Dispatch caught everyone by surprise with an amazing story, unique gameplay for games of the same genre, and extremely talented performances by both big actors and big YouTubers. And, as one would assume, your choices can have quite an impact on the narrative, in Robert’s journey, and the people he cares about (or doesn’t care about).
The game doesn’t contain all the story this series has to offer, though. Along with the game, we have a series of comics showing a few extra glimpses of the world and its characters. From extra details of the Z-Team members to more information about the villain and even our hero, Robert Robertson the Third.
There will be a few minor spoilers to the game here, as we’ll spoil the content from the comics and how they add extra meaning to things from the game.
6
The Curse Of Waterboy
Waterboy has it rougher than you may think from just playing the game. Because he can’t shut his power off, he lives in a very depressing way, being unable to properly touch things without having consequences.
His comic shows a bit of his day prior to arriving at SDN for the first time. There, we can see how he dreams of being able to touch things while keeping them dry, and how depressed he is that it is just a dream.
Dispatch: Guide To Every Superhero
There are a few different heroes (villains?) that you’ll be in charge of growing in Dispatch; here’s what you’ll want to know.
We also see that he lives with many cats and an elderly woman — there’s no dialogue, so we’ll take a guess and assume it’s his mother or grandmother. It’s clear that he does what he can to help her, and he helps a few people and animals on his way to work while also being a nuisance for others due to him always being wet. His simple life gives a similar feeling to characters like Spider-Man, except that Waterboy can’t properly control his power.
5
Sonar And Malevola’s Relationship
The game makes it clear that Sonar and Malevola are friends, especially since she gets angry over firing Sonar. Still, the game doesn’t disclose how close they are — and no, we’re not talking about them being a couple, just good friends.
Sonar and Malevola have a comic showing that it was her idea to sign them up to SDN, in an attempt to turn both of their lives around with legitimate work rather than crime. They then proceed to celebrate being accepted by getting wasted and using stolen money so that Sonar can have a lovely time with an escort. Still, it’s nice to see them together and how Malevola influenced Sonar onto a better path — unless you fired him, of course.
4
Coupé And Punch Up’s Relationship
If you were sad there was no romance in the previous entry, you’re in luck. Coupé and Punch Up also have a close relationship that just isn’t fully disclosed in the game — all we learn is that he has a tattoo that references her, and Chase mentions that Punch Up and Coupé used to date.
Fortunately for us, one of the comics shows us how they met. Coupé is an assassin, one with a perfect score (i.e. no failed contracts), and she was hired to kill none other than Punch Up. He immediately takes a liking to her when she shows up in his place to kill him, but that doesn’t prevent a fight from happening.
Once they realize they’re both stronger than they appear and fight, it’s clear that they’re enjoying themselves. The tension from the fight quickly becomes romantic, and the fight ends when they begin to make out. Sadly, the comic doesn’t disclose the reason for their breakup, but given they’re still close friends in the game, it apparently wasn’t on bad terms.
3
Blonde Blazer And Phenomaman’s Breakup
Speaking of breakups, we have another ex-couple in the game: Blonde Blazer and Phenomaman. If you only play the game, you may assume that Blonde Blazer breaks up with Phenomaman because she falls for Robert, and while they do have chemistry, Robert is not actually the reason for their breakup.
In the comics, Blonde Blazer clearly states a desire to eventually settle down from hero work and just live as her true self, Mandy. Phenomaman, on the other hand, states that he’s comfortable with the idea of both of them being heroes until they eventually die from this line of work, and he values the powerful Blonde Blazer more than the mundane Mandy.
In other words, Mandy breaks up with him because they have different visions of what they want for their futures. While she doesn’t show any signs of wanting out of hero work within the game, it does make some sense since she leads SDN more than she does heroics herself, and she’s essentially creating a company of heroes who could take over for her. Could this mean she’ll eventually want to settle down with Robert in a second season of the game, if that ever happens (and if you romanced her, of course)? Only time will tell.
In the following entries, we’ll refer to our protagonist as Robert, and we’ll refer to his father as Robbie. These are their preferred names/nicknames, so we’ll address them as such to avoid confusion.
2
Robert’s Hatred For Mecha-Man
Now, this is a section that lacks dialogue, so we’ll have to enter into speculation territory for a bit. In one of the comics, we have a young Robert damaging the Mecha-Man suit with a hammer, which then proceeded to fire at the child as part of an automatic self-defense protocol. Chase saved the child, and Robbie deactivated the security measures.
This also shows us that the Mecha-Man suit is responsible for damaging Robert’s ear — and here we thought the ear was a nod to Telltale’s Batman! Though that could still be the case, who knows?
The characters don’t talk about it, which is why it’s unclear as to why Robert attacked the suit in the first place, and we’ll have to speculate. We believe that Robert isn’t fond of the fact that his father was a hero, perhaps because it was dangerous or because it made him an absent father. Still, whatever reason he had that made him hate the suit, he eventually got over it, since he’s the current Mecha-Man.
1
Shroud
Shroud is an interesting villain for this game, as he’s a perfect foil for the very concept of the game. A man who uses technology to calculate probability and make the ‘best’ choice in every situation is a great villain for a game that is all about choices. Still, while Shroud is a great villain, he only appears a few times, and always as Shroud.
His alter ego, Elliot Connors, appears so little that many fans were speculating Shroud’s true identity throughout the episodes, even though his name is dropped on the news in Episode 1.
Still, we have two comics that talk more about him and his relationship with Robbie. Their relationship was very bad, with Elliot constantly trying to prove himself a worthy member of the Brave Brigades and that he’d use technology to keep up with the heroes of the group. Robbie didn’t believe he was truly a hero, shunning his opportunities to be an official member. Robbie also takes advantage of Elliot, using his technology, the Astral Pulse, to fuel the Mecha suit.
This resentment between the two caused a fight, where Robbie kicks Elliot’s butt by himself, without the suit. Eventually, Elliot shoots Robbie, which allegedly kills him — Robbie’s death in the comics contradicts what Shroud says on the matter in the game, so it’s unclear if Robbie survived the shot and died later, or if Shroud just lied to provoke Robert.
Dispatch: Achievement/Trophy Guide
If you’re looking to maximize your achievement/trophy progress in Dispatch, look no further.
