Ron Planet

Created by Craig Zobel and Matt Chapman (of Homestar Runner fame), Ron Planet is a webcomic that takes place circa 2040. It centers on Ron Planet, the last astronaut on Earth, and his lame life (i.e., cleaning up vomit in space). However, everything changes when a now dirt-poor NASA approaches him to solve a problem related to microwave popcorn.

Tropes used in Ron Planet include:

• Adult Child: Blonde Hair and Red Hair
• Anti-Hero: Ron is a Type II; all the other important characters fall under Type I.
• Berserk Button: Mentioning Tang around Dr. Eggleston
• Character Title
• The Chew Toy: Ron.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Blonde Hair and Red Hair.
• Crapsack World: The most realistic one ever.
• Deadpan Snarker: Ron
• Determinator: Sidecar
• Don't Explain the Joke: "Ron Planet Astronauting: 'Cause planets are in space!"
  • "Those were the names of some famous satellites"
• Everything's Better with Monkeys: While there's technically no actual monkey, the concept art features a huge gorilla...and claims that the word, gorilla, can be used as an adjective.
• Greek Chorus: Blonde Hair and Red Hair
• He Knows Too Much: Ron's theory on how the moon people feel about Eggleston.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen:
  • All astronauts; once space travel became too common, the once-romanticized career became a joke.
  • NASA itself has been reduced to one guy and two on-loan government agents.
• In-Series Nickname: Carlos, aka "Sidecar".
• Jaded Washout: Ron fits all the criteria, with the exception of laziness.
• Jumped At the Call: Sidecar.
• Meaningful Name: "'Cause planets are in space!"
• Ms. Exposition: The old lady who explains the strip's concept of an astronaut to the little boy.
• Only Sane Man: While definitely not normal ^[1], Ron seems to have a much better grasp on the world around him than his colleagues.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Seems to be going in this direction
• Refusal of the Call: Ron.
• Schedule Slip
• Self-Deprecation: Ron, sometimes.
• Squeaky Eyes: Dr. Eggleston. His blinks are audible.
• Twenty Minutes Into the Future
• What Could Have Been: It was originally going to be a movie, and came this close to being produced; then, the financiers backed out, so Matt and Craig decided to revive it as a webcomic...in the hopes that it gets popular enough to do the movie after all.
• X Meets Y: Space Cowboys meets Invader Zim meets Homestar Runner.

1. ↑ the man agreed to a dangerous mission, provided they paid him in space ice cream!