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| Superstition |
 Title text: It's important to teach yourself to feel responsible for random events, because with great responsibility comes great power. That's what my wise Uncle Ben told me right before he died; he might still be alive today if only I'd said rabbit rabbit that year! |
Explanation
This comic references the 'superstition', which is known to have existed as far back as 1909, of saying "rabbit rabbit" on the first day of a month in order to have good luck. There are many 'superstitions' about actions that either cause bad luck (e.g. "step on a crack, break your mother's back", walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror, letting a black cat cross your path) or protect against bad luck (e.g. carrying a rabbit's foot, throwing salt over your shoulder after spilling some, knocking on wood after saying something).
When asked to explain it, Cueball reveals that, rather than being subject to magical thinking, he is fully aware that the act has no real direct power, and thus in his case this isn't really a superstition, but merely a cultural artefact. However, he suggests that acts like these have a psychological effect by making people feel guilty over random unpleasant events over which they have no control by implying that there must have been some unrelated act which could have prevented them.
"Uncle Ben" is a reference to Spider-Man, whose uncle, Ben, told him that "with great power comes great responsibility". He was not actually aware of Peter Parker's developing super-powered abilities, his aphorism being about far more mundane abilities to improve people's lives, but this still became the central guiding tenet for the superhero's philosophy. The title text flips this and implies that by taking on a great responsibility one will gain the concomitant degree of extra power. The adherence to superstitions to control our fate implies that we all have great powers, however, and we must therefore use them responsibly.
Transcript
- [Blondie, Cueball and a child (Hairy) are walking from left to right. The child is turning towards Cueball.]
- Cueball: Oops, I forgot to say "rabbit rabbit" on January first!
- Hairy: Why do you do that?
- Cueball: Just a superstition.
- Hairy: What's a superstition?
- Cueball: It's a way to train yourself to feel like any bad thing that happens is your fault.
Trivia
- On January 7th, 2026, both the 1x and 2x version of this comic had no anti-aliasing applied (1-bit black and white). It was fixed later that day.
- Mentioning "rabbits" is also considered bad luck in some traditions.
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