2013-09-27
Explanation
In this comic, a group of characters (who appear to be scheming villains or perhaps a militaristic organization) are discussing their plans to place missile bases at Lagrange points in space. Someone objects that points 2 and 3 are unstable, to which the leader responds ominously: "All the more reason for the United Nations to fear us." Then someone bursts in to report that the engineers are holding a peace rally.
Lagrange points are five positions in orbital mechanics where a small object can maintain a stable position relative to two larger orbiting bodies (such as the Earth and Sun). L1, L2, and L3 are indeed unstable equilibrium points, meaning objects placed there will drift away without active station-keeping. L4 and L5 are stable. The joke is that putting weapons at unstable Lagrange points is not actually threatening -- it is just bad engineering. But the villains interpret the instability as making their bases more frightening rather than recognizing it as a fundamental flaw in their plan.
The additional twist is that their own engineers are holding a peace rally, suggesting that the scientifically literate members of the organization want no part of this absurd scheme. The votey panel shows a diagram of the five Lagrange points arranged to look like a peace sign, with the caption "See because it looks like a peace sign" -- a visual gag connecting the orbital mechanics diagram to the engineers''' peace rally.