Revealing the MitD

[Hatchet]

There are tons of threads about the MitD's identity. Let's face it, that discussion didn't get us anywhere. There are very few hard facts to work with, and a whole lot of speculation.

In this thread let's not speculate about what the Monster will turn out to be. Let's speculate about WHEN and WHY will he be revealed.

Since in this respect there are absolutely zero facts to consider, feel free to just throw in your personal opinion.

My version: it will have some connection to the Monster and O-Chul meeting once again. Maybe Xykon will try to kill him once again, and the Monster will come to the rescue.

Location: Kraagor's Gate. After all, that's where O-Chul is at :smalltongue: Also, you know that Girard's Gate is bound to be destroyed, only to have a really climactic battle over the last gate remaining. (on an unrelated note, I believe the Monster originally escaped from Kraagor's gate. It's supposed to be filled with uber-powerful monsters, right? :smallsmile: )

[DBJack]

I think that there are one of three possibilities with what we know now. The MiTD is either going to be revealed by Xykon in a dramatic speech, or two, reveal itself to save presumably O-Chul, or three (SOD spoilers)
The MiTD has to come from the darkness to eat Redcloak when Redcloak betrays Xykon

I think that it's more likely that the MiTD is going to leave the darkness just as Xykon gets ready to announce the MiTD's presence for a humor effect, or that third option. THe MiTD is probably not going to be out of the darkness for more than a few strips, so in those strips it must interact with O-Chul, have an outcome on that battle, and fufill the chekov's gun of Xykon's anti-betrayal tactics. It'll all go down at Kraagor's gate.

[V Junior]

Hmm, I like your arguments. I have a theory, though; RC betrays Xykon when he has another "What Have I Done?" moment. This activates the spell that Xykon cast on the MitD in SoD; the one that said: "And if Redcloak ever tries to betray me you will swallow him whole and spit out that gold shiney thing he wears around his neck" (or something like that anyway). So we have RC being attacked by the MitD, and the Order respecting him for standing up to Xykon and therefore protecting him.

Of course they have a hard time agaisnt the Monster and soon realise that they can't win. Someone theorises that it has no strength without the darkness and they come up with a way to make the darkness disappear. They do it, and we see the MitD.

Well, there's my two yen, anyway.

EDIT: Darn, DBJack beat me to it. At least I know I'm not alone!

[ThePhantasm]

I like the concept that the MITD is originally from Kraagor's gate. That would be cool if it actually turns out to be true.

[npc revolution]

the beast is Kraagor!!!

[waterpenguin43]

the beast is Kraagor!!!

Yep, I bet a dwarven barbarian grew up in a jungle. After all, it was only STATED that Kraagor grew up in the icy cold mountains that are the dwarven lands, right?:smallamused:

[Ubergeek]

the beast is Kraagor!!!

This?

Actually makes a little bit of sense.

[Mordokai]

Glad to see I'm not the only one to think so.

[i6uuaq]

Hehe. How's this for a scenario.

The OotS turn up at Kraagor's gate and finally manage to turn the tables on Xykon. Xykon turn's to his secret weapon, the MitD, and starts making his big speech. Then he gets whupped by Roy, and the last panel of the comic is the MitD asking, "um... so can I come out now?"

[Linkavitch]

Hehe. How's this for a scenario.

The OotS turn up at Kraagor's gate and finally manage to turn the tables on Xykon. Xykon turn's to his secret weapon, the MitD, and starts making his big speech. Then he gets whupped by Roy, and the last panel of the comic is the MitD asking, "um... so can I come out now?"

Oh. My. Word. That would be the perfect thing for Rich to do. (Prays that Rich never reads this thread.)

[The Recreator]

Oh. My. Word. That would be the perfect thing for Rich to do. (Prays that Rich never reads this thread.)Yep, it certainly was the perfect thing for Rich to do. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0114.html)

[Acero]

I like the concept that the MITD is originally from Kraagor's gate.

except that it was born and raised with its family (at least its father. what happened to the parents when RC came along, i dont know) in the rainforest.

[Shale]

Yep, it certainly was the perfect thing for Rich to do. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0114.html)

I think the joke is that, however many hundreds of strips later, it happens again.

[Assassin]

pay no attention to this post; it is merely a test to inspect my avatar.

[Jolee]

While I don't personally believe this myself, the FAQ does say that Rich "already know[s] what the last panel of the last comic will be", so it is possible that the MitD's reveal will end up as the final joke of the comic. And I'm sure Rich could pull it off brilliantly if he did.

Link: http://www.giantitp.com/FAQ.html#faq27

[NerfTW]

pay no attention to this post; it is merely a test to inspect my avatar.

You can see that in any post you've already made, or by using the "preview post" button, without randomly spamming a thread.


While I don't personally believe this myself, the FAQ does say that Rich "already know[s] what the last panel of the last comic will be", so it is possible that the MitD's reveal will end up as the final joke of the comic. And I'm sure Rich could pull it off brilliantly if he did.

Link: http://www.giantitp.com/FAQ.html#faq27

That would be horribly anti-climatic. He has to be revealed at some point in the story itself, or what was the point of ever having him there in the first place. There's clever, and then there's a big middle finger to the audience.

[i6uuaq]

That would be horribly anti-climatic. He has to be revealed at some point in the story itself, or what was the point of ever having him there in the first place. There's clever, and then there's a big middle finger to the audience.

Yeah, I know. :smallbiggrin: Seeing as Rich has already said that he knows exactly what the MitD is, and the feverish speculation over it's identity, the least Rich could do is put an end to the insanity by revealing what it actually is.

On the other hand, it's added quite abit to the story without having been revealed yet. It's quite possible for the MitD to participate in the final battle without a reveal, e.g. the "fight" with Miko, Belkar, etc. So the character development of the MitD need not be wasted, even without a reveal.

Furthermore, with the intensity of the discussion over the MitD's identity, whatever it finally gets revealed as is bound to disappoint some people. In fact, you'll probably get 15 threads complaining about how the MitD's identity is inconsistent with this-and-this plot point etc. It may in fact be in the Giant's favour to never reveal the MitD. The plot is awesome enough as it is to satisfy the audience without it.

[factotum]

This?

Actually makes a little bit of sense.

Really? I wasn't aware dwarven barbarians could teleport people just by wishing really hard, or that they were strong enough to cause earthquakes simply by stomping. Or, for that matter, that their fathers were much bigger than they were!

[Crafty Cultist]

O-chul hasn't been shown to have a paladin mount yet.

Maybe MitD can fill the role

[hamishspence]

The Giant did state in War & XPs that it would be revealed, but it would be near the end of the comic.

But not necessarily at the end.

[Nerdanel]

I also think the MitD will be revealed sometime at Kraagor's gate.

The following is speculation on how the scene might play out:

:xykon: You have no chance when I have THIS at my side!

The entire OOTS sees the MitD and is visibly terrified.

OOTS: AAAGH!

:mitd: Order of the Stick, I shall feast on your broken... what was that line again? Sandwiches? I'd like to feast on some sandwiches. Do you happen to have any?

The MitD is revealed to look like a big, vaguely menacing TEDDY BEAR.

(Break between comics goes here.)

:elan: Augh, a teddy bear! How did Xykon know I was afraid of teddy bears?

:durkon: Oh horrors, a great big horrible tree!

:vaarsuvius: Inkyrius! But why are you looking like that? Don't tell me you...

:haley: What are you talking about? The monster is clearly a...

(The MitD turns out to be a dream larva.)

[chiasaur11]

I think the joke is that, however many hundreds of strips later, it happens again.

Sounds more like Brian Clevinger than Rich, really.

[drengnikrafe]

When he said near the end of the comic, he meant after it was over. That's still near, right? It'll be written down on a pad somewhere in his house, and we'll never see it.

What? That's my theory. MitD will never be revealed. Kind of lame, yes, but not unreasonable.

[Allan Surgite]

Really? I wasn't aware dwarven barbarians could teleport people just by wishing really hard, or that they were strong enough to cause earthquakes simply by stomping. Or, for that matter, that their fathers were much bigger than they were!
I wasn't aware that chaotic tangles in the order of everything could have children, who could teleport people by using a Wish SLA, or cause earthquakes, or etc.

So, yeah. Guess which theory I'm not a fan of, as Kraagor as the MitD makes more sense then BABY SNARL AWWW as the MitD.

[Nimrod's Son]

When he said near the end of the comic, he meant after it was over. That's still near, right? It'll be written down on a pad somewhere in his house, and we'll never see it.

What? That's my theory. MitD will never be revealed. Kind of lame, yes, but not unreasonable.
Sounds pretty unreasonable to me. Here are his exact words again:


I think the single most frequently-asked question I have gotten at conventions is, "When will we see what the Monster in the Darkness is?" Followed closely by simply, "What is the Monster in the Darkness?" So, just so everyone is clear: I know exactly what the Monster in the Darkness is. I have (almost) always known. Its first two or three appearances were before I had worked out much of the plot's details, so at that point, I just figured it was a mystery that I would never answer. Once I started developing the real story that I was telling, around strip #100, I figured out what the monster really was and have been dropping hints ever since. (Note that nothing from before strip #100 actually contradicts the truth of what it is, either.) I now know exactly when and why the monster will reveal itself, too... don't expect it any time soon, though. Sorry. There's a lot of story left, and that little tidbit will need to wait to close to the end.

I will say this much: It is possible to guess.

That is, it isn't something I just made up for the story. It wouldn't be any fun for the answer to a mystery to be something I invented just for this one purpose, would it? I won't finally throw back the darkness and have someone say, "Look! It was a therblewurkersaurus the entire time!" or some other made-up monster.

I realize that the line between something I made up and something someone else made up is a pretty fine one, but I trust that someone will figure it out eventually.
Doesn't really sound like the words of a man who has no intention of revealing the monster, does it?


I wasn't aware that chaotic tangles in the order of everything could have children, who could teleport people by using a Wish SLA, or cause earthquakes, or etc.

So, yeah. Guess which theory I'm not a fan of, as Kraagor as the MitD makes more sense then BABY SNARL AWWW as the MitD.
By the same token, "Samuel L. Jackson is the Pope" makes marginally more sense than "Buzz Lightyear is the Pope", but they're both ludicrous statements that don't stand up to close scrutiny. :smalltongue:

[drengnikrafe]

See, now, that is something I never read. It's always been my opinion that when you build something up a lot, when you reveal it it will be a disappointment. I mean, yeah, it could be something that is truly epic and everyone is happy with it, but it's so easy to mess it up. So, barring the knowledge that Rich was going to reveal it eventually, all I had to go on was rationality in a general sense.
However, given this update (to me), I can see that it will come about. It doesn't change the fact my hopes for it are pretty meh. No offense to Rich. I just don't want to be disappointed.

[itaibn]

If revealing the MitD is going to happen in the last panel, I suspect it will happen parallel to some discussion with V, which ends (in the last panel) with V giving a straight answer to what hir gender is.

[Nekomata]

the beast is Kraagor!!!
This?

Actually makes a little bit of sense.
You mean... Kraagor decided to play an epic level Xanatos roulette (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/XanatosRoulette) to protect his gate. His final gambit is getting polymorphed into some sort of magic beast (or something like that, perhaps it's his sould "posessing" the body of the beast), and then implanted false memories of the beasts childhood (possibly to prevent things like sense motive or any of the mind-reading spells from discerning his true purpose) (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MemoryGambit).

This is actually made easier in a world where accurate prophecies are possible (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ScryVsScry). He could just ask some oracle "How can I protect my gate?" and get "Turn into a monster, and pretend to team up with Xykon." as an answer.

Of course, he has contingencies, so when Xykon & co. reach the gate, they'll kick in, perhaps he'll get his memories back, we'll be treated to a flashback explaining his plans and motivations.

The last panel will be the monster stepping out of the darkness, exclaiming "Keikaku doori!"

[Brendan]

It cannot be Kraagor. different speech patterns.

[DukeGod]

he won't get out of darkness "in panel"(at least not at first,maybe in a flashback),he will just look like some random monsters/whatever it is and we find out later that HE is the MitD,like he sees O-Chul while fighting the Order and then there is the whole dramatic thing

[Itous]

has anyone concisdered the MiTD might be a shadow dragon? and not a black dragon.

it would make sense, if you look at the first couple of pannels it was in it had the same eye shape as a normal dragon and from where the speach was in relation to the eyes i could assume its head was shaped like a dragon, it was in this time the MiTD had the personality change

thoughts and views?

[Kulture]

By similiar reasoning he could be a dracolich with a permanancied deeper darkness and Ebon eyes.

We can speculate all we wish, but at the end of it all Rich knows, and so will we, in time.

[Kish]

has anyone concisdered the MiTD might be a shadow dragon? and not a black dragon.

it would make sense, if you look at the first couple of pannels it was in it had the same eye shape as a normal dragon and from where the speach was in relation to the eyes i could assume its head was shaped like a dragon, it was in this time the MiTD had the personality change

thoughts and views?
Prismatic dragon is more likely, still, I think. Shadow dragons are generally not epic, especially when young.

[BishFish]

the monster is xykon's joke. it was the only reason he agreed to go with redcloak.

[Berserk Monk]

I think we're actually gonna see another one of he MitD's kind at Kraagor's Gate and it might be revealed then.

[lothos]

I think we're actually gonna see another one of he MitD's kind at Kraagor's Gate and it might be revealed then.

That's my theory too (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5772875#post5772875).