2010-08-16
Explanation
This single-panel comic shows a couple in what appears to be a car or tent. The man is telling the woman "I think it's time we took our relationship to the next level. The physical lev--" when he suddenly notices something (a red dot on his forehead, like a laser pointer) and panics: "OH MY GOD I SWEAR I WASN'T GONNA TOUCH HER!" The caption reads: "The most useful tool in parenting is the laser pointer."
The joke is that one of their parents is using a laser pointer -- like a sniper's targeting sight -- to monitor and intimidate the boyfriend from a distance. The red dot on his forehead makes him think he is being targeted, immediately causing him to abandon any physical advances. It plays on the trope of overprotective parents (especially fathers) threatening their daughter's boyfriends, but updates the concept with a hilariously passive-aggressive surveillance tool.
The votey panel extends the joke by showing a man with a caption that reads "2nd best tool: defused grenade," with the sound effect "tink tink tink" as what appears to be a grenade rolls toward the couple. Even though the grenade is defused (harmless), the implied threat would be just as effective at scaring the boyfriend. The escalation from laser pointer to grenade makes the parental overprotectiveness even more absurd.