625: Garfield Skynet Garfield: Judgment Day

|< < Prev Comic #625 (2011-02-03)

Garfield Skynet Garfield: Judgment Day

Made by: David Morgan-Mar, danw

Explanation

Although the meme will still be played with from time to time, this comic attempts to formally bring to a close the infamous "constantly changing/Garfield [minus-like word] Garfield" edits. Here, after the usual opening line is said, the Terminator comes to Garfield and Jon's rescue and helps them defeat T-1000 (here also called M-1000, and under the employ of the meme as opposed to Skynet). During the strip, T-1000 shifts into various figures associated with the meme, with Linus unsurprisingly being the first. After that's done, Terminator remarks that there is "one more thing" that also must be destroyed - this being the ubiquitous frozen pudding pops.

On a related note, it shouldn't come as any surprise that David Morgan-Mar could remember the exact date.

The author writes

danw suggested the skeleton of this idea in the forums, and I ran with it for all it was worth.

Original strips: 2001-11-28 (did you know I can now type that date from memory?), 2003-11-26, 1983-09-22, 2002-05-21, 2006-03-02, 1987-05-07, 2004-05-29, 1979-12-16, 2000-12-07, 1991-06-23, 1997-06-02, 2002-03-16, 1979-06-17, 2005-07-15, 1990-09-26, 1984-08-17, 1984-05-26, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Transcript

Jon: The world is constantly changing.
SFX: POW! ZZT {the Terminator appears in a ball of time travel}
SFX: ZZT
SFX: BRRRR {the Terminator rides a motorcycle}
{Terminator runs into Jon and Garfield, who are frightened}
Terminator: Come with me if you want to live!
{T-1000 appears and melts through steel bars}
Terminator: Go! Run!
{Jon and Garfield run}
{They escape}
{Terminator explains the situation}
Terminator: In three years, this meme, "Garfield [something that sounds like minus] Garfield", begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29. In a panic, the creators of this website try to pull the plug.
Jon: And "Garfield [something that sounds like minus] Garfield" fights back.
Terminator: Yes. It takes control of the entire Internet and enslaves humanity.
Terminator: A resistance led by Ryan North and Randall Munroe hacks into the system and sends me back to stop the meme from ever being created.
Terminator: But the meme has sent back a second Terminator to stop me. An M-1000. Advanced prototype. Mimetic polyalloy. It can shift into any shape that sounds even just a little bit like "minus".
{T-1000 shifts into Linus, from Peanuts}
{T-1000 shifts into His Royal Highness, Prince William}
{T-1000 shifts into Cyrus the Virus}
{Terminator fights the T-1000}
SFX: WHACK
{T-1000 shifts into mica}
SFX: SLAM
{T-1000 shifts into Thomas Aquinas}
SFX: SMASH!
{T-1000 shifts into pliers}
SFX: THUD!
{T-1000 shifts into Briar Rose}
SFX: CHOP
{T-1000 shifts into Dame Jane Goodall}
{T-1000 shifts into Elvis}
Terminator: Hasta la vista, baby.
SFX: SPLASH {T-1000 falls into pit of molten steel}
{T-1000 shifts into Edvard Munch's The Scream}
T-1000: AIYEEEEE! {T-1000 dies}
Jon: Phew! It's over!
Terminator: No.
Terminator: There is one more thing associated with the meme.
Terminator: And it must be destroyed also.
Garfield: {looking at newspaper in shock} You mean they have to stop making frozen pudding pops?

Trivia

• During development of the idea of attempting to end the "pudding pops" running gag that became this strip, the above Pulp Fiction reference was considered before the Terminator 2 reference that was ultimately deployed. The Pulp Fiction reference would eventually be repurposed for 3910: Enough is Enough, Take Two in an attempt to curb the "Linguistics with Liz" running gag.