Cloning arc

video File:PlaceholderThis is a story arc about Thaddeus Euphemism cloning himself.

## Plot

It begins with Thaddeus asking Bob what he'd think if he cloned himself. Bob points out that cloning is illegal and besides, it's dangerous and could be unethical. However, the last panel reveals that Thaddeus already has cloned himself, and the clones accuse Bob of being unsupportive.

In the next strip, the three extra Thaddeuses say, "Hi" to a newspaper-reading Bob, who is then surprised that the third one is shorter.

In the third strip, Bob sees four Thaddeuses and finds out that he cloned himself. Thaddeus asks him to be quiet, then reassures him that it's "under control". Bob asks why one clone is shorter and Thaddeus jokes that he ran "short" of genetic material, offending the short clone.

In the strip after that, Bob is surprised that Thaddeus made three clones of himself. Thaddeus reveals that he actually made four clones, but the first one had too much estrogen and so looks like he has breasts.

In the following strip, Bob reminds Thaddeus that cloning is considered unethical because it could be used for selective breeding, stem cell research, or organ harvesting. Thaddeus reassures Bob that he just wanted to make friends, but one clone calls him a dingus and the short one calls him condescending and rude, which offends the original Thaddeus, who calls the short clone "Spare Parts".

In the next strip, the original Thaddeus takes the two clones who look just like him to get tattoos so he can tell who's who.

In the strip after that, the original Thaddeus is talking about how he can do his work more efficiently with four of him, but a plant eats the short clone.

In the next strip, the clone with the breasts is afraid that he'll also be eaten and asks the original Thaddeus if the lab is safe. Thaddeus reassures the breasted clone that the nearby creature, Nigel, does not eat humans, but before he can warn him about the dangerous machine, it burns the clone with the breasts. Luckily, the original Thaddeus is safe because he bent down to pick up Nigel's quarter.

In the following strip, the two remaining clones are worried for their own safety and one of them suggests killing the original Thaddeus.

In the next strip, Thaddeus and his clones are working with the man-eating plants and the clones attack the original. One of them gets eaten and toxic fumes are released. Bob is worried.

Then, there's a pause, followed by a strip where Thaddeus appears to have escaped, but Bob rips his shirt sleeve, revealing him to be the clone with the cat tattoo, who threatens to "eliminate" Bob.

However, the last strip resolves things: the clone attacks Bob, but the original Thaddeus comes and saves Bob by kicking him and shrinking him down to microscopic size. Thaddeus reveals that he almost died, but the carnivorous plants let him go and the clones attacked each other by mistake. Bob is worried that the last clone will be all alone at microscopic size but Thaddeus reassures him that he has the Single-Celled Organisms to keep him company.

## Trivia

* Bob calls the short clone "Frodo", which is the name of a short humanlike creature called a hobbit in the novel *The Lord of the Rings.*
* The tentacled microbe from the Wizard of Oz parody features again.