Line #11 Webcomic/TheHeroOfThreeFaces


1	->''Fanfiction but it's comic strips. Stick figures but they're triangles.''
2
3	''The Hero of Three Faces'' is a gag-a-day style webcomic by Paul Gadzikowski (''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace''). It mostly consists of one-off jokes featuring characters from film and TV series, with occasional {{Call Back}}s to earlier strips and even more occasional brief story arcs.
4
5	There are many crossovers, justified on the principle that AllStoriesAreRealSomewhere. [[Series/DoctorWho The Doctor]], whose TARDIS can travel to alternate universes, gets the lion's share of the crossovers and is usually the one expositing about the underlying mechanic. A recurring feature of the mechanic, and the basis of some of the jokes, is that TV shows and films don't always reflect precisely what "really" happened, due to being consciously or unconsciously influenced by budget restrictions, ExecutiveMeddling, MoralGuardians, and copyright issues. (For example, all the episodes of ''Series/LoisAndClark'' featuring a certain British time traveller are "really" somewhat-inaccurate reflections of the Doctor's visits to that universe.)
6
7	The webcomic's title, apart from being a nod to ''Literature/TheHeroWithAThousandFaces'', refers to the comic's minimalist art style that renders all the characters as triangles with faces, arms and feet.
8
9	It can be found [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/ here]].
10
11	!!This webcomic provides examples of:
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13	* AnachronicOrder: The strips are posted in the order in which gags for various properties occur. There is also a chronological archive; however, Paul's crossover rules are based on date of broadcast/release/publication, so events in the chronological archive will be in anachronic order if the original properties were. (For example, the Fourth Doctor crosses over with Luke, Leia and Han ... and the Eighth Doctor crosses over with Annakin and Padme, which is earlier in ''Franchise/StarWars'' time but later in "outside" time.)
14	* ArtEvolution: In earlier strips the characters' heads are the top third of the triangle; in later ones it's the top half. There was an experiment with giving some characters round heads that never quite worked and was abandoned.
15	* AllStoriesAreRealSomewhere
16	* CallForward: In [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/bbjw.htm a strip]] set immediately after [[Recap/StarTrekDiscoveryS2E01Brother the first episode]] of season two of ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' (and unfortunately immediately contradicted by [[Recap/StarTrekDiscoveryS2E02NewEden the second episode]]), Burnham explains to Captain Pike that Spock has been tracking the Red Angel. Pike says he wouldn't expect Spock to [[Recap/StarTrekS1E11TheMenageriePartI abandon his duty for a personal mission]].
17	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Danny Pink [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/ablx.htm suggests]] that if the management want to showcase a character who has many of the Doctor's qualities but isn't a white male, they should ask Guinan. The Doctor replies "Brilliant idea, Danny! Guinan will know just what to do!"
18	* CompositeCharacter: The Monk and the War Chief are previous incarnations of the Master. Lee from "Fugitive of the Judoon" is [[spoiler: the kid who pushed the Timeless Child off the cliff]] in "The Timeless Children", and [[spoiler: is strongly hinted to ''also'' be the Master, subjected to the same mindwipe as the Doctor]].
19	* CrossoverRelatives:
20	** [[Franchise/HarryPotter Hermione Granger]] says she has an aunt who's a vicar, and has no idea about the Wizarding World. The final panel reveals this to be [[Series/TheVicarOfDibley the Rev Geraldine Granger]].
21	** In another strip, the Doctor claims that in fiction planes where ''Series/{{MASH}}'' and ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' both happened, Sam and Dean are related to Major Charles Winchester, but the SameSurnameMeansRelated is a coincidence, since the relationship is through their mother.
22	* CureForCancer: Played for laughs. Kirk, discussing a piece of ForgottenPhlebotinum that appeared only in the first season of ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' and never in subsequent series, says that the reason it didn't catch on was that it turned out to give people who used it cancer; the punchline is that in Kirk's time cancer can be cured with a simple (but mildly annoying) series of injections.
23	* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Invoked - the Doctor can't use the TARDIS to rescue the crew of the ''[[Series/StargateUniverse Destiny]]'' or the ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager USS Voyager]]'' or the ''[[Series/GilligansIsland SS Minnow]]'' because the [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality laws of dramatic necessity]] prevent it.
24	* FixFic: Several strips are based on "what should have happened", usually just a single line or scene, or adding things that don't affect the continuity (like a character isn't really dead but is still believed to be so), but one one occasion a complete rewrite of the end of ''Series/SleepyHollow''.
25	* FrameBreak:
26	** In one strip, Giles tells the Scoobies they need to think outside the box, and Buffy takes him literally, producing a thought bubble that floats outside the frame of the panel.
27	** It's not uncommon for characters to step outside the comic strip frame to comment on themselves as fictional characters, the shows they appear in, etc.
28	** {{Lampshad\|eHanging}}ed in one ''Series/{{Angel}}'' strip which appears to be in-continuity until the punchline.
29	-->'''Angel''': ''(waving a hand outside the panel)'' Hey! Fourth-wall-breaking material always goes outside regular panel borders!
30	-->'''Wesley''': No. That could have telegraphed the gag.
31	* FullyAbsorbedFinale: [[http://arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/abls.htm This strip]] is the finale of ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'', expanding on the single-panel summary that had been all Gadzikowski had been able to include in ''Arthur King of Time and Space'' itself.
32	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: A talky strip will often have a sight gag playing out in the background, such as in [[http://arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/badw.htm this strip]], where Giles and a friend discuss Willow's progress in mastering her magic while Willow uses her magic to steal honey from a beehive and suffers the consequences.
33	* GoThroughMe: In one ''Series/DoctorWho'' strip, Ace tells an alien villain that he'll have to go through her to get to the (currently unconscious) Doctor. The villain asks what makes her think he won't. She replies that he's misunderstood: it's not that she's counting on him not to try, it's that she's confident he won't succeed.
34	* GoodAngelBadAngel: Discussed by Riker, Troi and Picard [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/bati.htm here]].
35	* GravityIsAHarshMistress: Discussed in a strip where the Doctor, Geordi and Data have a conversation about how different fiction planes have different physical laws. Data speculates that if they traveled to the plane where WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoons happen, they would also be able to do the "unwittingly walking on the thin air" trick; the Doctor takes them to that so they can try it, but insists Data go first.
36	* LactoseOverLiquor: Played with. Superman, in keeping with his squeaky-clean reputation, drinks milk -- which his BizarreAlienBiology metabolizes into alcohol. "After all, lactose and alcohol are just sugar with ideas above its station."
37	* LamePunReaction: In [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/bcah.htm this strip]], the Doctor's terrible pun causes [[Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977 Dr. Banner]] to Hulk out and chase him.
38	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In the strip depicting the Doctor's first meeting with Samantha Stephens of ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', the joke is based on the fact that it's impossible to depict Samantha's trademark nose wiggle in the strip's minimalist art style (no noses).
39	* LiteralMetaphor: In [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/bbxg.htm one strip]], Kirk and the Doctor are imprisoned in a gray-walled chamber with no apparent exits. The Doctor remarks that there's a silver lining, Kirk says "Finally, some good news", and the Doctor clarifies that there isn't any good news, he was just making an observation about the composition of the walls.
40	* MeaningfulEcho: The strip for the ''Series/SleepyHollow'' season 1 cliffhanger has word-for-word the same dialogue as the strip for the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' season 3 cliffhanger, highlighting the similarities between the cliffhangers themselves.
41	* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover
42	* MediumAwareness: When the Doctor explains to Radar O'Reilly that ''Series/{{MASH}}'' has a LaughTrack, he's relieved to finally know where that's coming from.
43	* MetaphorIsMyMiddleName: [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/bdfe.htm This]] strip explains the headstone Gary Mitchell creates in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E3WhereNoManHasGoneBefore Where No Man Has Gone Before]]" reading "James R. Kirk" by saying that whenever Gary is mad at Jim, he says his middle name is "Regulations".
44	* MutuallyFictional: InUniverse ''Series/DoctorWho'' is a TV show to Jim Kirk, but ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' is a TV show to the Doctor, and so on.
45	* MythologyGag: One strip has Nebula from the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse and Rip Hunter from ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' in a bar commiserating about having their destinies meddled with by forces beyond their control. Left unspoken is that have another thing in common, being played respectively by Creator/KarenGillan and Creator/ArthurDarvill, who starred together on ''Series/DoctorWho''.
46	* NeverHeardThatOneBefore:
47	** In a ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'' strip, Darrin and Samantha are in trouble because another witch has transformed Samantha into a shape with no nose, preventing her from doing the nose-wiggle that activates her magic. On top of which, everybody Darrin asks for help immediately succumbs to the temptation to ask, "No nose? How does she smell?"
48	** Several strips end with the AuthorCatchPhrase "[[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/bbko.htm Everyone thinks he's the first]]".
49	* NoFourthWall: In the frame-breaking sequences. Also, even within the setting, most of the characters know they're "fictional" ''somewhere'' and can comment on that.
50	** [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/baae.htm Buffy has deduced]] that not only is she fictional, she's currently appearing in fanfiction written by somebody with a fondness for crossovers.
51	** In [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/03091700.htm this strip]], River Tam is a FourthWallObserver.
52	* OnceMoreWithClarity: In [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/ablz.htm this strip]] it's totally unclear what's causing Guinan's confusion in her conversation with Captain April. [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/abmb.htm This strip]] shows that her RippleEffectProofMemory is struggling with the events of ''Film/StarTrek2009''.
53	* PstandardPsychicPstance: Lampshaded in a strip featuring Professor X. "Why do you always have to put your hand there for telepathy? Is that where the on-switch is?"
54	* RaceLift: Some "presumed white by default" characters from non-visual media aren't, notably Literature/HarryPotter, Hermione Granger, and [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Sam Vimes]].
55	* {{Scandalgate}}: Discussed in one strip. The Doctor claims that humanity will eventually get over it after having to deal with a scandal that simultaneously involves some alligators, an unlocked gate, and misbehaving employees of the company that makes Gatorade.
56	* ShowWithinAShow: Before the MutuallyFictional concept was established, characters were fans of ''King Arthur in Time and Space'' and related "imaginary screen canon" from Paul's search-and-replaced fanfic that eventually became the inspiration for ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace''. This includes the "strangely familiar" variant, [[http://members.iglou.com/scarfman/02051300.htm one strip]] shows the Scoobies watch ''St Pudentiana the Fairy Bane'', the KAITAS ''Buffy'' analogy.
57	* StealthPun: In one strip, one of the Doctor's companions asks how Rockaway, New Jersey, came to have its name, prompting a FlashBack to the borough's founder asking a younger Doctor what happened to the interesting rock he'd been planning to use as naming inspiration. The strip ends immediately after that, without explicitly stating that the Doctor had thrown the rock away.
58	* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: A variation in [[http://arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/abnd.htm in this strip]], with the Doctor speaking through a communicator with no earpiece, and correctly predicting what the person at the other end will say.

Context Webcomic / TheHeroOfThreeFaces