Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

I found today's comic (#1739) quite sad

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The Duke:
It made me sad too.

I think you're crazy if you think they'll break up over it, though.

Tergon:
Hmm, true, I had forgotten that we got a chance to see Marten get angry on a couple cases.  But even then, what'd we see?  A few snarky comments and an urge to go drinking with his friend, which was quickly resolved into "Yes, maybe I could have handled that better."

Dora spent several hundred comics being insecure about her new relationship with Marten.  Hannelore's been openly insane since her first appearance, bless her nutty little heart.  Faye's issues have been prevalent for nearly the entire course of the comic.  Steve got insecure and obsessive when he lost his lady-friend, Marigold broke out of her reclusive shell, hell, even Sven got to grow a personality and a conscience.  Marten's worst freakouts last no more than a half-dozen strips before he's back to his normal, understanding self... he just copes with things inhumanly well.  Seriously, there were jokes about Meena's roommate Dave being a serial killer because he's too nice, but really, Marten's only a half-step behind.

Honestly?  I'd actually *like* to see Marten get his boundaries pushed a little more comprehensively.  Not necessarily with Faye- or Dora-related relationship drama, but something that puts a crack in that shell of his.  God knows that with all the crazy shit going on in his life, he's got enough reason to finally snap, and I'd be very curious to find out what that looks like.

Carl-E:
I don't think there's a shell there to crack.  He's an 'everyman", and so is incredibly resiliant! 

And with his upbringing, I seriously doubt that there are buttons left to push.  He's incredibly well balanced, is all.  It's rare, but it happens! 

Is it cold in here?:
The fact that he doesn't have the vitality to pursue his dreams is consistent with him being inhibited. Ditto his alleged tendency to overthink things.

raoullefere:
Marten probably does have a 'button'—most everyone does. At the same time, Carl's right; his upbringing has smoothed the edges of all such touchpoints until it's very hard to find them. But we do know that Marten does have limits (you'd think the son of a dominatrix wouldn't be that shocked by witnessing Tai's piercing, but he was). He also clearly has a problem with anyone acting unreasonable beyond a certain point, probably because it's difficult to rationalize such behavior, which Marten tends to do.

Naturally, Marten is attracted to women who threaten that limit—both Dora and Faye tend to act irrationally on a regular basis, even though both also cover this with a patina of rationalization. Which is not to say either woman is a complete spas-brain; just that neither is quite as 'together' as she normally appears, either.

Is it Cold may be onto something. I do wonder if Dora decided to push Marten to follow his dream the same way she seems to have begun to do with Faye, we wouldn't see Marten's 'even-steven' facade crack.

Oh, and as far as Dave goes, there is a difference. MArten's simply a nice, even-tempered guy. Dave seemed to be (at least according to Meena, which makes the account a bit suspect) on track for living canonization. When you come right down to it, the only real difference between many saints and manifestations of evil such as serial killers is the channel they choose for their energies. The average person can't really live up to either standard.

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