Meanwhile, His Teammate Was in Rhodes

Meanwhile, His Teammate Was in Rhodes
Order of the Stick Comic
Comic no.	560
Date Published	May 29, 2008
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Therkla guides the group through a tunnel to the beach. Meanwhile, Lien expresses her suspicions towards Therkla.

Cast

Therkla, Lien, Elan, Durkon and Daigo. Cameos by Cyclops, Odysseus, an unnamed ninja and some unnamed greeks.

Transcript

Panel 1

Therkla points at a tunnel entrance door with an octagonal symbol.
Therkla: This way everyone! There's a shortcut through here to the water, so you can get back to Hinjo's boat.

Panel 2

Lien: Wait, she knows Lord Hinjo's name? Elan, I don't think, we can trust this woman.
Daigo: Yeah, she could be leading us into a trap. I mean, a new trap.
Elan: No, it's cool. I fought beside her once before.

Panel 3

In the tunnel.
Elan: Don't you guys see?
Elan: She wears a mask, she shows up every time we're in trouble, and we don't know her real name. Isn't it obvious?
Elan: She's a superhero!

Panel 4

A sign reads: Welcome to the Greg Initiative / Station 32 / The Smiley Face
Lien: Elan, she's a ninja!
Elan: No, see, she just has a ninja themed motif to strike fear into the hearts of cowardly and superstitious criminals.

Panel 5

Cutaway to Therkla, sitting by a window, while a ninja falls through.
Ninja: Gah!
Therkla: A ninja! That's it! It's an omen! I shall become a NINJA!

Panel 6

Elan: Either that, or she was bitten by a radioactive ninja...
Lien: She was willing to let orcs sacrifice me, Elan!
Elan: Huh? What are you talking about? She didn't show up until after -

Panel 7

Lien: Stop and think for a minute, Elan! She was the one behind the altar, don't you recognize her voice??
Lien: She was the clown!
Elan: Oh, so first she's a ninja, now she's a clown? Was she a pirate-robot-monkey, too?

Panel 8

Elan: Puh-lease. You're just jealous that she has a secret identity and you paladins don't.
Lien: Well, how about I just Detect Evil on her and -
Therkla: *gulp!*

Panel 9

Therkla stands still in the tunnel while Elan and Lien run by right in front of her. Lien Detects Evil only on Elan who qualifies as STILL NOT EVIL.
Lien: Hey, where did she go?
Elan: See?? She disappeared while we were looking away, just like a real superhero.
Lien: Or, like, I don't know, a NINJA!
Elan: A ninja superhero, exactly.

Panel 10

Durkon: Can we please table tha ninja discussion 'til AFTER we're done escapin'??
Daigo: Agreed! This tunnel is creeping me out.
Daigo: I keep having flashbacks to earlier strips.
Lien: Fine. I still say it's ridiculous to think that a superhero would just show up on a random island in the middle of the ocean.
Elan: It's happened before.
Lien: Name one time.

Panel 11

Cutaway to three ancient greek men with a boat, some sheep and X-Men's Cyclops on a small island.
Cyclops: Hey.

Trivia

The origin of Batman.

• This comic contains numerous references to the TV series Lost:
  • The symbol on the door resembles the DHARMA Initiative logo.
  • The "Greg Initiative" in panel 4 is a reference to the DHARMA Initiative mentioned above, as well as the TV series Dharma & Greg.
  • Daigo mentions flashbacks, a common element in Lost.
• Also, there are a lot of superhero references:
  • Elan first refers to the origin story of Batman, with a ninja in place of a bat.
  • The "radioactive ninja" line is a reference to the origin of Spider-Man.
  • The final panel shows the X-Men's Cyclops, and is a reference to the Cyclopses in Homer's Odyssey.
  • Finally, the title refers to the X-Men's Colossus, and the Colossus of Rhodes.

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