Vexxarr: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Vexxarr_4362.jpg|frame|Spoorflix (in spacesuit), Minionbot, Sid, and Vexxarr in their native habitat: Assigning blame for failures.]]

 

{{quote|''"Your logic is your weakness..."''}}

[http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=100501 Vexxarr] is a comedy Sci-Fi webcomic by Hunter Cressall. The initial setup sounds similar to [[Invader Zim]]: An alien [[Evil Overlord]] sends his flunky to conquer earth, mostly to [[Reassigned to Antarctica|get him out of the way]]. However, it plays out quite differently. For starters, the flunky Vexxarr is quite well aware that he is incompetent, or in his own words: "Let's say I know a thing or two about being volunteered for one-way missions." Secondly, Vexxarr tries an [[Alien Invasion|open invasion]], with [[War of the Worlds]]-esque walkers. It fails miserably, and Vexxarr is captured. Initially, the comic showed Vexxarr living on earth. After a while though, Vexxarr was allowed to leave, and since then the comic has centered on Vexxarr's journey through the galaxy, and trying to find a place that [[Everything Trying to Kill You|isn't inhabited by something that wants him dead.]] [[Fate Worse Than Death|Or worse.]]

 

 

{{tropelist}}

{{quote|'''Vexxarr''': You managed to subvert your entire core programming [[Bothering by the Book|by literally obeying its every word]].

'''Carl''': We're inteligent machines. [[The Farmer and the Viper|It's what we do]]. }}

* [[Card-Carrying Villain]]: The plant AI's, from their first [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=012309 conversation], are quite clear about their plans with Vexxarr. It doesn't get better either.

{{quote|'''AI:''' Now, let's discuss your feelings. Start with pain.}}

* [[Chewbacca Defense]]: For no real reason really, but effective [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=012312 nontheless].

* [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]: Vexxarr's main way of keeping Carl in line.

{{quote|'''Vexxarr''': All I want is a safe place where I can enjoy a little cake and Xbox and instead I find bizarre civilisations in danger of unintended self-extermination. And then they want help. From '''''me'''''. }}

* [[Don't Explain the Joke]]: [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=090508 Or the threat, either.]

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]:

* [[Everything Trying to Kill You]]: And everyone. By the time Vexxarr has gotten through facilitating an all-out war between the Bleen and the Lattrox, the only people's hit list he ''isn't'' on is the humans and their allies. And that's a pretty damn tiny percentage of the space-faring races, considering that it amounts to about... [[Oh Crap|3]].

** [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=070907 And he knows it].

* [[Five-Man Band]]: probably the most [[Anti-Hero|anti-heroic]] in the history of science fiction but in any case, this is how the line-up looks after Sid has joined up:

** [[The Hero]]: Vexxarr - (our [[Deadpan Snarker]] leader who [[Cosmic Plaything|the universe is continuously trying to kill]])

** [[The Smart Guy]]: Minionbot - ([[Snarky Non-Human Sidekick|the Automaton]] who knows ''far'' [[Mr. Exposition|too much about how all the circuitry of the ship and droids work]], including a couple of life-saving-important secrets that he conveniently forgets to mention)

** [[The Big Guy]]: Sid - (the silicon life-form who despite being a [[Cowardly Lion]], [[Nigh Invulnerability|is indestructible]])

* [[Genre Savvy]]: Vexxarr has become increasingly savvy about his attempts to find safety, to the point of having a betting pool on how long after encountering anything they would be attacked or ordered to surrender.

{{quote|'''Vexxarr''': Usually by this time we'd hear...

'''Vexxarr''': ...alright, fifty-seven seconds. Who had fifty-seven seconds?

'''Minionbot''': I had five dollars on fifty-seven but it was under 'Prepare to be assimilated...' }}

* [[Good Is Not Nice]]: Vexxarr is a borderline type IV [[Anti-Hero]] who can be quite vindictive when he wants to be. But he still has a conscience - albeit one he has tried to literally bash out of his own head - and he ''will'' - in the end - do the right thing.<ref>Eventually.</ref> He is ''not'' going to be nice about it though. ''Ever''. And depriving him of cake is probably going to [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|send him off the deep end]].<ref>The aesop of this story is to always supply your [[Anti-Hero]] with chocolate gateau whenever they have to make an important moral decision.</ref>

* [[Gravity Sucks]]: Averted hard; at one point Vexxarr actually tries to hide in ''a black hole's accretion disk'', relying on his invincible hull to protect him against the radiation. It [[Everything Trying to Kill You|almost]] worked, too.

* [[Gun Porn]]: In the early, black and white days of the comic, the art of earth's millitary equipment looked significantly more detailed than the characters.

* [[Gunship Rescue]]: [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=031809 Giant Mecha] [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=041309 Rescue actually].

''[sees [[Humongous Mecha|combat mech]] with open cockpit]''

...unless, of course, it would be unimaginably ''fun''... }}

'''Carl''': Yep. That's me to a ''tee''. Shall we continue to the Lattrox DMZ?

'''Vexxarr''': [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate{{=}}031510 By all means.] }}

* [[Kicked Upstairs]]: [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]]

{{quote|'''Emperor''': Admiral, if you conquer these hu-mons in a single day, I shall make you ruler of their puny planet.

* [[Let's Get Dangerous]]: [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=051309 ... Everyone should be running, right about now].

{{quote|'''Minionbot:''' ...before you ''begin'' this line of inquiry, do I have sufficent time to tunnel to an ''adjacent universe''?}}

* [[Webcomics Long Runners|Long Runner]]: Strip hit #1000 on Monday June 6th.

* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: Vexxarr is slowly and steadily becoming a candidate for [[Magnificent Bastard]], if not for the war he started between the two most aggressive races in the galaxy in order to get them to wipe each other out, then [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=010311 For] [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=010511 this] [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=010711 right] [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=011211 here].

{{quote|When you are aboard an [[Ghost Ship|alien construct of uncertain design and purpose]], you touch ''nothing!'' You have [[What Does This Button Do?|no way of knowing if a lever could vent the atmosphere into space]]...if...if a switch could activate [[Gray Goo|flesh-eating nanobots!]] Until you have studied ''everything'', you have to assume that this [[Malevolent Architecture|station's sole purpose was to isolate and destroy you personally!]] ''[[Dangerously Genre Savvy|DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!]]''}}

* [[Stop Helping Me!]]: It does actually help, it's just [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=052209 humiliating.]

** [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=121905 Ouch, Sony.]

* [[Technical Pacifist]]. Parodied with the locutrons.

'''Vexxarr:''' Yet I can't help but notice that your envoys of are bristling with weapons.

'''Locutron:''' There is, of course, always the slight possibility that they will not love us back.

{{quote|'''Vexxarr:''' '''''Get back here this instant and start spouting gibberish until my worldview is centered!'''''}}

* [[Xanatos Speed Chess]]: Vexxarr eventually becomes ''far'' too good at a strange mix between this and [[Indy Ploy]], courtesy of a mix of extreme [[Gaslighting|paranoia]], excessive [[The Cynic|cynicism]], unfathomable [[Genre Savvy|Genre Savviness]] ... and [[Cosmic Plaything|a long career as the universe's favourite Plaything]]. Often leads to a [[Moment of Awesome]]. Carl is a frequent contributor.

{{quote|'''Bleen commander:''' Look, I'm going to make this easy for you. Either tell me whether or not that planet is indeed the earth or throw yourself out of the airlock. Your choice. [.....] Command makes for a lonely life. That, and flushing your bridgecrew into space.}}

** Granted, [[Thrown Out the Airlock|spacing]] is not fatal to the Bleen, but after the number of acolytes in orbit became a navigational hazard the Emperor started vaporizing them instead.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Webcomics Long Runners]]

[[Category:Military and Warfare Comics]]

[[Category:Sci Fi Webcomics]]