History Fridge / CalvinandHobbes

*** Maybe the reason Calvin is such an ass to Suzie is because whenever he tries to share his NightmareFetishist interests with her, she threatens to tell the teacher at best and severely blows him off at worst. I always thought the point of their relationship was that they couldn't understand each other's interests and were both in the wrong.

* One Sunday strip had Calvin give a "report" on overpopulation in which [[TheSocialDarwinist he explicitly condones natural selection, specifically calling for the removal of "the weak and stupid"]].Never mind that it depicted Susie getting ''[[EatenAlive devoured alive by a pack of carnivorous dinosaurs]]'' (via fantasy sequence) but it leads to a horrifying question. Is this an early sign of what Calvin could turn out to be later in life?

* A somewhat retroactive example occurs in a 1990 strip when Susie tells the readers that her and Calvin's class voted him "most likely to be seen on the news someday." When you consider [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh the]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski kind]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer of]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Harris_and_Dylan_Klebold people]] that made the news throughout the 1990s, what does that imply about the opinions Calvin's classmates have of him? Do they see him as a potential [[{{Cult}} cult leader]], SerialKiller, MadBomber or [[UsefulNotes/Columbine}} school shooter]] in the making?

* A somewhat retroactive example occurs in a 1990 strip when Susie tells the readers that her and Calvin's class voted him "most likely to be seen on the news someday." When you consider [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh the]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski kind]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer of]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Harris_and_Dylan_Klebold people]] that made the news throughout the 1990s, what does that imply about the opinions Calvin's classmates have of him? Do they see him as a potential [[{{Cult}} cult leader]], SerialKiller, MadBomber or [[UsefulNotes/Columbine school shooter]] in the making?

* Whenever Susie is the butt of Calvin's pranks, she immediately strikes back hard (even if he fails to land a hit) which [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale the strip doesn't ever acknowledge as wrong]] and [[KarmaHoudini she never gets punished nor feels any remorse for it]]. Considering this is his way of expressing his feelings for her, it's hard not to imagine that should the two ever develop a relationship in the future, [[DomesticAbuse she'd regularly cause him pain at the smallest provocation and he'd be left to fend for himself]].

* This bit of FridgeHorror sort of goes both ways: in the "good duplicate" arc, Susie response to Good Calvin's attempts at kindness is downright brusque, going so far as to threaten to beat him up after he tries to send her a love note. [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane If we're to assume that he didn't just imagine the whole thing]], it raises two possibilities. Calvin's constant teasing and attacks on Susie could be [[RageBreakingPoint pushing her past her limits]] and if Calvin actually tried to change his ways towards her, [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished she'd be intent on repaying his kindness]] ''[[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished with violence]]''.

** The comic books...[[BoringButPratical can be used for entertainment]].

* In that one story arc where Calvin interferes with a test by [[PaperThinDisguise disguising himself as Stupendous Man]], he returns to class hoping to convince Miss Wormwood he had gone for a drink of water... only for the very next strip to focus on Susie while various banging and scraping noises are heard and Calvin is frantically screaming. Just ''what'' is she doing to make all that racket? Is she ''actually'' [[WouldHurtAChild doing something to hurt Calvin]]?
** No, she's clearly dragging him to the principals office for his distruptive behavior and Calvin is clinging to the benches and chairs. This was the 90's, Wormwood would have been fired so fast the spots on her dress flew off if she actually physically hit her students. Also, Susie would have reacted with horror if her ''teacher'' suddenly assaulted a student.

* In the [[TearJerker/CalvinAndHobbes baseball arc]], Calvin gets [[KidsAreCruel harshly bullied by the kids]] [[AdultsAreUseless and the coach not only neglects to stop it]] [[KickTheDog but flat out calls him a "quitter"]]. ValuesDissonance aside, if he told his parents, they'd likely respond with apathy and/or his father would [[CatchPhrase once again tell him]] [[MiseryBuildsCharacter "it builds character"]]. Even then, Calvin has a characteristic distrust of authority anyway, so all things considered, it's no surprise he didn't bother to report this to anyone else.

* An example occurs in canon, when Calvin and Hobbes are eating breakfast. Note that it doesn't make much sense, as someone could have simply observed a baby cow nursing from its mother, noticed that babies drink their mothers' milk, and realized that humans could drink cow milk too. Also can double as GettingCrapPastTheRadar.

-->'''Calvin:'''This whole Santa Claus thing just doesn't make sense. Why all the secrecy? Why all the mystery? If the guy exists why doesn't he ever show himself and prove it? And if he doesn't exist what's the meaning of all this?\\
'''Hobbes:'''I dunno. Isn't this a religious holiday?\\
'''Calvin:'''Yeah, but actually, I've got the same questions about God.

* Remember that arc where Calvin's house was robbed while his family was away? One wonders why it concluded simply with Calvin griping to Hobbes about how their television was stolen, instead of the happier ending where [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Calvin's Mom goes to sleep understanding the family is safe and that's all that matters]]. Then it occurs: (A) this is "Calvin and Hobbes", so it's rather their story and (B) In a way, it ''is'' a happy conclusion to the arc. As long as Calvin has something to complain about, things are [[ExactWords back to normal]] and all's right with the world once more.

* In a 1990 Sunday strip, Hobbes presents Calvin with a hypothetical question as to what he'd do if he had only the remainder of the day to live. Judging by the DeathGlare he gives Calvin as well as emphatically pointing out he could easily avoid that fate, that raises the question: what would Hobbes have done if Calvin ''wasn't'' intimidated into dropping his intent to splash him with a water balloon?

* So Calvin's only real friend is Hobbes, who will go beyond playful mockery and into [[TheBully downright]] ''[[TheBully vicious]]'' [[TheBully bullying]] (often ''without'' provocation). Granted, Hobbes is a tiger, but with the interpretation that Calvin perceives him to be a living, breathing and talking friend when he's otherwise a loner at the mercy of a cruel world... could Calvin have budding tendencies towards ''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything self-harm]]'' if he imagines a friend who will go back and forth between cuddling and openly abusing him without any sort of consequence as his "solace" after dealing with people who either struggle to deal with/outright antagonize him?

* In a 1990 Sunday strip, Hobbes presents Calvin with a hypothetical question as to what he'd do if he had only the remainder of the day to live. Judging by the DeathGlare he gives Calvin as well as emphatically pointing out he could easily avoid that fate, that raises the question: would Hobbes consciously ''[[WouldHurtAChild murder]]'' [[WithFriendsLikeThese his only friend]] [[DisproportionateRetribution if set off by something as small as a water balloon]]?

** In the story where Calvin was in the class play about nutrition, he told his mom that he'd be playing "a great dramatic role" that would leave the audience ''in tears''. He was playing ''an onion''. I only just realized the hidden joke there... Bravo to Mr. Watterson, especially if it was intentional.