161

Amber O’Malley
Posted on December 23, 2017 by David M Willis

161 thoughts on “Amber O’Malley”

  1. Shiro

    …well played, alt text.

    Tbf, Amber, it might help if you left your room more than once a semester…

    1. Doctor_Who

      Those spider ain’t gonna kill themselves.

    2. foamy

      If the alt-text hadn’t done it I’d put money on the first reply doing so :p

      1. Kamino Neko

        Someone did it yesterday.

    3. Lumino

      You gonna wash your hands?

    4. DallyDaydream

      Glad the JLU love is still going strong. ^_^

      1. Dara

        That 10-year continuity (Batman, Superman, Justice League, LJU) was the greatest thing DC has ever done in film or video, hands down. It was just… unbelievable that they pulled it off. But they did.

    5. J

      Seriously – at this rate, she could take a hint from Supes and use her glasses to differentiate, instead of the mask.

    6. Tabor

      This comic has alt text? Jeez I’ve been reading since the Roomies days but I only ever come to the site on mobile anymore.

      1. Wizard

        When reading on mobile, tap the navigation bar (but not on any of the icons) to see the alt-text.

        1. legobil

          Thank. You. Been missing so many because I’m too lazy to read on the computer more ofthen than not.

  2. shadowcell

    wait a minute you mean underneath the mask Amazigirl was actually SPIDERCAR?!

  3. Aggrax

    So I guess that means Walky won’t wash his hands next time he’s in the bathroom, because he’s evil?

    1. Doctor_Who

      Maybe The Flash got all his ideas about being evil from playing Disgaea games.

    2. Abel Undercity

      Do we have any indication that Walky washes his hands now?

      1. Wizard

        Well, Dorothy allows him to touch her.

        1. JetstreamGW

          It’s better ‘cuz it’s dirty.

  4. Too Old To Be Cool

    Panel 3 – that’s a ZOT!-style smile.

    1. NickG

      Amber could do with about 10% of Zachary’s self-confidence.

  5. Yumi

    Huh. Really, I can get Walky not paying attention to their previous interactions, but you’d think the whole stabbing incident would at least make him register her somewhat.

    1. BBCC

      That requires him to KNOW Sal was stabbed.

      1. Questionor

        I thought Yumi was talking about her stabbing mr date rape

        1. BBCC

          …Oh, right. That would make more sense.

    2. Smiling Cat

      It was in the newspaper, but Walky renounced newspapers after they took out the comics.

    3. timemonkey

      Why? Some girl he doesn’t remember with a name he doesn’t recognise fought off a guy threating someone he does care about. He would have just focussed on the Dorothy part.

      1. TemperaryObsessor

        That actually makes a lot of sense Amber was a random person to him and he wasn’t there, why go out of his way to find out who was with Dorothy when it happened when clearly the important part is that it upset Dorothy, and possibly whether or not middle name Ryan is still able to go after her.

  6. Brian K. Pittman

    A strip made just so Willis could quote Justice League. I approve.

    1. Foxhack

      Obvious, with hindsight.

    2. Reltzik

      I think you underestimate Willis’s baseline ability to quote Justice League WITHOUT making a strip for it.

  7. Rosicrucian

    The answer’s simpler than that.

    Walky won’t recognize her until she puts her glasses on.

    1. Yumi

      “No, no, the Amber who saved my girlfriend’s life wears glasses. You can’t be her.”

      1. BrokenEye, the True False Prophet

        She takes them off when he transforms.

        1. ValdVin

          “That doesn’t make any sense. Without the glasses Amazi-Girl wouldn’t be able to see!”

    2. DailyBrad

      That would be great. “Ohhhhh, Velma”

      1. kitty

        i wish we could upvote XD

    3. Deathjavu

      Makes total sense

    4. Reltzik

      “Wait, I recognize you! Your that Clark person….”

      “MY ENTIRE WING IS CLARK PEOPLE.”

  8. Annika

    Yep, this is about what I expected.

    1. JessWitt

      At least the moment adds some levity to the past few strips.

  9. crys

    aaaa she looks so hopeful in panels 2 and 3!!!! too bad it’s walky

    1. Jackson

      Oof. It’s heartwarming for like three seconds, and then it just goes straight through awkward to painful.

    2. Fart Captor

      That smile qualifies as an early Christmas miracle, imo

  10. Stephen Bierce

    *plays “What I Am” on the hacked P.A. speaker*

    1. butting

      — which inexplicably starts, just this once, with “I woke up in a Soho doorway…”

      1. Bibulb

        WELL PLAYED.

  11. Victoria

    I can’t believe it never occurred to me that the reason it’s not obvious who Amazi-Girl is to everyone is because no one actually pays attention to Amber

    1. Tacos

      That’s… kinda sad really.

      1. a4lbi

        Sad, and relatable.

      2. timemonkey

        It’d be sad if she didn’t spend most of her time deliberately avoiding social interaction.

    2. Yumi

      Some people just have very forgettable faces. There was this one girl I used to volunteer with who I just found incredible forgettable, which I felt really bad about because she was perfectly nice and always greeted me by name. And I’d be like, “Yeeah, heyyy…you…”

      I used to say (to other people) that I thought she should get a tattoo on her face. “Rachel with the face tattoo” would be much more memorable to me.

      1. Leorale

        I’m like this with everyone. They often remember me, and they get all hurt when I have no idea who they are or whether we’ve met. I spend a lot of time pretending I know who people are.

        1. Needfuldoer

          I remember faces and names, but not necessarily which ones go together. It makes tech support challenging sometimes, especially when contractors we hire semi-regularly come back.

        2. Reg

          You might have face blindness or something like it. Do some research and decide whether getting it checked out is worth your time.

        3. Leorale

          Unfortunately not. I remember everyone’s dogs!

    3. Questionor

      the same can be said about Clark

  12. Cass

    Oh my god, I was hoping this would be his reaction but figured there was no way he wouldn’t remember who she is just from Dorothy talking about what happened. Frustrating as it might be for Amber right now, I think this was the best reaction he could have had against her own beliefs that everybody knows who she is and what she did and is contantly judging her for it.

    1. Lingo

      Very good point!

  13. Passchendaele

    Because it makes your identity doubly secure, Amber. 😛

  14. Keulen

    Hey, not wearing a mask works for Superman. Apparently most people can’t figure out that he’s Clark Kent without the glasses on.

    1. BrokenEye, the True False Prophet

      Obviously Clark Kent is Lex Luthor. Why else would he run away whenever Superman shows up?

    2. Needfuldoer

      How do we know the entire city of Metropolis isn’t just humoring him?

    3. Khyrin

      Now, in fairness? Clark and Kal part their hair differently, too.

      And there was that silver or gold age malarkey with the Super Hypnotism….

    4. geno

      Part of it’s personality. They don’t really do it in the modern movies, Clark is quiet and passive. Most people who know him remark on his similarity to Superman, but either think that someone like Supes would never have a day job, and that even if he did he wouldn’t act anything like Clark

      1. merbrat

        Yeah, Christopher Reeve did the meek Clark, nicely. Just the difference in the posture, when he removes the glasses to tell Lois… then hurriedly changes his mind, before she turns back to him.

        1. Jason

          I have virtually no interest in Superman, but I’ve seen that scene in question. It genuinely blew my mind. He pulled it off so well and actually makes it believable that people wouldn’t figure it out.

      2. BBCC

        Yeah, acting meek, keeping his head down, wearing glasses, sometimes adding a slightly different hairstyle (hair curl!) and keeping his costume beneath his clothes often makes him look bulkier in his Clark Kent life. Not to mention shorter since he kinda slouches and shrinks around people as part of the meek thing.

        Plus, if you worked with someone who LOOKED like John Stamos, you’re probably not going to assume he IS John Stamos.

        1. BBCC

          Also, depending on the continuity, Lois noticed right away but didn’t say anything because she believes in Superman.

        2. Roborat

          I remember a webcomic that played with that theme, can’t remember the name anymore. One of the characters parents couldn’t recognize him when he put the glasses on, was quite funny.

    5. DailyBrad

      I think it helps Superman that he’s publicly known to be an alien. People might not think Superman even has a secret identity, they might think he’s just Superman all day

  15. tirachokko

    Oh Amber…
    Somewhat ironically, my girlfriend, who is also named Amber, is like this sometimes. “What if they recognize meeeeeeee” babe no they won’t just do your thing, and even if they do, they probably could care less just go. It’s more hilarious when she realizes they really are like that and just goes “oh. worked up for nothing”

    1. Roborat

      Wait, your girlfriend is also a freelance superhero? Cool.

  16. Kernanator

    This is what you get for taking the Obscurity social talent. If you wanted to be well known, you should have taken Renown instead.

  17. nightsbridge

    Amber thought she was Bruce Wayne, when she was Clark Kent all this time

    1. Rocketboy1313

      I laughed.

    2. JessWitt

      +1

  18. Rocketboy1313

    I am with Walky, Who is this girl?

  19. SpeckleSnowflake

    “WOAH DOROTHY WHEN DID YOU DYE YOUR HAIR BROWN”

  20. Lingo

    Walky, you’re Danning up this moment in a way that not even Danny could manage.

  21. Griffin Raynor

    “It’s me, Stabby.”

  22. motorfirebox

    “You know? Freaked the heckings out and stabbed your sister? Amber?”

    1. BBCC

      TBF, I’m not convinced he knows about the stab wound. And he certainly doesn’t know it was Amber.

      1. Jason

        Seems fairly likely he would. She was, iirc, still living with him at the time- it seems odd to me that he wouldn’t know she got stabbed badly enough that she wears gloves to hide it 24/7 to this day. He might not have taken it on board as a big deal next to the whole “attempted robbery” and the aftermath of that, but I’d be surprised if he’d never known at all.

        1. BBCC

          He doesn’t seem terribly knowledgeable about the whole incident. I’d not be shocked if his parents kept it from him until she came home, at which point she was told something like ‘nobody wants to see that horrible injury, keep it covered at all times’.

        2. Tim

          OMG. Sal is Elsa and Walky is Anna.

    2. Whatevsman

      Well now I’m wondering if that’s gonna get brought up

    3. Needfuldoer

      Has Amber made that connection yet?

      1. JessWitt

        I don’t think she knows. I’m still awaiting this reveal.

        1. Sam

          Does Amber know if Sal was the one who she stabbed in the hand? Yes, she knows that already.

        2. The Chosen One

          Does Amber know Sal and Walky are related, I think is the current mystery

        3. JessWitt

          ^ Yep, what The Chosen One said.

        4. Jason

          Somehow, no, I don’t think she does. She’s been seen not knowing why Walky bothers her, but we’ve not seen her have any sort of “aha” moment. I think it’s unlikely that she would figure it out (or have it spelled out to her) without us seeing it, given her feelings tied up in Sal, Danny, Dorothy, and Walky himself.

  23. Larkle

    When your mild mannered alter ego is… mild mannered?

  24. Gojira

    Sad Walky doesn’t recognize his sister, Sal. Because Sal is Amazigirl, right?

    1. Adam Black

      Amber, he said he wanted to be garbage.

      Walk wins Garbage status… Without even kicking a kitten

    2. nothri

      Uh, no. As established, Amazigirl is really Ultracar.

  25. brasca1

    Walky may be one of the few people who could be fooled by a real life Clark Kent.

  26. DT

    Did you alt-text a JLU line?

    1. nobodybasically

      Amazigirl was Wally West all along.

    2. TheLurkerAbove

      I’m sure he did! I got a good chuckle out of that one!

  27. Bagge

    I REALLY thought Walky had recognized Amber/Amazigirl before and was keeping it low for her sake. Turns out he was just clueless. Oh well.

  28. Seen2much

    Walky out Dannyed Danny! That takes skills.

    1. Reltzik

      Anti-skills.

  29. Wright

    Should I take it as a sign of positivity that she’s shouting that she saved Dorothy’s life, instead of shouting that she stabbed a guy in front of the dorm?

    I mean, it’s like she’s acknowledging that she did some good. You’re breaking the first rule of Garbage Roof.

    1. Cabbage

      Yup. This is the nicest thing Amber’s said about herself in a long, long time.

    2. JessWitt

      *gasp* You’re right! Garbage roof works in mysterious ways.

  30. nobilis

    “I am your girlfriend’s friend’s friend’s girlfriend’s room mate!”

    1. JessWitt

      Add a “best” to that second friend. Becky wants to make that clear.

      1. thejeff

        Nah, add one to both.
        “girlfriend’s best friend’s best friend’s girlfriend’s room mate!”

    2. Sunny

      That took me a moment to decipher. It would be clearer to say “girlfriend’s girlfriend’s best friend’s girlfriend’s roommate”.

    3. Deanatay

      “Wha… what does that make us?”
      “Absolutely nothing! Which is exactly what you are about to become!”

      1. OnyxIdol

        +1

        (A) Classic.

        1. Roborat

          If you can’t make a Monty Python reference, make a Spaceballs Reference.

  31. AnvilPro

    Lol, it’s not like that wouldn’t happen to a lot of heroes if they unmasked in front of people

  32. newllend(henryvolt)

    This would have carried more wait if it was someone else like Joyce or even Sal, at least she would have been like ” Oh hey laundry girl”.

    And of course he doesn’t remember the party he was wasted the entire night.

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      *weight

  33. Cmd1095

    Quick Amber, put on glasses, it’ll be like a reverse Clark Kent situation!

  34. Nobody

    And here Amber realized that no one but her was thinking she was ‘the crazy girl’

  35. JessWitt

    Well maybe they can all have a good laugh about this over lunch?

  36. kitty

    both are relatable

  37. BenRG

    Amber, I hate to be the one to say this but you are massively overestimating Walky’s ability to notice, understand and remember things that don’t directly involve him.

    1. Reltzik

      I mean, the whole reason he’s up here is that he can’t even memorize elementary derivative rules. Of COURSE he can’t remember faces!

      …..

      ….

      ….. waddyamean that’s just me that thinks Calculus is easier than faces? I’m sure there’s more people like me…. somewhere…

      1. Chris Phoenix

        Yup. I’m not completely face blind, but I can know someone for months and then not be sure whether a person is them or not. Or if I see them out of context I likely won’t recognize them.

        1. David

          And the connection to calculus? If nothing else helps getting you a definite integral, try tracing a path narrowly encircling the poles of your function?

          Face is up here. Focus.

        2. Larkle

          I’m not terrible with faces but probably slightly below average. Especially if the person wears make up I’m sometimes unable to recognize them after meeting them the day before.

      2. TemperaryObsessor

        Not faces but don’t expect me to be able to put a name to it.

      3. Minim

        I’ve failed to recognise family members out of context before. You’re not the only one with face difficulties. (and nor am I, yay). 🙂

  38. Danni

    “i can finally find out the flash’s identity.”

    “i have no idea who this is.”

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      You see ! Everybody was thinking the same thing.

  39. BenRG

    Honestly, though, I don’t recall Walky and Amber having many interactions before. It’s quite possible that he literally does not know her having never directly interacted with her before. I mean, there are more than 48,000 students at IU!

    1. Commentary Ver.2.72

      Amber+walky in tags.

    2. CJ

      Yesterda, someone posted a link to all pages where both are tagged.

  40. Badgermole

    There’s honestly a lot of good things in this strip:
    1. Amber asserts that she is Amber and … smiles instead of being disgusted by this.
    2. Amber admits that she — she, the garbage fuck up, not Amazi-Girl — saved someone’s life, and this is huge because in her head Amber can’t do anything good.
    3. Even Walky’s non-reaction is positive imo. Amber feared she would be recognised, seen as the crazy stabby monster, but here’s Walky somehow not flinching at the sight of her, hardly caring that this is the person behind the Amazi mask.
    4. Why do you wear the mask, Amber? In therapy this is the kind of question that she would eventually have to ask, and answer for herself. I know it’s used as a punchline here but it’s a pretty significant thing for her to articulate in any circumstance and I hope at some point it’s treated non-rhetorically.

    1. Needfuldoer

      2. If she’s referring to the Ryan incident, then that’s even better. Has she ever acknowledged the positive results before? This might be the first time she’s said anything but “I’m a knife-stabbing monster” about that night, at least without prompting.

  41. NinjaNick

    Is your brain turned off, Walky? 😛

    1. David

      “Did I forget to switch off my brain?” Nightmare self-questioning of strip club visitors.

  42. Screwball

    Long time no post… ?

    Daniel the Human can be a bit like that at times too. Doesn’t always recognize people right away, but if something clicks he can usually figure it out…

  43. Peter

    Oh my stars and garters, this strip is just peak Walky. Never has he been more oblivious.

  44. Reltzik

    Amber, you wear that mask to impersonate Amazi-Girl. Remember?

  45. Dariu55

    Revealed identity, who dis?

    Reminds me of Lex Luthor learning Flash’s identity.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPefOfu2TIU

    1. Josh Spicer

      Subtext referenced this exact moment.

  46. ValdVin

    The ultimate payoff for Amber’s patent-pending party-going socializing skillset of “sitting in corner playing video games (with people not in the room)”.

  47. Remmington Steele

    facepalm.jpg

  48. C.T Phipps

    “Wait, you’re the racist girl!”

    1. Deanatay

      “Wait, you’re that nerd girl Becky’s always talking about! The one with the hamster!!”
      “Wait… THAT’s how you know me? Through Becky? And SNKRS??”
      “Wait… you’re SUCH a nerd! NEEEEERRRRRRRR-“

      1. strictly speaking

        Walky is a nerd too though. I can’t quite picture him using the 4 letter N word.

  49. K^2

    The mask is still in her hand, which is why he can’t recognize her. I’m pretty sure, that’s how secret identities work.

    1. David

      He’ll recognize her once she shoves the **bleep** **bleep** **bleep**

  50. Zaxares

    Well, following my comment yesterday, this is not the response I was expecting. XD

  51. Josh Spicer

    Lex Luthor reference always appreciated.

    1. Emily

      Even if it’s unintentional that’s definitely the first thing that came to mind.

  52. DarkoNeko

    That smile is adorable, tho.

  53. Richard

    It was either that alt-text or “[s]He’s just some kid!”

  54. Liliet

    This is sad )=

    1. timemonkey

      Not really. Amber’s spent a lot of time certain that EVERYONE is thinking things about her, this is reality once again reminding her that it’s untrue.

  55. ǝ snow ʍousɐ

    Whoa, a new character!

  56. Nameless_Steve

    Now all we need is for Mary to refuse to wash her hands… because she’s E V I L.

  57. TemperaryObsessor

    Actually I just realized Walky has enough information to be have good reason to back track on his request. While Amber did nothing wrong in that particular incadent, and Dorothy was willing to say in theory I’m all for middle name Ryan getting sent to a hospitol, it was still upsetting to Dorothy, and seeing Amber after the incadent before she’s ready to could be upsetting.

  58. PB

    Alt-text beat me to the reference!

  59. D.S

    It’s the glasses.

  60. Aislashu

    Panel 3 Amber is the cutest Amber.

  61. Architex

    I just know I’m gonna have to draw something with that panel 3 look.

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