Role Reversal
From Walkypedia!
| "Role Reversal" |
| Strip: It's Walky! |
| Start Date: August 25, 2003 |
| End Date: September 14, 2003 |
Role Reversal deals with the aftermath of the previous story arc and the introduction of Robin into Squad 128. There are 3 major subplots: Joyce learns some backstory involving Walky and Sal, Robin annoying the hell out of the rest of the squad, and then Walky and Joyce talk about their relationship and recovery from the JFO invasion. It is the first storyline in "The Alpha of the Omega" story arc.
Contents |
Story
Robin Joins 128/Backstory
Big Boss updates the only able-bodied members of 128 (Walky and Joyce) on the status of Squad 135's mission in London, reporting that "nothing happened...at all." Both Walky and Linda find this suspicious, but they move back to 128. Linda declares that Walky is still in charge (much to the surprise of both Walky and Joyce), and that Mike will be swapped to Squad 82 for Robin. Robin finds that Walky's taste in fashion is out-of-style and takes him to go buy some clothes, all in a matter of about 30 seconds thanks to her abductee power.
This gives Joyce some 1-on-1 time with Big Boss. Joyce is nervous that nothing is being done to punish Walky for his actions towards Mike, to which Linda replies that "He must learn to [lead]. There are even bigger things at stake here than my reputation. Or his state of mind." Linda then tells Joyce about how Walky and Sal were separated at birth so that Sal could act as a decoy "because the boy was the more dangerous of the two." She goes on to say that she tried to keep Walky innocent for as long as possible and that she believes with Robin, 128 is the best squad possible. (She also says that Tony is a "ticking time bomb".) Joyce asks here if this is about the Martians. Linda explains that everyone (SEMME, the Head Alien, and The Cheese) knows they are coming back and that they must be prepared.
Robin Annoys 128
Meanwhile, Robin and Walky are at a local store. Robin explains she's nervous to join "the best squad there is" and Walky gets a new hoodie to get out of there as Robin criticizes his hair.
Back at the SEMME apartments, Joe walks in to his room to find that Mike has been replaced by Robin. Joe shrugs it off as a hallucination from the aftereffects of the mindwipe and goes to sleep. The next morning, after eating his Cocoa Puffs out of the box, Robin gets a death grip on Joe's hand with her mouth and asks Walky for an explanation. Robin then tries to help Joyce fix her computer, but isn't much help as she mistakes Windows XP for a RPG.
Tony and the rest of the squad confront Walky to do something about Robin, figuring that Walky is an expert of in the field of goofy, annoying people. They formulate a plan that if Walky is sugared up enough, he can get sufficiently zany to settle Robin down. Robin walks up on them about to put the plan into execution, insulted that they wouldn't just ask her to settle down and decidedly less excited about joining 128. An awkward silence falls over the room, but then Joyce tosses a candy bar to distract Robin. Walky wonders what the rest of her squad must've been like. We then see that they're visiting Mike in the hospital and welcoming him to their "ring of magical frienship."
Walky and Joyce
Walky walks into his room to find Joyce praying for hope and that Walky would lift up his shirt. One tickle attack later, they decide that they're back to "normal". Joyce says that he needs to talk to Mike, to which Walky says he needs to talk to Tony as well. Joyce asks why, and he reveals that he was the one who dropped Sal's parents on Big Boss. Walky decides to go take care of things, and he leaves. Joyce sobs afterwards.
Walky then goes to visit Mike and since Mike isn't capable of talking, he launches into a monologue about his newfound responsibilities and how he doesn't want them. He also takes some time to angst and apologize about Dina. Before he leaves, he uses a marker to draw Mike's usual expression onto his cast, as per Mike's request.
| Previous storyline | This storyline | Next storyline |
|---|---|---|
| By Any Other Name | Role Reversal | Supply and Demand |
