History Webcomic / Concerned

* ExpospeakGag: A rebel successfully talks Frohman into not taking the airboat, in favor of "the latest development in occupant-propelled open-air semi-buoyant watercraft," with complimentary "client-enabled moisture-resistant watercraft-propulsion device." The former is a rickety old rowboat, the latter is a shovel being used as an oar.

* ShovelStrike: Frohman's trusty shovel, though the only thing he really strikes with it is a chopper mine he mistakes for a supply drop. [[spoiler:It comes in again almost at the end, where after falling out of the Citadel, the last of his hitpoints are drained by getting hit by his own shovel.]]

* SprintMeter: [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2005-06-22 Lampshaded]] along with the TenSecondFlashlight.

'''Barney:''' Wow! Sorry I doubted you, Gordon!\\

** The entire ''VideoGame/CounterStrike'' arc is one giant one at CS:S and its players - who, ironically, [[MisaimedFandom were among the arc's biggest fans]].

'''Frohman:''' [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne For the record]], I'm only ''ankle'' deep.

* TranquilFury. "[[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-07-12 [Freeman]'s got. My. Gravity. Gun.]]"

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: The rebel Clay introduces himself thusly:

** Being a squadmate of Frohman's, naturally he doesn't make it long enough to do either of those things.
* ReliablyUnreliableGuns: Several pulse rifles, with both [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2005-06-20 Mr. Henderson]] and later [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-06-12 Frohman]] accidentally triggering the secondary fire and killing several people

* ShootTheMedicFirst: Tired of being shot at by both sides, Frohman attempts to adopt neutrality by dressing as a medic, figuring that the Rebels will love him for his healing skills and Combine won't shoot him due to the Geneva conventions. [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-06-23 He takes a shotgun blast to the gut almost immediately]].

'''Frohman:''' Archvile? Where? Where? Wait, an ''[[VideoGame/{{Doom}} Archvile]]''? [[BreakingTheFourthWall They aren't even in this--]] [[StealthHiBye hey, where'd you go?]]

* ShovelStrike: Frohman's trusty shovel.
* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: By virtue of [[OnlySixFaces one in every nine citizens of the city sharing their features]], Gordon asks this of his twin brother Norman regarding his birthday. Gordon, [[TheDitz being Gordon]], then decides Norman needs to ask ''him'' a question to verify he's really Gordon.

'''Norman''': No needs. [[TooDumbToLive It's definitely you]].

* StockSchtick: [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-01-04 #95]] uses the old kid's "This is a brainsucker. What is the brainsucker doing? Starving!" gag.

* NamesTheSame: [[invoked]] Not ''quite'' the same, but almost every time Frohman's last name is brought up, at least one person thinks he's claiming to be Freeman.
** Conversely, once Freeman actually does show up, the first time anyone mentions this causes someone else to think they're talking about Frohman.
** In addition, Frohman also has to tell someone else that he is ''not'' [[Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff the Sausage King of Chicago]].

** Also how his NamesTheSame (almost) as Gordon Freeman.

* TitleDrop: Frohman's a fan of Dr. Breen and writes [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2005-06-07 a long, rambling letter about dating and sex to him]], concluding with "I guess my question is this: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2yhqxyYLUQ why has the Combine seen fit to suppress our reproductive cycle? Sincerely, A Concerned Citizen.]]" He then wonders if Breen edits the letters before reading them on-air.

* TakeThat: Chris made more than one jab at ''Film/DonnieDarko'' during the comic's run, both in-comic and in the [[TheRant notes]].

* TitleDrop: Frohman's a fan of Dr. Breen and writes a rambling letter about dating and sex to him, concluding with "I guess what I'm trying to ask is, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2yhqxyYLUQ why has the Combine seen fit to suppress our reproductive cycle? Sincerely, A Concerned Citizen.]]"
* TooDumbToLive: Frohman, who [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2005-10-17 bypasses a puzzle by flinging him and his boat over an obstacle by shooting exploding barrels]], [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-04-05 nails boards to his feet to cross sandtraps without alerting antlions]], and [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2005-09-23 gets the "take pictures of you" and "chop you up with a whirling blade of death" flying drones mixed up at every turn]]. Also done with the first ''Counter-Strike'' server Frohman's accidentally launched into. And again, surviving zombification by having the headcrab starve to death on his head. He only stays alive due to [[spoiler:a cheat code.]] He even ''literally'' fulfills this trope [[spoiler:by being so dumb he turns off the code because he thinks "Buddha" is a funny word. And even that wouldn't be enough if he hadn't screwed his last chance by shooting at the Vortigaunts, who quickly give up on saving his life. Frohman dies soon after]].

** At Ravenholm, [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-01-04 Frohman was too dumb to DIE]], with the poor headcrab eventually dying of malnutrition.
** One of the notes by Livingston [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-09-07 questions]] Gordon Freeman's decision to enter a "steel coffin" for no reason.

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist[=/=]VillainProtagonist: It's easy to forget because he's such a lovable goofball, but Gordon Frohman is actively trying to be the best traitor-to-humanity he can be. He's just ''[[MinionWithAnFInEvil terrible]]'' at it.
** Though he's managed to cause just as much of a mess for the other side as well, also through sheer incompetence.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: ''Constantly'', though of particular note is the fact that Frohman [[spoiler:http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-08-04 caused the events of the original, and by extension, second Half-Life]].

* VoiceoverLetter: Frohman "voice overs" his various letters to Dr Breen (if you consider writing outside of the letter to be a voice over). He doesn't seem to realise Breen's the bad guy.

* WebcomicOfTheGame: Though according to the comic, the events of ''Half-Life 2'' are happening in Frohman's wake.
* WhatMeasureIsAMook: [[AccidentalAesop Unintentionally]] {{deconstructed|Trope}} with the [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-05-17 "Frank Tangent"]] quartet of comics. Giving a faceless mook a life, family, goals and dreams, and a sympathetic point-of-view was intended for comedy, due to "the ludicrous concept of it all". It, uh, [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes didn't really work out as expected]]. The [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-05-22 final strip of the tangent]] doubles as a MookHorrorShow.

* YourBrainWontBeMuchOfAMeal: After Gordon walks away with a headcrab on a head for the better part of a chapter, it eventually [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-01-04 falls off]], having died of malnutrition. Gordon provides a {{Lampshading}} in the background.

** Frohman actually becomes one, but survives thanks to [[spoiler:Buddha mode]], so he just waits till the headcrab dies of Malnutrition and heals himself with health packs.

*** ''And'' as the AuthorAvatar of Das Bo Schitt, the creator of ''Machinima/TheGModIdiotBox''.
*** As well as the recurring citizen in ''Machinima/CivilProtection''.

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Frohman quit his job at Black Mesa because ravenous creatures from the Xen borderworld invaded, killing nearly everyone in the complex. Soon the military arrived and they killed everyone else. [[UpToEleven Then the facility got nuked.]] "Plus, they were dicks about paying overtime."

* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: Played for laughs [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-06-12 in one strip]], which introduces Frohman's new squadmates, each of whom gives a lengthy infodump on what they'll be up to: [[NewMeat a youthful, optimistic recruit]] who [[FatalFamilyPhoto has a picture of his sweetheart whom he'll marry when the war is over]] and [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth will probably die tragically]] while [[DiedInYourArmsTonight cradled in someone's arms]]; [[TokenEvilTeammate a shifty-eyed and untrustworthy sort]] who will [[DirtyCoward abandon the group]] but then [[RedemptionEqualsDeath return and sacrifice himself]]; and a DemolitionsExpert who [[CigarFuseLighting lights fuses with cigars]] and [[UnflinchingWalk walks away from explosions without looking]] but [[WireDilemma skipped the class that teaches you the last wire to cut when defusing a bomb]]. Naturally, all of them die seconds after giving these infodumps, when Frohman [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace accidentally triggers a pulse rifle's secondary fire]].

* DumbIsGood: ...Sorta. Despite Gordon Frohman's incredible stupidity and desire to serve the Combine, his attempts to help them often end up making things better for the heroes.

** Grigori loves these so much he even puts them in a roommate-wanted ad:

* ReliablyUnreliableGuns: [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2005-06-20 Mr. Henderson's pulse rifle.]]
** [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-06-12 Frohman's, too.]]

* RunningGag: [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2005-06-24 Whenever Frohman orders in bulk,]] [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2005-11-07 he ends up ordering]] [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-05-12 far more of the item in question than needed,]] [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2005-12-14 usually 100,000.]] He blames the keys being stuck.

* DumbIsGood: ...Sorta. Despite Gordon Frohman's incredible stupidity and desire to serve the Combine, his attemptsto help them often end up making things better for the heroes.

* FatalFlaw: Gordon Frohman's flaw is his stupidity, especially when he fails to realize that people are trying to help him. [[spoiler:Because of this, he ends up refusing a rescue from some Vortigaunts after accidentally disabling his invincibility code, resulting in him bleeding to death.]]

** He later proves [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-04-03 less than adept in relaying these, though]].

* TheReasonYouSuckSpech: Norman gives one to his brother Gordon after [[UngratefulBastard Gordon complains about Norman "shoving him" to save him from danger]], showing that Gordon's too stupid to realize that Norman has been saving his life since they were children.

* CallForward: In Half-Life 2, Barney implies that when they first tested the teleporter with a cat it...didn't go well. In ''Concerned'', Kleiner tells Barney to get the cat for the test, insisting it will be fine.

* FoolishSiblingResonsibleSibling: The Frohman brothers, Gordon and Norman, respectively. Gordon is spectacularly dumb, as you can see elsewhere on this page, while Norman has often had to bail him out of trouble.

* DumbIsGood: ...Sorta.

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Norman.

* AffablyEvil: Subverted. A Elite Combine soldier sits behind a desk while he interviews Frohman for a job, with questions like [[AC:What is your ''worst'' quality?]] and [[AC:Where do you see yourself in 5 years?]] However, he's looking for answers like [[AC:That I am a disgusting, pathetic human, barely evolved from ape level]], and [[AC:In an off world combine enslavement colony, or dead.]]

* BrickJoke: In the very first comic, two members of Civil Protection comment that the train is running late. In the very last comic, the rebels comment that the train to Episode Two is running late, with one of the group commenting "again?"

* CallForward: In Half-Life 2, Barney implies that when they first tested the teleporter with a cat it...didn't go well. In ''Concerned'', Kleiner tell Barney to get the cat for the test, insisting it will be fine.

* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: Played for laughs [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-06-12 in one strip]], which introduces Frohman's new squadmates, each of whom gives a lengthy infodump on what they'll be up to: [[NewMeat a youthful, optimistic recruit]] who [[FatalFamilyPhoto has a picture of his sweetheart whom he'll marry when the war is over]] and [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth will probably die tragically]] while [[DiedInYourArmsTonight cradled in someone's arms]]; [[TokenEvilTeammate a shifty-eyed and untrustworthy sort]] who will [[DirtyCoward abandon the group]] but then [[RedemptionEqualsDeath return and sacrifice himself]]; and a DemolitionsExpert who [[CigarFuseLighting lights fuses with cigars]] and [[UnflinchingWalk walks away from explosions without looking]] but [[WireDilemma skipped the class that teaches you the last wire to cut when defusing a bomb]]. Naturally, all of them die when Frohman accidentally triggers a pulse rifle's secondary fire.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin[=/=][[WhatDidYouExpectWhenYouNamedIt What Did You Expect When I Named It _____?]]: There was a big outcry by fans when Gordon was KilledOffForReal. Christopher C. Livingston pointed out the name of the comic was ''Concerned: The Half-Life and '''''Death''''' Of Gordon Frohman''.

** The entire ''VideoGame/CounterStrike'' arc is one giant one at CS:S and its players - who, ironically, [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales were among the arc's biggest fans]].

* AbridgedArenaArray: When Frohman ends up in ''[[VideoGame/CounterStrike Counter-Strike: Source]]'', he gets stuck on de_dust for six days straight. The only reason he was able to escape back to his own game was because the map changed to cs_office and everybody else stopped playing to complain and demand that the map be changed back.

* DemotedToExtra: While Frohman quickly falls in love with Judith Mossman and a random female rebel, he casually pushes past Alyx Vance, who almost never appears for the rest of the series. Of course, when she does next appear, [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-08-09 she gets caught by the Combine]] and it's Frohman's fault. The notes for that comic make note of this, saying that Livingston had originally planned for the final panel to be reversed - Alyx in the foreground and Frohman plus captors far off in the background - but then realized that it would make no sense to do so considering Alyx's complete lack of involvement in the rest of the comic.
* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: Played for laughs [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-06-12 in one strip]], which introduces Frohman's new squadmates, each of whom gives a lengthy infodump on what they'll be up to: [[NewMeat a youthful, optimistic recruit]] who [[FatalFamilyPhoto has a picture of his sweetheart whom he'll marry when the war is over]] and [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth will probably die tragically]] [[DiedInYourArmsTonight while cradled in someone's arms]]; [[TokenEvilTeammate a shifty-eyed and untrustworthy sort]] who will [[DirtyCoward abandon the group]] but then [[RedemptionEqualsDeath return and sacrifice himself]]; and a DemolitionsExpert who [[CigarFuseLighting lights fuses with cigars]] and [[UnflinchingWalk walks away from explosions without looking]] but [[WireDilemma skipped the class that teaches you the last wire to cut when defusing a bomb]]. Naturally, all of them die when Frohman accidentally triggers a pulse rifle's secondary fire.

--->'''Frohman:''' Man. Even '''I''' know this is a bad idea.

** In addition, Frohman constantly tells people he is ''not'' [[Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff "the Sausage King of Chicago"]].
* NewAbilityAddiction: When Frohman gets hold of [[WreakingHavok the Gravity Gun]], he starts using it for everything (parodying the way a lot of players became obsessed with it). Eventually, everyone at Black Mesa East gets sick of this and takes it away. [[spoiler:This becomes a BrickJoke when it turns out that he was the one who caused it to become the dark gravity gun near the end of the game (because he tried to stop a confiscation field from deleting it).]]

** Frohman gets rebels killed by ignoring the radio cry for help, and then proceeds to broadcast their hideout to all rebels. Not only are the combine listening in, they approve of some ideas for weapons that Frohman mentions.

* OnlySixFaces: [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-07-31 Parodied here]] in reference to ''Videogame/HalfLife'', and there's even a duplicate Frohman in present-day for good measure.

* ComicallyIneptHealing: [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-06-28 When he starts impersonating a medic]], Frohman initially tries to do surgery. Despite, you know, medkits existing.

* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: Played for laughs [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-06-12 in one strip]], which introduces Frohman's new squadmates, each of whom gives a lengthy infodump on what they'll be up to: [[NewMeat a youthful, optimistic recruit]] who [[FatalFamilyPhoto has a picture of his sweetheart whom he'll marry when the war is over]] and [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth will probably die tragically]] [[DiedInYourArmsTonight while cradled in someone's arms]], [[TokenEvilTeammate a shifty-eyed and untrustworthy sort]] who will [[DirtyCoward abandon the group]] but then [[RedemptionEqualsDeath return and sacrifice himself]], and a DemolitionsExpert who [[CigarFuseLighting lights fuses with cigars]] and [[UnflinchingWalk walks away from explosions without looking]] but [[WireDilemma skipped the class that teaches you the last wire to cut when defusing a bomb]]. Naturally, all of them die when Frohman accidentally triggers a pulse rifle's secondary fire.

* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: Played for laughs [[http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/index.php?date=2006-06-12 in one strip]], which introduces Frohman's new squadmates, each of whom gives a lengthy infodump on what they'll be up to: [[NewMeat a youthful, optimistic recruit]] who [[{{Retirony}} talks a lot about what he'll do when he gets home]] and [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth will probably die tragically]] [[DiedInYourArmsTonight while cradled in someone's arms]], [[TokenEvilTeammate a shifty-eyed and untrustworthy sort]] who will [[DirtyCoward abandon the group]] but then [[RedemptionEqualsDeath return and sacrifice himself]], and a DemolitionsExpert who [[CigarFuseLighting lights fuses with cigars]] and [[UnflinchingWalk walks away from explosions without looking]] but [[WireDilemma skipped the class that teaches you the last wire to cut when defusing a bomb]]. Naturally, all of them die when Frohman accidentally triggers a pulse rifle's secondary fire.