destiny-2
Explanation
This comic shows an old wizard-like figure presenting a young hero with the "Sword of Destiny," saying: "Yes, my boy. Take it. Go to battle now, with the Sword of Destiny."
The caption delivers the punchline: "Sadly, the guy with the sword of destiny was later killed by the guy with gun of destiny."
The joke is a simple but effective deconstruction of fantasy tropes. In countless fantasy stories, a hero receives a legendary melee weapon -- a magical sword, axe, or hammer -- and uses it to fulfill a grand prophecy. The comic points out the obvious practical problem: no matter how "destined" or magical a sword might be, it's still a sword, and a gun beats a sword. The "gun of destiny" is funny because it applies the same grandiose fantasy naming convention to a mundane modern weapon, highlighting how absurd it is that fantasy heroes are always given bladed weapons when far more effective ranged weapons exist. It's a joke about technological progress rendering romantic heroism obsolete -- destiny doesn't matter much when the other guy can kill you from 100 meters away.