Through Jules Rivera, Tad Crass is using the pro-wrestling gimmick of “tag-team boxing” to provide an excuse to wash his dirty laundry in public and go after Mark Trail. Since Tad invited Mark to participate in these Olympics, we’d have to conclude that he also knew Mark would snoop around in his real estate scheme. That could explain how Tad’s security team found Mark and Cliff so quickly. Still, it begs the question of why he invited Mark to come at all? Perhaps it’s a weakness of amateur villains that they often invite their nemesis to the intended scene of the crime, just to gloat…before getting taken down by the Good Guy.

So, Tad’s Plan A—using the two Security Dudes to sideline Mark—has failed. Now it’s time for Plan B: Using the Grungey Boys to humiliate Mark in public. “Surely, this time it will work!”  I think we’d all like to see that happen once in a while. You know, for the sake of “reality.”

Speaking of the Grungey Boys, can we ignore Connor’s high school trashing of English grammar? More largely, I think we are witnessing Connor’s growing confidence and arrogance, compared to his earlier days when he was just a naïve, inexperienced, and quick-tempered jerk (“<Sniff!> How quickly our little boy has grown up!”). Just as surprising, Honest Ernest seems happy to let him take the spotlight, which is also noteworthy.

Art Dept. What’s with Tad’s mouth in panel 4? Can’t say I’ve seen anything like that. It doesn’t even look human. Could Tad Crass be an alien from the secret planet, Tralfamadore?