I'm rooting for Nale

[Gift Jeraff]

I've seen him compared to Wile E. Coyote several times on this board. But we all know that the audience's sympathy is supposed to remain with the coyote, not that pesky bird.

Nale wants to free the people of the Western Continent of his father's rule so he can bring them under his own rule and prevent Xykon from taking over the world just as much as the so-called heroes.

His cruel father insults him, his idiot brother keeps foiling his schemes through sheer luck and plot, and all the while he perseveres through it all. Truly a champion for all the underdogs and foiled "villains" out there.

Nale for President 1188

[Water_Bear]

He's definitely got my vote. Look forward to Sabine as the first lady gender-switching demoness.

[ti'esar]

I'm certainly rooting for Nale to somehow come out ahead of Tarquin in the current arc.

[NerdyKris]

Nale wants to free the people of the Western Continent of his father's rule so he can bring them under his own rule and prevent Xykon from taking over the world just as much as the so-called heroes.


He's certainly NEVER stated any desire to stop Xykon. Where do you see this?

And he doesn't want to free the people of the Western Continent, he just wants the gate. He hasn't stated any desire to take over his father's place since he returned, and we don't even know the real cause of their split in the first place.

I think you're reading a lot of things into the story that aren't there.

[VanIsleKnight]

Truth be told I'd also like to see Nale come out ahead in his own way. I don't want him to be completely victorious, or to be exceptionally important (or even alive) after this current arc is over, but I would -love- to see him have his swan song and surprise everyone. I don't particularly care if his achievement(s) will be recognized by anyone from the Order of the Stick, but I'd REALLY like for him to screw over his father in a way that Tarquin couldn't expect.

Nale's been a very pathetic character and he's well written for a recurring antagonist. I've enjoyed watching his schemes and actually think that there is a (convoluted) method to his madness, but ultimately he's just an obstacle to overcome and he's played out his part to the end pretty much.

I see no reason to keep him as a villain after this arc, because I do not think anything more can be done with him, nor do I see any possibility for further character growth on his part. He's been practically static this from beginning to now, in my mind. Sabine has shown more character growth than he has, though I -could- just be misunderstanding what 'character growth' means.

[Mike Havran]

Between his monstrous Ego and abysmally low Wisdom, there is no way how he could be truly content with what he gets. He is doomed to live in a permanent state of false hope alternating with disappointment, occassionally interrupted by moments of triumph that will quickly vanish when something turns the tables on him - again. And I don't see him going through a full-fledged character developement at this point.

Should he manage to really achieve something (by that I mean screwing up plans of someone bigger than him - Tarquin, Xykon, the IFCC...) it's going to be at the cost of his life. But I quess that leaving with his last grin of schadenfreude is about the best he could hope for.

[Winter]

I would not mind if he gets his big moment before he dies and id'd be fun if he overtrumped Tarquin in that. But die - as soon as possible - he must.

[Tannhaeuser]

I absolutely hope Nale doesn't die. First off, I find him one of the funniest characters in the comic, his delusional belief in his own EVIL GENIUS setting him up for constant comic humiliation. I don't feel sorry for him, as I do for Wile E. Coyote, because after all Wile E. is just acting out of simple hunger; Nale is a psychopath acting out of revenge and a lust for power. This brings me to my second reason: Death is too good for Nale. He deserves the fate he would most loathe--constant humiliation at the hands of the person he most despises, his idiotic brother Elan. And if Elan ends up thwarting Tarquin's plans -- then Nale's frustration will be comedy platinum.

[KillianHawkeye]

While I don't doubt that Nale has the potential to go out with a bang, throwing a wrench in some other villain's evil plans, I agree that the most fitting fate would be to live never achieving his coveted victory over his half-witted brother--to fade away into furious irrelevance.

[snikrept]

Rather than working to stop Xykon, he was working with Xykon at one point

[sims796]

He's certainly NEVER stated any desire to stop Xykon. Where do you see this?

And he doesn't want to free the people of the Western Continent, he just wants the gate. He hasn't stated any desire to take over his father's place since he returned, and we don't even know the real cause of their split in the first place.

I think you're reading a lot of things into the story that aren't there.

Gift fires an arrow...critical miss! It soars clear over NerdyKris's head.

[Querzis]

Look at my signature, been rooting for Nale for years. Not just because hes the most entertaining character in the comic for me but because really, people keep underestimating him. Hes been far closer to destroying the entire order then Xykon was (how did Roy father even knew about that red strike through thing anyway) and none of the other villains obviously enjoy their job anywhere near as much as Nale. When he took a lightning bolt to the face after making Celia cry and all he had to say about it was :«Worth it» with a happy grin hes been my favorite. Also, the strips where he talk with Thog are the funniest in the entire comic. If he dies, it better be a great death where he gets to rip Tarquin a new one.

[Boogastreehouse]

I think that if Nale were to impress his father and receive praise from him, he might fall apart and weep.

I think I'd like to see that, even though I'd probably fall apart and weep.

[about50heavies]

Tarquin would kick nale's ass each time. Nale is an arrogant prick who cannot see that he just defeats himself because of it

[Winter]

Tarquin would kick nale's ass each time. Nale is an arrogant prick who cannot see that he just defeats himself because of it

Well, when it comes to arrogant prickness, Tarquin is not standing far behind Nale. I even would assume he's way ahead of his son and it's just worse because Tarquin seems to have a working mind (in contrast to Nale) so he really should know better.

[Frelus]

The thing is, Tarquin has the skills and achievements to back his "arrogance" up - he really does control all/most of the continent he's on.
Without anyone (shown, anyway) noticing.
Nale? He only failed, whatever he tried.

[Winter]

The thing is, Tarquin has the skills and achievements to back his "arrogance" up - he really does control all/most of the continent he's on.

Arrogance is arrogance, no matter where it come from or if you can "back it up". So I'm not seeing a difference in this regard.

Nale tries to be his father, he tries to make awesome plans. But he's just a pompous jerk at it while his father is actually successful. That must bug Nale a lot.

[ti'esar]

The more I read of this, the more interested I become in why some people hate Nale but love Tarquin or vice-versa. Given that it's now general consensus that their one major distinction is that Tarquin is vastly more competent, it seems like there might be some common traits among the fans/haters of each.

Does anyone actually like both?

[Winter]

The more I read of this, the more interested I become in why some people hate Nale but love Tarquin or vice-versa.

I think the difference to Tarquin is "success". "He must be magnificent, look at what he achieved!"

Nale on the other hand could be considered a magnificent comic relief (I dislike him, but I understand where the likes are coming from).

I see Nale mostly as tragic figure (especially since Tarquin got introduced and it became clear where Nale is coming from. I found him highly annoying in the story but now I think he's really more the tragic figure that needs his last scene of awesome and then perish (in a very dramatic and especially tragic way).

[Gift Jeraff]

The more I read of this, the more interested I become in why some people hate Nale but love Tarquin or vice-versa. Given that it's now general consensus that their one major distinction is that Tarquin is vastly more competent, it seems like there might be some common traits among the fans/haters of each.

Does anyone actually like both?

Tarquin is nerd wish fulfillment--a guy getting what he wants because of his wits, all while acting like a theatre geek or troper or whatever.

Nale is nerd reality--a guy trying to get what he wants through his wits and failing.

[snikrept]

Nale is a classic villain archetype: boasting, monologue-ing, collecting misfit minions, kicking adorable kittens just because, shouting "I'll get you next time," kidnapping damsels, putting the heroes in easily escapable slowly closing deathtraps, etc etc. He's rigidly cookie cutter for humor's sake. He's comic relief.

Tarquin is the player character in his own private video game RPG. He's gotten to level eleventy-one, unlocked all the abilities, become massively bored of steamrollering the regular quests and now he runs around murdering and stealing, because he can. He's concluded that genocide and collecting all the money in the world are the only two endgame professions of any interest. Everyone else is just an NPC to him!

[about50heavies]

Arrogance is arrogance, no matter where it come from or if you can "back it up". So I'm not seeing a difference in this regard.

Nale tries to be his father, he tries to make awesome plans. But he's just a pompous jerk at it while his father is actually successful. That must bug Nale a lot.
You do realize that tarquin has the ability back up all of his threats with actually being competent and knowledge of plot conventions unlike Nale who is pathetic compared to his father

[Lord]

Nale is a classic villain archetype: boasting, monologue-ing, collecting misfit minions, kicking adorable kittens just because, shouting "I'll get you next time," kidnapping damsels, putting the heroes in easily escapable slowly closing deathtraps, etc etc. He's rigidly cookie cutter for humor's sake. He's comic relief.

Tarquin is the player character in his own private video game RPG. He's gotten to level eleventy-one, unlocked all the abilities, become massively bored of steamrollering the regular quests and now he runs around murdering and stealing, because he can. He's concluded that genocide and collecting all the money in the world are the only two endgame professions of any interest. Everyone else is just an NPC to him!

...That is possibly the most epic assessment of Tarquin's nature that I have ever seen. I don't completely agree with it. But it's epic all the same.

Also, on the thread subject, I don't really like Nale very much. He has ceased to be particularly interesting to me, and his utterly ungrateful nature has begun to grate on my nerves.

Elan had him dead to rights after their first fight, and chose to spare him. And instead of taking into account Elan's generiocity, Nale's response is to repeatedly try to murder him, and ruin his life. If anything, he became more vicious in his attempts after Elan saved him.

I hope that Nale is humiliated when Xykon shows up. I want him to be Nale more or less offhandedly swatted aside by Xykon, or Tarquin. Only then, when his pride is in tatters, and his pretences of being anything more than addle brained fool with delusions of gradeur are shattered, will he be able to move past his own arrogance, and hopefully prove to be a spanner in the works for Team Evil.

In essence, I want Nale to realize just how much of an idiot he's been, and with his pride torn to shreds, become a heck of a lot more deadly for it.