2011-11-02
Explanation
This comic portrays sperm cells as a military unit on a mission, presented like a war movie scenario. A commanding sperm (the "Sarge") rallies his troops with "Hurry up, men! There'''s no time to spare!" They receive reports about acidity levels being decreased (referencing how the female reproductive tract'''s acidity is hostile to sperm) and suffer heavy casualties along the way. The military metaphor is played straight, with dialogue like "How many did we lose?" "You don'''t want to know."
The squad finally reaches their destination, only to discover that the egg is not there. Panic sets in as they realize "It'''s a trap! There'''s nothing here! It'''s all nothing!" and one sperm cries out "Oh God, what have I done?!" The dramatic twist is that this was all for nothing -- there is no egg to fertilize.
The final panel cuts to "Meanwhile..." showing an older man relaxing and thinking "God bless you, menopause." The punchline reveals that this epic, doomed military mission was the result of an older couple having sex where pregnancy is no longer possible, making the sperm'''s dramatic journey entirely pointless. The votey panel shows a sad face with an arrow labeled "Your face right now," acknowledging the reader'''s likely grimace at the entire premise. The comic works by taking the inherently absurd biological reality of reproduction and framing it through the lens of a tragic war film.