PONTAGAR: Under Shuach’s rule.
ARROGOND: Yes. For our own survival.
PONTAGAR: I understand.
CU on Pontagar as he considers. What –
PANEL 2
On Pontagar’s hand, grasping a sword from the wall.
PANEL 3
He tosses it to his father, who catches it.
ARROGOND: What –
PANEL 4
PONTAGAR: Defend yourself, sir.
PANEL 5
ARROGOND: WHAT!
PANEL 6
PONTAGAR: As a prince of the blood and master of justice both high and low in Erogenia under treaties and sacred oath of fealty and honor to our Erogenian alliance, I say you, Arrogond Timthan Elana, are an oathbreaker, an avowed traitor and an enemy. Defend yourself in sacred combat, and may the gods –
PANEL 7
ARROGOND: This is nonsense! You can’t accuse me – you’re MY champion!
52 thoughts on “Fight It Out – Page 1225”
Joe Fonebone
Obviously, Father and Son have a very basic philosophical difference.
Calisto01
Love his sense of duty, duty before all else, even family.
Misty Jean
Can’t? Nay, oathbreaker. I MUST.
SamWinters
Ha! I knew he was a good kid. Go get ’em, Pontagar..
Kenny S.
Is it weird that I hear everything Arragond says in the voice of Scar from the Lion King?
calisto01
No, why do you ask??? ?
Some Ed
Jeremy Irons or Chiwetel Ejiofor?
To be honest, I’m not sure what the difference is, not having seen the 2019 film yet. But I’ve had the distinct impression through all of this that Jeremy Irons was Arrogand’s voice actor.
Shyster
Well now I can’t un-hear it
Phoebe
Wow! Just wow! Never, in my entire life, have I gone from disliking a character to liking him so much, in any kind of medium! Well done JED!!!
George Phillies, N3F President
Agree 1000%
George Phillies, N3F President
Dad sounds a tad upset about something. Those radiating lines are a classic touch!
EmmaC
@Phoebe: same here. I never thought I would root for Pontagar. I just fear his sense of duty is going to cost him his life… I think his recent experience changed him, and I wonder if he hadn’t go with this warparty, maybe he would have follow his father.
Monika
I have to agree, Phoebe.
Well done, Pontagar.
SanBernInATL
I saw him calculating, but I didn’t see him calling a fight. There is a Pro and a Con here, though. Pro: Arragond has forgotten that he is supposed to represent the Fire Tribe, not just his own desires, and Pontagar has not forgotten his sacred oaths and promises. However, his father is a bit better dressed for fighting, and while he may not have fought for his life recently, he’s got a lifetime of tricks and techniques that Pontagar hasn’t had the time to learn and ingrain into his muscle memory. So this could end up being a very nasty end for him. not to mention, if someone comes in and interrupts this little fracas, it’ll become a “he said, he said” issue, with no clear way to tell who is telling the truth without using a little magic, which could be viewed as tainting the issue, depending on who is casting the spells and leveling the accusations. To put it bluntly, shit’s about to get real, boys and girls…
Some Ed
Arrogand looks like his … I’ll call it a shirt for lack of a better word, is possibly armor here. But in the comics leading up to this, it looks like it just looks like that from some angles, but it’s actually some kind of cloth. It might be a bit more protection than what Pontagar has, but not much. Considering the amount of exposed chest it offers, I’d say it offers very little additional protection.
If it gives Arrogand the impression that it’s better protection than what Pontagar has, it’s probably a net liability.
I’d expect Arrogand’s assertion that Pontagar’s his champion likely means that he’s taught Pontagar a lot of his tricks. But whether that is a purely indignant reply, or something to buy him a little time to think through what tricks he didn’t teach his son is left to be seen. Or maybe something we’ll never know.
Reservist
Arrogand has more experience in fighting, of course. But it is wrong to say that Pontagar does not have fighting in his muscle memory. He is not new at all to fighting.
Reservist
“You can’t accuse me, Son!”
“Well, I just did, Dad.”
RBZ
I suppose it’s a little less personalised than “You shouldn’t’ve broke my walkman!”
Lora
Muhahahaha!
Pontagar wanted to know how deeply his father’s treachery ran before doing that. I just hope he didn’t miscalculate by challenging him like that. He have just spend several months in hard fighting conditions so he’s in prime condition and from what we know his father hasn’t been in a real battle for maybe two decades, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t kept in shape. So this will be an interesting battle.
So will Arrogand’s mysterious partner in crime come to interrupt this and help Arrogand win? Or will we see a new King emerge after this?
Calisto01
No, why do you ask??? 🙂
ThoDan
I´m really surprised!
Not what Pontagar did, but how swift he took action
@Lora
Honestly i expect Pontagar forfeiting the crown by slaying his treacherous father and king.
He may sacrifice his Honour, his Reputation for his duty to his people
@SanBernInATL
I don´t see Arrogand dressed better for fighting but for dying on ingected wounds
Some Ed
What I would like to see happen is Pontagar not exactly forfeit the crown, but also not take it. Instead, allowing the selection of the next king to go as it would have had the king not had an heir.
That is, the crown could still go to Pontagar, but he’d have to fight for it. (If I understand how the Fire Tribe would do things, that would be a literal fight. I feel that’s a poor way to pick a leader, but if it’s their way, it’s probably better going with it than trying for a political reform in the midst of the early part of a war. But it could also be politicking or some other kinds of challenges. Also, since the crown we’re talking about is a position that reports to a higher crown, it’s possible it could just be Ipola’s choice, and the fight is to convince her that he’s the best candidate.)
Harry Dewulf
Called it.
DanekJovax
Just like many in today’s (formerly) USA.
George Phillies, N3F President
Pontagar may also get the benefit of having appealed to the Gods, some of whom are not fond of Shuach.
Mace
Pontager: Not now I’m not. I WAS your champion. Now, I’m your executioner. And may the gods have mercy on you, because I won’t.
Arrogand: “Oh shit…”
RBZ
Actually, he’d be the Fire Tribe’s champion. Arrogand now being so far gone that he can no longer tell the difference between himself and the tribe.
SteinarB
Good lad, Pontagar! He may be an arrogant ass a lot of the time, but he’s an honorable arrogant ass! He also seems to have grown up a bit since we first saw him given how he reacted to his bedmate’s dismissal of the feelings that girl had for Pontagar as well as his reaction to ol’ dad being a traitor.
Shyster
All I can say is I did not see that coming… Wow. I thought and still think Pontagar is a …(insert the polite word for twat)… but he does have some honour and maybe even a touch of class. But I don’t see our slightly reformed Fire Clan champ winning this one. I want to but I doubt it.
Randy
Somebody done miscalculated.
Hypertrophobic
Arrogand may have more tricks, but Pontagar has just spent a whole winter fighting Urrts (bigger and stronger) and survived, so his reflexes will be at their peak whereas Arrogand will probably have some rust to shake off because he hasn’t fought for his life in over a decade. If they actually fight instead of Arrogand calling in the guard, then my money’s on Pontagar.
Reservist
@Hypertrophobic
True, true. But then, Arrogand may be not that popuplar in his guard, or has send them away to make sure he could have this private talk with his son.
I imagine if the guard arrives, it would at least be a surprise for them to not only see the king and the crown prince swords drawn at each other, but also to hear the crown prince accusing his father of such a grave betrayal.
Reservist
*has sent
Some Ed
That depends a bit on how much the guard has heard. If Arrogand has already initiated his personal guard into his way of thinking, and eliminated each that proved loyal to the moon goddess, then they probably won’t be too surprised, just disappointed.
Alternatively, if they weren’t initiated, but overheard the discussion due to raised voices, unexpectedly good hearing, or because they weren’t sent as far away as Arrogand thought (how many people actually check the audio dampening capabilities of their rooms?), then they may be on Pontagar’s side, and whether they’re surprised at Pontagar continuing to be the Fire Tribe’s champion rather than his fathers or not may be a moot point.
Otherwise… it’s my understanding that the Fire Tribe at least is a combat challenge culture, so maybe they wouldn’t be too surprised that Pontagar has issued a challenge, but probably will be that it’s a sword challenge.
Depending on details of the culture that we haven’t really been exposed to, it’s possible that this is a traditional method of control passing from father to son. It hasn’t seemed like it’s currently in vogue, but Pontagar has seemed like enough of a hot head at times that if it was a method that has been used often enough in the past, they may not be surprised at all.
Reservist
Hmm… this Walkman does sound a bit like a personal experience, does it not? 😛
Reservist
@RBZ
RBZ
Well, when you’ve just met your dad, and you find out he’s the one that gave your mum terminal cancer, and then he goes and breaks your only possession that has sentimental ties to her…
Reservist
Let us cue “Let the Gods decide” by Manowar.
RBZ
JED,
This reply system’s a little hit-and-miss. If you’re replying to someone’s comment, it’ll sometimes put is as a new top-level comment, rather than nest it inside the parent comment’s thread.
Only way I’ve been able to make sure where it goes is to click the reply button twice – once to turn it green, and then a second time which moves the comment box inside the parent’s thread.
Some Ed
You only need to click Reply twice if you start on the main page. From the main page, clicking Reply takes you to the static page for the day’s comic. Once on that page, clicking Reply works just fine.
It’s probably an issue with javascript code that needs to have the permanent page in the URL, rather than just be given the permanent page as an argument. I’m aware of several WordPress sites with this same issue. On those, it’s in the core WordPress code, and needs to be fixed upstream, or every update from WordPress will overwrite it.
Reservist
@RBZ
Damn, mate. I made my earlier comment on some light-hearted note, but it turned out to be actually sad. 🙁
I can barely imagine the rough times you had to go through.
Wsablek
@ reservist.
I believe he is referencing a major plot point from Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Reservist
@Wsablek
Oh? I know of it, but I didn’t watch that movie. That’s why I might have missed a reference.
Thanks for the tip, by the way.
RBZ
Yes, I was drawing an analogy between Pontagar and Star Lord from GotG2.
Thankfully, it’s very difficult to deliberately give someone terminal cancer in real life. Most people notice if you’re trying to expose them to lethal doses of carcinogenic material. The Hazmat suit is usually a dead giveaway.
Reservist
@RBZ
Heh. “Dead giveaway. Deaaaad giveway…”
ThoDan
In That kind of culture , Slaying of Kin and personal Lord is usually scorned regardless of the reasons
Reservist
@ThoDan
Even when said kin and personal lord is an avowed traitor, enemy of the State, etc.?
Damn. :-S That is where some tribal cultures would be wrong, then.
Archone
This page sums up what I LOVE about this comic. We saw Maldik in several previous pages being far more than just a two-dimensional caricature (when he screamed his hatred towards his – by her own admission – extremely psychologically and verbally abusive mother, only to realize he was being just as abusive to his bedwarmer and immediately sent her away with money while feeling deep shame and remorse. When he tried to get along with Tula – and it became apparent that Maldik needs a FRIEND more than a potential bride). Now we’re seeing that, even though Pontagar displays a number of beliefs and traits that most of us find objectionable… he’s still a man of honor who will fight for what he knows to be right.
What makes it even more interesting is that his father ALSO sees himself as someone doing the right thing. So far the only real card carrying cliched villain in the comic is Shuach – and we saw those mercenary demon things treat him like any other stupid and silly client. “Eh, as long as his checks clear, we’ll indulge him.”
Some Ed
Given the way Shauch is reputed to behave, and what we’ve seen of him, it would be rather foolish for any of his servants to treat him as something other than any other foolish client.
Yes, I get that there have been a number of rather foolish Shauch servants depicted thus far in the comic, including one on this page. I’m just saying. The moon goddess apparently rewards loyalty. Shauch doesn’t seem to recognize loyalty, only success or failure to follow his direction.
Sleel
Not concerned about that. He should have issued this challenge publicly. If he looses in private all the tribe is going to hear is he lost his mind and tried to murder shitbag, or attempt a coup. If he looses, shitbag gets to push whatever narrative he wants. And considering everything, it wont surprise me at all if he looses cause that’s what the story needs to have a traitor tribe fucking things up.
Reservist
@Sleel
” that’s what the story needs to have a traitor tribe fucking things up.”
Not necessarily.
A civil war or a major internal and public disagreement amongst the Fire Clan would do the same trick.
Reservist
@Archone
“What makes it even more interesting is that his father ALSO sees himself as someone doing the right thing.”
Indeed. But the difference is that, given what their respective points of view entail for Teria (and other worlds),
Arrogand is in the bad and wrong, while Pontagar is in the good and right.
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