she might see this situation with a more realistic lens, and so I think she might be able to help.

  48. m2iCodeJockey

    Yes, Danny but, I think that also means you get to wear leather and bang on a high-rise roof top during the next downpour…

  49. saki

    Not relevant to this post, but I just noticed the hotness poll in the right column and… Mike was voted hottest by 25% of people… I’m kinda relieved that I’m not the only one who find herself strangely attracted to him, but also kinda glad it’s no more than a quarter of voters. I blame the media, with all their way-attractive-bodied, broody, mean-outside, good-inside characters, ingraining it into our minds that being mean is hot.

    1. crepitus

      I wouldn’t be as concerned, since it’s out of 178%, if that helps.

  50. Zan Thrax

    Everyone’s so worried about Billie & Ruth, when Amber’s the one who needs to be committed. Probably against her will.

    1. CaptainBatson

      Yeah. Remember that time she snapped and stabbed someone in the hand after they had already been restrained and arrested? Girl’s got issues.

    2. Nightsbridge

      I would settle for therapy.

      1. Agemegos

        She attacks and beats people. We think it’s hot because we like superheroes, but it’s dangerous, it’s unjust, and people get hurt. It really isn’t up to Amber to bring back corporal punishment because she feels that the law and the police aren’t harsh enough. Her psychiatric condition makes her a danger to herself and others, and that’s exactly what involuntary committal is for.

        I know what Ruth is going through, and it’s awful. Also, it’s pretty dangerous, though mainly to her. But I know it can get better, and that she is talking about it to Billie seems like a hopeful sign. Amber, on the other hand, seems to be getting worse, and she misidentifies her problem as a solution. And Danny, far from being the life-line that Billie seems to be for Ruth, seems to be turning into an enabler or co-dependent or something. I must look up “folie à deux” and “folie imposée”.

  51. Darkoneko

    She did discover you, tho. Ruth could just care less.

  52. Charles Phipps

    I never thought I’d say this but I’d actually like Danny to come to terms with his attraction to Ethan and….stick with Amazi-Girl. At least until he starts cheating on her with Amber.

    1. BenRG

      Possibly the weird love triangle and, maybe ultimately, the weirdest threesome possible – two of the participants sharing the same body!

    2. Aislashu

      I’d kinda like to see a working poly relationship. Amber/Danny/Ethan.

  53. James Small

    Honestly, Danny is perfect for Catwoman. As a Batman fan, she also drives me crazy with frustration as she ruins everything. Danny, you’re why we can’t have nice things.

    1. saki

      The me that totally adores Selina Kyle from the Gotham series wants to object but I realise that her character is probably quite different as an adult and in the different comics / movies / animated series.

    2. Aislashu

      I just wanna see Danny in Catwoman latex

  54. Makkabee

    Danny’s lack of respect for Amber’s feelings about this is massively douchey, but I will admit the Catwoman line was funny.

    1. Heavensrun

      I don’t think he’s being disrespectful, I think he’s deliberately using humor to try and defuse the tension.

      1. Arianod

        This.

  55. Kraken

    See, this is my problem. Before, Amber could’ve easily said, “I’d just really hate for you to get caught and thrown out, I don’t know what I would’ve done…” and still clarified later. Instead she had to be indirect about it and put all the blame on Danny for not understanding.

    At least we know now that she was referring to either her Amber half or both halves before when she said “You know what I am,” before. Although, even though it’s consistent, it still feels a little bit like l’esprit de l’escalier, coming up with a good reason after a chance to think it through.

    I think they’re a cool couple, and I liked the dynamic when it was just fun times, but I have to admit that this stuff is turning me against them. Danny’s response might change that, if he pushes Amber to re-evaluate things, but his flippancy isn’t helping.

  56. JohnnyO

    I’m a North Carolinian

    “Amber, that’s silly, you can’t be suspended or expelled for underaged drinking.”

    *Looks up Indiana law on underaged drinking.*

    “Oh…”

    1. saki

      Even without the state law, IU is a dry campus, so I’m guessing one might still be suspended or expelled.

  57. Toes14

    Looking at her face in the last panel leads me to believe that hot makeouts and clothing removal with be quickly forthcoming. (But the mask stays on!)

  58. Spencer

    This is probably a dumb question but Danny is totally assuming that Amber referring to herself in third person is just because of some hardcore role playing, right? We know Ethan is worried about her doing it but Danny never got the memo.

    1. Li

      He kind of did, though. He was there when she beat the shit out of Blaine and when he asked her, “Amber…? Are you Amber under there?” she said, “I don’t know anymore.”

      Then they had a conversation about how she compartmentalizes stuff into Amazi-Girl.

      1. Spencer

        I think he knows she’s screwed up, but doesn’t realize how deep it runs. It would be easy enough to rationalize her stomping a mud hole into Blaine as raging at the abusive fuckwad, and then after that she just shuts down. Then after ignoring him for a few days she suddenly pops back in his room completely mellowed out and saying she just needed to “reboot.”

        Plus, Danny reads superhero comics. Beating your problems half to death is probably a viable solution to him.

        1. Li

          This last part I agree with completely; I think he’s all too willing to put familiar campy labels on her behavior, because superhero comics have kind of desensitized him to her specific issues. Oops.

  59. xKiv

    Isn’t he technically breaking the law by not reporting her as a vigilante?

  60. Catty

    Don’t flatter yourself, Danny!

    Thanks, Willis, for another great one.

Leave a Reply to Spencer Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.