2010-08-28
Explanation
This comic plays on the idea of a "Pap Smear Ninja." A woman with red hair and glasses is shown sitting on an examination table in what appears to be a doctor's office. She waits, looking bored or anxious. Suddenly, something dark streaks across the panels -- motion lines indicate something moving at incredible speed. The woman says "What the-" and then looks down to find a note pinned to her shirt reading "Results: Normal." The final panel reveals the title card: "PAP SMEAR NINJA!" -- complete with a ninja mask logo.
The joke imagines a ninja who performs gynecological screening exams with such speed and stealth that the patient barely notices. It takes the mundane, uncomfortable reality of a routine medical procedure and reimagines it as something performed with superhero-like efficiency. The absurdity of combining the clinical world of medical testing with the action-movie world of ninjutsu is the core of the humor -- the woman gets her results instantly without even realizing the exam happened, which is a fantasy anyone who has dreaded a medical appointment can appreciate.
The votey panel shows the ninja in silhouette saying, "No... you may not know my name." This adds to the mystique of the Pap Smear Ninja as a shadowy, anonymous figure who performs this essential health service and then vanishes without a trace, treating patient confidentiality with the same seriousness as a covert operative.