2014-06-10

An eight-panel SMBC comic, an emotional confrontation between a son and his father against a dark red background. In panel 1 the son demands of his bespectacled father, 'WHY'D YOU DO IT, DAD? WHY'D YOU MAKE ME LOSE AT SCIENCE FAIR?' The father, shocked, says 'WHAT?!' and protests 'I DIDN'T --'. The son reels off a list of supposed sabotages the father committed: 'REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I BOUGHT YOU BAD INSTRUMENTS ON PURPOSE?', 'AND REMEMBER WHEN I TOLD YOU I'D BROUGHT IN GENIUS KIDS FROM CHINA TO COMPETE WITH YOU?', 'AND REMEMBER HOW I SAID I HAD A MAGIC TALISMAN THAT MADE SCIENCE FAIR JUDGES HATE YOU?' The bewildered father stammers 'YEAH?', 'Y-YEAH?', 'SON...' Then the son delivers the twist: 'YEAH... I DIDN'T DO ANY OF THOSE THINGS! THE FAILURE WAS IN YOU. IT WAS IN YOU ALL ALONG!' The roles are reversed -- it is the child consoling/blaming the adult for losing the science fair. Votey: A close-up of the father's face as the son asks off-panel, 'WHY DID YOU BECOME A DAD, ANYWAY?' The father replies in a speech bubble: 'REVENGE.'