Plot Flaw?

[Recovering_Cynic]

Okay, so I noticed a small plot flaw in the current Schlock story line.  We've recently discovered that Schlock can smell really well, right?  He first became suspicious of Mr. Monobrow because the guy smelled like boomex.  Well, therein lies the problem.  Schlock first met Mr. Monobrow right after the undercover operative died by being blown up with--you remember right?--boomex.  It's been implied that it was Mr. Monobrow himself who did it.

So, here are my questions:

1) Why didn't Schlock get suspicious the first time he met Mr. Monobrow, who, presumably, would have reeked of boomex? 

2) If it was natural for schlock to not get suspicious the first time (say he thought that Mr. Monobrow may have smelled like boomex because the guy had been investigating the crime), then why did Schlock get suspicious the second time he smelled it (or in the alternative, if Schlock didn't smell it the first time, why not)?

Of course, it has not been revealed that Monobrow actually did the deed.  It might have been the elephant, but then again, that brings up several more questions, like, why didn't Schlock detect the smell of boomex on the elephant?  How does an elephant get on top of the dam without being noticed?  She's not exactly a stealth character.

*sigh* 

I know it's just a web comic (*preemptively hides from the forthcoming flames*), but I hate it when things don't fit together nicely.  Perhaps they will fit together eventually (*hears the sound of Mr. Tayler editing frantically his next cartoon*), but as things stand now, I'm having trouble seeing how this will all jive.

[Peter Ahlstrom]

I think you have a point there. He should have noticed it the first time they met Timmons.

[Recovering_Cynic]

Do you know if Mr. Tayler trolls the forums?  I know I would, but then I'm egocentric.

[happyman]

Since I'm not at all clear on where the plot is going, I'll hold off on discussion for now.

[ErikHolmes]

Okay, so I noticed a small plot flaw in the current Schlock story line.  We've recently discovered that Schlock can smell really well, right?  He first became suspicious of Mr. Monobrow because the guy smelled like boomex.  Well, therein lies the problem.  Schlock first met Mr. Monobrow right after the undercover operative died by being blown up with--you remember right?--boomex.  It's been implied that it was Mr. Monobrow himself who did it.

Maybe I'm remember wrong, but I thought Schlock kept telling everyone how good his sense of smell was, then later on made a comment about how everyone smelled liked boomex.

In other words, to him everything smells the same.
In other words, his sense of smell really sucks.
In other words, since he poops out of his mouth, everything smells like shirt.

[Silk]

In other words, his sense of smell really sucks.

Actually, this isn't true at all. Other comics have shown us that Schlock's smell is quite remarkable. Remember when he located the missing child? If I recall, his sense of smells what got him the undercover security job in the first place.

So when he noted that everyone smelled like Boomex, it wasn't that everyone just smelled the same. What it was (I imagine) is that everyone in that room had been handling the chemical.

[Recovering_Cynic]

Can you link the strip where he says everyone smells like boomex?  I'm having a hard time remembering it.

[Silk]

This one.

[ryos]

The simple explanation is that Schlock didn't have the investigative mindset at the time. He had no reason to suspect Timmons of anything, and is not widely regarded as thoughtful. We haven't seen Schlock automatically size everyone up by their smell until now; maybe he detected it and thought nothing of it, or maybe he just didn't bother to notice.

Or it could be a mistake. Nice catch.

[happyman]

Given Schlock's carefree behavior at the time ("Hey everybody!  I've found our contact.") "Not paying attention" isn't that big a stretch.  ADD, anybody?