A Fit Worse than Death



US Issue Number: 022

UK Issue Number(s): 033, 034

Title Caption (AU): Medicine in the 31st Century (No caption on US version)

Published (US): November 23rd 2005

Act I
Following the annual company physicals, Hermes fires Clyde, an Anthropomorphised horse, and notes that all staff members have lost at least 20% of their body weight over the year. Bender realises that this is a new way for him to earn money. He begins selling weight loss products and finds one of his first customers in Nixon. Fry is continually late for work due to traffic in the tubes, so Hermes decides to eat his shirt. Later, Nixon makes Bender the "Czar of physical fitness", which allows him to boss anyone around in the name of physical fitness. After Fry is later again, and Hermes eats his outfit, Fry sees the Mayor about the problem and is hired to grease the tubes. Bender forces New New Yorkers to do "callisthenics" at his sweatshop.

Act II
After twelve hours the city is allowed to take a rest, but has to return the next day. Fry is particularly worn out, with his three full-time jobs. Fry, Leela and Amy attempt to convince Bender to stop running the sweatshop, and are actually successful. Fry runs out of grease for the tubes and retrieves the fatty foods from the dump to use. People notice the food smells and begin licking the inside of the tubes, making them slower than ever. The Mayor fires him. Because of eating the fat in the tubes everyone is fat again, Nixon fires Bender.

Trivia

 * The Professor is only in two frames of the comic and doesn't speak at all.

Quotes
Fry: Are you eating my shirt just because you don't want to eat Bender's food and you're starving? Hermes: Nonsense, now get to delivering packages before I eat your delicious pants!
 * Hermes: You leave me no choice but to dock your pay and eat your shirt!

Outside References

 * Bender overwrote his morality program, stored on an 8-inch floppy disk, with what appears to be a pirated version of Wolfenstein 3D.
 * The final page depicts the destruction of Krypton and the launch of the infant Superman's rocket.

Goofs

 * Spelling: Bender claims "he's not hear" - should be "... here".
 * Zoidberg removes his shell to reveal his twelve pack, either the removed shell is a second layer outside the shell known from the series or the folks at Bongo Comics made another mistake.
 * Nixon and Washington have a new type of head jar, in some scenes these have a knob on the top, in others they don't.

Characters
(In alphabetical order)


 * Amy
 * Bender
 * Calculon
 * Debut: Caption-bot
 * Debut: Clyde
 * Debut: Doctor Leech
 * Dwayne
 * Fry
 * Fender
 * George Washington
 * Hattie McDoogal
 * Headless body of Agnew
 * Hermes
 * Leela
 * Leg Mutant
 * Mayor Poopenmeyer
 * Morbo
 * Nixon
 * Prof. Farnsworth
 * Sal
 * Smitty and Url
 * Tinny Tim
 * Vyolet
 * Zoidberg

Comic Credits

 * Script
 * Ian Boothby
 * Pencils
 * Mike Kazaleh
 * Inks
 * Phyllis Novin
 * Colors
 * Joey Mason
 * Letters
 * Karen Bates
 * Editor
 * Bill Morrison