Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

2010-01-19

2010-01-19 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
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2010-01-19
Votey panel for 2010-01-19
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Explanation

In this fantasy-themed comic, a goblin-like creature taunts a group of adventurers (including a warrior, a wizard, and an archer), boasting that their swords are useless because his arms grow back the moment they are cut off. The second panel shows the warrior pondering this claim thoughtfully, stroking his chin as he considers the implications. The third panel jumps to a medieval scene captioned "Ye Famine Ended," where the adventurers have clearly found a practical use for the creature's regenerating limbs: a large crate labeled "Enjoy" is being presented, with the goblin standing nearby in a wheelchair, having had his arms harvested as a renewable food source.

The joke takes a classic fantasy trope -- a monster boasting about its regenerative powers as an intimidation tactic -- and subverts it by having the heroes realize that infinite regeneration means an infinite food supply. Rather than being frightened by the creature's ability, they exploit it to solve a famine, turning the monster's superpower into an unfortunate curse of being perpetually harvested.

The votey (bonus panel) extends the gag by showing two people sitting at a table with one complaining, "Aww! Goblin arm again?!" This adds an extra layer of dark humor: the regenerating goblin arm meat has become such a staple food that people are tired of eating it, much like a family getting sick of the same leftovers.

View History (1) Original Comic