Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Prophet

2021-10-10 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
Prophet
Votey panel for Prophet
This explanation is incomplete or may contain errors. It was generated by AI and has not yet been reviewed by a human editor.

Explanation

A robed figure stands atop a mountain, lamenting: "I'm sick of being a prophet. I don't want to tell people how to live. One day I'll just select some kid, no special birth or anything, to go have fun and maybe be a princess."

Another figure wonders: "I wonder if we could give our prophet a more remunerative position..."

Below, an angel appears before a farmer saying: "You! You have a special destiny. Go to the chosen one atop the mountain." But the farmer protests: "Wait, no! I'm just a lowly farmer. I could never--" The angel cuts him off: "You will go off to store-brand Moses up there and you will LIKE IT."

The comic inverts the classic "chosen one" trope found in religious narratives and fantasy stories. Normally, the prophet is reluctant but the chosen hero is eager (or at least willing). Here, the prophet is the one who's burnt out and wants to quit, while an unwilling farmer is being forced into the role of follower. The joke plays on the idea that these grand mythological narratives might actually be driven by bureaucratic convenience rather than divine purpose. The term "store-brand Moses" is a particularly sharp bit of humor, reducing the entire prophetic tradition to a discount-bin knockoff.

View History (1) Original Comic
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