Line #48 Webcomic/Ratfist


1	[[quoteright:651:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ratfist.jpg]]
2
3	''[[http://ratfist.com/ Ratfist]]'' is a webcomic by Creator/DougTenNapel, about a superhero who begins to find his name a little more appropriate than he would like.
4
5	The comic starts with the eponymous superhero going on "one last mission" with his sidekick Milt, who is an actual rat. He investigates a lab, wherein he finds a Tiki key that he's sure is important. Also, a rat bites him and disappears into his hand. One short altercation with a (literally) dog-faced security guard later, he absconds with the key and rushes off to his dinner date with his girlfriend Gina, to whom he plans to propose.
6
7	The dinner does not go as planned. He undergoes a physical transformation into a human/rat hybrid, which is very unfortunate considering Gina is deathly afraid of rats. He shoves a menu in her face and spills wine on her blouse, then leaves without a trace.
8
9	Thus is the origin of Ratfist.
10
11	The comic is professionally drawn, and the creator's trademark oddball humor is in full force. It ended at 150 strips on August 5, 2011.
12	----
13
14	!!This webcomic contains the following tropes:
15
16	* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Space Tiki]]. So much so that you don't even realize it until he reveals that he [[spoiler:invented cancer]].
17	* AntiHero: Judging by some of the ''other'' things the tail has to say about Ricky's subconscious.
18	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The dog-faced security guard does this:
19	-->''"You're trespassing, under arrest, and speak with an effeminate demeanor."''
20	* AuthorTract: A space-time warp causes Ratfist to end up in Doug Tennapel's home. This leads to Ratfist and Doug's daughter getting into a minor argument over religion. Considering the little girl gets the better argument, it could either be seen as Doug [[TakeThat taking a shot at atheism]] or mocking the idea of [[FlatEarthAtheist an atheist starring in a fantasy comic.]]
21	** The Fairness Council is a tyrannical, oppressive leftist organization. Creator/DougTenNapel is Republican. Make of that what you will.
22	* BadFuture: Space Tiki-enabled time travel drops Rick off in a future where an oppressive government rules over the city, Gina has cancer, and everyone Rick respects is either a member of the oppressive government [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking or is no longer an atheist]].
23	* BreakingTheFourthWall:
24	** The Space Tiki gets Ratfist out of a bad situation by swapping places with Ratfist's "pagan creator". Ratfist and the Tiki vanish, and a tall cartoonist appears in their place...
25	** Later it turns out [[spoiler:Mr. Black ended up with the pages [=TenNapel=] made after the switcheroo was reversed, which contain the entire story up until the point where he explains where he got the pages.]]
26	* TheCameo: Some characters from [=TenNapel'=] other works appear:
27	** The waiter is [[WesternAnimation/{{Catscratch}} Hovis.]]
28	** [[VideoGame/TheNeverhood Klaymen]] can be spotted on a television screen.
29	** Ratfist crosses paths with VideoGame/EarthwormJim.
30	** There is a cat character named [[ComicBook/{{Gear}} Mr. Black]].
31	** [[WesternAnimation/{{Catscratch}} Waffle]] appears as a Happy Meal toy.
32	* CatsHaveNineLives: Mr. Black certainly does.
33	* CloudCuckooLander: Ratfist himself is a bit of one, but he doesn't compare to Senator Ferrar, who wears a ''tutu'' over his suit. In later strips though, Ratfist's severed tail is the biggest [=CCL=] of them all.
34	* ContrivedClumsiness: In the first few pages, Ricky throws his wine all over Gina so she won't notice that he's turning into a rat.
35	* DidYouGetANewHaircut: Rick's friends' reaction to his transformation.
36	-->'''Rick:''' ''Look at my face!''\
37	'''Tad:''' Did you do something to your hair?\
38	'''Sheldon:''' [[SubvertedTrope ...Like put it all over your face?]]
39	* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Sheldon]].
40	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Ricky bonds his soul with his fiance, [[BodyHorror absorbs her cancer]] and leaves her body, causing his soul to disappear to wherever souls go.]]
41	* IronicEcho: "I love you more than me." The first time Ricky says it, it showcases what an oblivious narcissist he is. The second time he says it, [[spoiler:it showcases just how much his character has developed right before his HeroicSacrifice]].
42	* ManChild: Judging by some of the things the tail has to say about Ricky's subconscious.
43	* OneWordTitle: Also a ProtagonistTitle.
44	* OurMonstersAreDifferent: A talking severed rat tail whose mouth is the open wound from where it was cut off in the first place. It's probably safe to say that we're squarely in bizarre territory at this point.
45	* PhysicalGod: Space Tiki.
46	* PowerTrio: After the transformation, Ricky is the Ego, Milt is the Superego, and the Tail is the Id.
47	* ProtagonistTitle: Also a OneWordTitle.
48	* RatMen: The lab Ratfist investigates is apparently producing these. He gets turned into one himself.
49	* ShoutOut: Several to Doug's previous work and to other comics.
50	** Sheldon complains that his copy of [[WebComic/AxeCop Cop Axe]] is out of order.
51	* SpiderManSendup: The hero bumps into an {{Expy}} of Spidey, who was bitten by a radioactive saw-cutting-a-can-of-Spam-on-a-miter... so his name is Miter-Spam.
52	* SuddenDownerEnding: Well, technically [[spoiler:more bittersweet than downer, but it's still really dark and downbeat compared to what the series started out as.]]
53	* TakeThat: Ratfist punches a trio of UsefulNotes/{{furr\|yFandom}}ies on his way back to his apartment, including one in a Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog-[[{{Expy}} esque]] costume...
54	** When the mask on one of the costumes comes off, it reveals a balding middle-aged man underneath.
55	** In the midst of a [[http://ratfist.com/13-page-111/ horribly dystopic future,]] Ratfist complains that "L.A. is even ''more'' of a dump now!" (And in his commentary for the page, [=TenNapel=] calls Los Angeles a "jerk magnet.")
56	* TakeThatMe: [[http://ratfist.com/page-78/ This]] page features the characters of the comic conversing with a young girl, deriding the guy who would raise his kids in a house full of all this propaganda. And by "young girl" I mean "Doug's daughter".
57	* ThirdPersonPerson: Space Tiki
58	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Ricky loves chili so much that, should he find a fresh bowl on the ground in the middle of the sidewalk, he will eat it with barely a second thought.
59	* TransformationComic: Ricky's transformation into a human/rat hybrid.
60	* YouFightLikeACow:
61	-->'''Caleb:''' Let me show you what dog dexterity adds to the human body!\
62	'''Ratfist:''' Let me show you what human dexterity adds to your face! ''[punches Caleb]''

Context Webcomic / Ratfist