SFP

sfp-5-96-for-web

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  • Natsumeg

    This entire building and interior design along with the goon designs still gives the impression that this is still a very villainous headquarters.

  • Rafinius

    Why does a robot have an earpiece?

    • Jack Coldstone

      don’t make fun of Sharkey like that

  • Mr. After Dark

    Anytime I see “Templar” all I really see is “Assassins”

  • Emmy

    Judging from the decor, Patrick hasn’t exactly put the evil theme behind him, has he?

    I’m reminded of Despicable Me:

    BANK OF EVIL
    FORMERLY LEHMAN BROTHERS

  • RobNiner

    “And Susan said we couldn’t do the blood sacrifices until Friday, which is stupid because it’s Staurt’s birthday do after work- oh hey who’s that?!”
    “No good, she’s definitely not a virgin.”

  • Subbak

    Well, Patrick may not be a supervillain anymore, but he’s still big on acting the part…

    On the other hand, who can fault him. If I was super-rich and renowned as a super-villain, I’d also want an ominous lair with an ominously silent goon/butler.

  • 48646431

    Patrick, your office looks evil.

  • Dean

    Those two guys in panel 4 were just about to start making out when Alison walked by.

  • moriati

    OK. Templar Industries. How is it still a thing? We’ve seen the Guardians fighting Templar Drones, we know Paladin left Templar and there was a whole legal battle. I’m pretty sure Patrick was never identified as Menace. So how did everyone not make the link and close down Templar when Templar drones were being used by Menace? Or – am I overanalysing this and any super-villain could just buy Templar Drones off the shelf?

  • Insomniac

    How can Alison be so clueless? This place just screams evil villain lair. He’s manipulating you, girl!

  • Markus

    Craggles and Pierce seem like cool dudes.

    • habeasdorkus

      Only Pierce is allowed to call him Craggles. Craggles is trying to get Pierce to stop smoking, and it’s putting a strain on their relationship.

      • Some guy

        You’d try extra hard to get someone to stop smoking too, if they held a cigarette like that.

      • Markus

        Pierce won’t admit it, but part of the reason he’s so reluctant to quit smoking is because quitting would make the relationship too real to him. Everything’s so new, and he’s afraid that if he quits then the honeymoon’s over.

  • Michael Corley

    Well, THAT’s not ominous!

  • Michael Corley

    Also, loved her checking out her new haircut!

  • Ryan

    Our conclusion last time this question came up was “too big to fail”. Probably also with a dash of “too big to jail”.

    • moriati

      Ah-ha – that makes sense. Particularly if the old US military were a major Templar Drone customer I guess.

  • Ryan

    I’m pretty sure anyone working in this building would recognize Allison as Mega Girl on sight.

  • Elaine Lee

    Yes, but once you get inside Patrick’s actual office, it’s all red shag carpet and colorful beanbag chairs. Then there’s Patrick’s incredible collection of vintage pinball machines, a ceramic bust of Elvis, and vervet paintings of matadors, clowns and dogs playing poker.

  • Ryan

    Maybe they just didn’t have any money left for redecoration after the reparation payments.

  • Oren Leifer

    Or maybe Patrick had to make a compromise with his employees:
    “So, we’re no longer going to be supervillains. That means no evil, no crime, and no attacking innocent people. On the other hand, we will be retaining the villainous decor and haunting sense of fear and emptiness that pervades our offices.”

    • hs5ias

      That’s just a normal working office.

  • Korataki

    Are you sure he’s a robot, and not a biodynamic with metallic/alloy skin?

  • TheGonzoMD .

    Hey, at least this robot doesn’t make stupid jokes or kill himself right in front of you.

    • Insanenoodlyguy

      That is a human being with biodynamism, you hatemonger! 😛

  • TheGonzoMD .

    Which means the only difference between this and any other corporation is honesty.

  • Dave Van Domelen

    Major Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto.

  • S.I. Rosenbaum

    Well that doesn’t look like a villainous hideout at all

  • Ian Osmond

    I think Allison IS a virgin, though…

    • Daniel Martin

      Her biodynamism sort of ruins the plans for a sacrifice though.

    • RobNiner

      Yeah, what with worrying about her powers affecting her intimate moments… okay if everyone could ignore the second part of the post please!

      • Christopher Wells

        Frankly, a bigger problem will be cutting her heart out with the sacrificial dagger.

        “All right, we’ll try another way. Get me some liquid nitrogen and a sacrificial chainsaw. I know we’ve got sacrificial chainsaws, all you have to do is carve runes into the blade, why would we *not* have sacrificial chainsaws?”

        • lordswedish

          Would it actually work to carve the runes into the main thing or would you need to inscribe it in each chain link? Not expecting an expert in ritual sacrifice or anything but maybe there’s a hobbyist here?

  • Ian Osmond

    No, it’s NOT gloomy because it’s an evil brooding lair. They just keep the lights lower to save energy, because it’s more ecologically sound.

  • Ramsey Hong

    Whether or not Allison is a virgin is pretty much Allison’s business and not ours I think.

    • rpenner

      [satire] Not when TEH PUBLIX is paying for her health coverage….

    • RobNiner

      Fair point! My morning brain just came up with blood sacrifices = virigins.

      • That is a thing, but the blood is from the hymen, it’s the virginity that is sacrificed, not the whole virgin.

    • Endless

      I get what you’re saying, and it’s a good attitude to have towards real people, but it’s a totally valid line of wonderment when dealing with a fictional character. People deserve their privacy, but we’re implicitly asked to investigate the inner lives of characters we read about. That’s even more true in Allison’s case, because her sex life has been specifically emphasized as a point of insecurity.

  • Ian Osmond

    Pierce looked up suddenly from his cigarette. “Dude!” he whispered to Craggles, “Is that MEGA GIRL?”

    Craig, which was Craggles real name, looked over. “OMG… I totally think it is… how come Sharkey gets to show her around?”

    “I dunno. Should I go over and get her autograph?”

    “Oh, man, that would be SO COOL,” Craig replied. “I’ve got her action figure on my desk over in Security.”

    Peirce nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got her poster in my locker, the one where she’s saying, ‘You don’t hit like a girl, I do.’ Maybe I should go get it?”

    Craig shook his head. “You know you’d just chicken out. So would I. She’s just SO COOL.”

    Peirce sighed. “It’s like Sharkey just doesn’t even care. Look at him with his hands in his pockets totally nonchalant. How is he not FREAKING OUT?”

    “It’s because he doesn’t have an adrenaline response,” Craig replied. “His adrenal glands don’t actually make adrenaline — instead, they make that metal coating over his skin. That’s why he’s always calm.”

    • astrocom

      EXCELLENT. MOAR.

    • motorfirebox

      Dude. Killing it.

    • TheFruit

      Sharkey: NEERRRRDDSSSSS ಠ_ಠ

    • Johan

      Dude you rock 🙂
      Love the ‘You don’t hit like a girl, I do.’ line, it sounds like something she would have said back then. And something that would make her face palm now XD
      Also the explanation for Sharkey’s calm is pretty awesome ^^

    • Okay, now I want to see this poster happen.

  • Kevin B.

    Must be nice to be as powerful as Mega Girl, so that you can walk into ominous looking buildings filled with shady looking characters and not be fazed in the least.

  • Anthony Jackson

    Possibly some prime quality blackmail?

  • Mechwarrior

    “Come on, Pierce, how many times we gotta go over this? The original 1987 version was the best Ninja Turtles cartoon and they all went downhill after that.”

  • Me too.

  • Cue evil lair music.

  • Matthew Dowd

    I can just see meetings like
    mad scientist: Why did you cut our budget for the time travel project?!
    Patrick: Told you if you made the appropriations meetings you could justify the budget!
    Mad Scientist: If we had the budget we will have made the meeting!

  • StashaBoBasha

    “Dude, I’m serious! Pretty sure I’ve picked up a new power of heat resistance. Check out how far down I can hold this cigarette! Heh heh heh, Tier 2, here I come.”
    “Oh, is that why you tried pouring the hot coffee on your wrist this morning?” guffawed Mudsnake. “That didn’t go too well from what I can see, bro. Ugh, here comes another blonde. Is she the boss’s new arm candy?” Aware that an audible level of jealousy had creeped in to his sibilant voice, he quickly looked down. At least with this freakish skin Pierce wouldn’t see any blush, Mudsnake thought sullenly, as his doofus of coworker ogled the hipster blondie. Since it’s what’s keeping us from having a nasty, inappropriate, and wild employee/boss hookup, it’s the least it could do.

  • Shino

    Templar Industries mission statement: Don’t Be Evil, Pinky Swear

  • Gryphonic

    I looked at “Sharkey” there, and immediately assumed it’s Patrick in a mask, just screwing with Alison. Was I the only one?

    • Sabriel

      D-:

      Omg, the face shape is right.

      I wonder what was going through her mind while she was checking her hair.

      If that is Patrick, I will be pissed at him. So will she.

    • Darkoneko Hellsing

      …I thought the same thing, too.
      Well, not the screwing with Alison. Maybe ?

    • MrSokar

      Unfortunately “Sharkey” was already seen driving Patrick away from his shady dealings with the Chinese gang.

  • Sabriel

    Oh man. First the dress, and now she’s checking herself in the mirror?

    Mega Girl has a Mega Crush.

    • Good luck keeping it secret from a telepath. Still, I guess Patricks used to knowing that sort of thing, hopefully he won’t make it awkward.

      • Sabriel

        I think he already knows. Remember when they were watching Loony Toons in the motel?

        • Not really. I’ll find that scene. It’s probably going to be relevant to what’s coming up.

  • Ryan .

    how dis legal?

    • MrSing

      Due to an administrative mess up his office is technically in international waters. There’s nothing anyone can do.

  • Steele

    Former super villains as security?

    I wonder if Allison either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care…

  • Lostman

    “So how the kid.”
    “Just started growling it’s first scales, beautiful really.”

    • Insanenoodlyguy

      That’s a question I don’t think this story has really answered yet. Since they all got their powers from or at least during an (as far as we know) one time Phenomenon, what if any effect does that have on children of the biodymanic? I’m guessing a few instances of one or both parents having this condition have emerged by now…

  • Divaldi

    Just started reading today and WOW this comic has come far! I’m loving it!!

  • Pseudo

    Don’t know if Sharky is a robot, but there are robots present here. Robots who need punching.

  • Zac Caslar

    Huh.
    I wonder if it’s just Patrick flipping the whole world the bird.
    “Correct. This IS a super-villain’s lair, and I have the attorneys to prove it. Get lost, or get litigated.”
    …not that I think he’d say exactly that, heh.

  • MrSing

    Those aren’t superheroes. They all just have very elaborate tattoos.
    You can’t prove me wrong.

  • Christopher Wells

    Well, buying new furniture is expensive.

  • Shjade

    Benny: *chain-lighting a second cigarette* It’s not that simple.

    Brick: The hell it isn’t. What happened? You don’t take my calls, you don’t respond to my texts–

    Benny: Can we not talk about this here? I really don’t want the boss picking up on it.

    Brick: So that’s it. You’re ashamed to let anyone know.

    Benny: I said it’s not that simple; it’s complicated, okay? I just need some time, so — hey, is that…?

    Brick: Don’t change the subject, look at me. Really look at me, Ben, and tell me you’re not just being like this because you don’t think of me as a person. I’m just a rock to you, right? Just like everybody else.
    I thought you got me, Ben. For a little while you even helped me remember my heart isn’t made of stone. I guess that was my mistake.

    Benny: Pebble, wai–

    Brick: Don’t you EVER call me that again.

  • Ryan

    So, here’s a question: doesn’t having Mega Girl over for a visit kind of compromise Patrick’s secret identity as “just some guy who totally isn’t a supervillain why would you even ask that?”

    • Insanenoodlyguy

      Pat’s a big enough mover that there’s probably a lot of superhuman’s in and out of his doors. The fact one of the big guns is in is gonna be office talk, but will probably just solidify to his employee’s what a big deal he is. Also this assumes that a lot of the people in the office aren’t “in on it.” If some of them are, as I suspect, former Super Villians (and maybe the occasional vigilante or hero who’s out), it might be one of those things everybody knows but knows better then to talk about.

  • So you’re telling me I’ve been doing it wrong? That’s why I never summoned a single abomination from outside of the feeble confines that we know as the laws of physics! It all makes sense now!

    • Willing virgin, sex to completion on the altar, and blood shed from the hymen on the altar on a consecrated cloth. I don’t know about summons (I don’t do summoning magic) but guaranteed to produce a bountiful harvest with lots of tasty young animals. 😉

      • Insanenoodlyguy

        Yeah, the elder things that dwell in the moment between sleep and dream, that which cannot die because it does not life, those tend to desire more “wholesale murder” in their sacrifices.

    • Insanenoodlyguy

      What’d you paint your circle of blasphemic runes with? Nothing from Wal-Mart will work, common rookie mistake. Doesn’t matter what the materials are, the dark corporate gods don’t allow competition.

  • Adam McKinney Souza

    Rock-face is totally put off by punk-ponytail’s smoking habit, though. That face he’s making is a face of “ugh, if you blow smoke in my eyes I will headbutt you through the wall.”

  • Insanenoodlyguy

    I would say this comic’s biggest failing by and far is the disappointing lack of Robot Punching. We’ve got some distance between issue 2, and this chapter gave us hope for but most definitely did not deliver an Allison/Robot fight and I’m suffering withdrawl.