Editing 991: Phantom Menace

{{comic
| number    = 991
| date      = December 16, 2011
| title     = Phantom Menace
| image     = phantom_menace.png
| titletext = We could go to the theater across town and see if it's opened THERE yet, but we don't want to lose our place in line.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is waiting outside a building with an unidentified character, who is dressed as {{w|Darth Maul}}, a character from ''{{w|Star Wars: The Phantom Menace}}''. Before its release in May 1999, ''The Phantom Menace'' was one of the most anticipated movies of all time, with fans camped in lines outside of movie theaters as much as a full month in advance of ticket sales. In this comic, Cueball and his friend are apparently still waiting to see the movie, not having realized that they are waiting outside of a building that is not a movie theater. More importantly, they have been waiting for at least a month, which should be long enough to realize their error.

Darth Maul, the source of Cueball's friend's costume, is a Sith apprentice in the film. [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sith The Sith] are the group of characters in the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' universe who embrace [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_side_of_the_Force the dark side] of [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Force the Force] and are the enemies throughout the series. Cueball is holding a cheap replica of a {{w|lightsaber}}, which is the weapon used by the [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jedi Jedi] and the Sith. 

This comic seems to be poking fun at those people who are willing to wait long in advance for the release of some product or the first theatrical release of a movie. The title text expands upon this when one of the characters states that going to a theater across town may be better, but he is worried about taking the chance due to the possibility of losing their place in this line, a misplaced sense of priorities if the line goes nowhere, and they are presently the only two in it.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, holding a lightsaber, and another stick figure character in a Darth Maul mask stand on the sidewalk outside of a brick building in an urban area. Each is holding money in his or her hand<!-- see original transcript by Randall -->. There is a broken window on the building.]

:[Beat panel. They continue to stand there.]

:[Beat panel. They continue to stand there.]

:[Darth Maul turns to Cueball.]
:Darth Maul: Are you ''sure'' this place is a theater?
:Cueball: Let's give it one more month.

{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Star Wars]]