#dispatch analysis

With the team, especially Prism, Flambae isn't too obtuse about caring for them. There are multiple instances of him hyping them up or being protective. When Prism says she lost her first talent show, Flambae immediately responds with "Shit must've been rigged," because to him no one is better at singing than her. If you send him to rescue Sonar during the Red Ring attack, he says "If there's even a hair missing on Sonar's head, I'll fucking burn this shit to the ground." But then you get to Robert.

On Robert's first day, while everyone is laughing at his name Flambae says this: "You stuttering bitch? You can't be this shook on your first day, come on." Now, clearly he's joining in the hazing, but in a weird way he's also telling Robert to be calm. He's saying that its Robert's first day and he shouldn't be too nervous about in a very roundabout way. While he is making fun of his name, Flambae is also trying to give him some reassurance.

However, the main example of this is the entire gym sequence. When he finds Robert struggling to get out from under the bench press, he calls him an idiot for not using proper safety measures then helps him out of it. Yes, he repeatedly calls him weak then shows off how strong he is with the squat rack and saying how strong he is. However, I do think, in his own posturing asshole way, he was trying to reassure Robert. I know I might sound a little crazy with this but hear me out.

Flambae is not wrong in calling Robert weak physically. I know the timeline of Dispatch is supposed to take place over several months but that still isn't enough time to recover from the muscular atrophy that would come from a 3-4 month coma. The gym scene takes place in episode 5, halfway through the game and likely halfway through the timeline. Robert was doing something extremely stupid for being freshly out of a coma. He was pushing himself way too hard by trying to lift too much weight at the end of his work out, which is in itself stupid! Flambae was right to call him an idiot for lifting without a spot.

But that’s the thing, he clocks that Robert was pushing himself far beyond what he was ready for and he knows that there’s a reason for it. Robert is visibly skinny, lacking excess fat and most muscle mass. From the interactions he’s had with him, Flambae knows that he’s someone who used to be able to throw down with people stronger than him (throwing a chair at Golem and then lecturing him casually is not something normies just do) and he’s someone that has had “the burden of potential” placed on him. He’s smart enough to figure out (and yes he is more observant than he acts) that Robert is dangerously pushing himself because he has this expectation of himself to be what he was before, even so fresh into recovering from whatever got him like this. He’s not just calling Robert weak to insult him, he’s pointing out a fact that Robert doesn’t want to accept.

Then there’s how Flambae shows off his own power. Him using the squat rack was posturing but it wasn’t showing off in a way that was meant to make Robert feel lesser. If he wanted to do that, he would’ve added more weight to the bench press, kicked Robert off of it, then easily benched the weight while talking about how strong he is. Instead, he went to a machine (?) that requires stability to use and showed off how strong he was. He was showing Robert that he was someone stable enough to take on burdens because he knows Robert is too stubborn for just words and insults to work. He’s witnessed the same show-don’t-tell, matching-energy in him that the entire Z Team has.

After showing off, Flambae patronizingly tells Robert that he “can’t get injured cause we need you behind that desk to help the real heroes.” He is admitting that the team needs him and they need him safe. Robert pushing himself like this is dangerous and will end with him hurt or worse like it almost did. That’s why he told him “No more hero stuff without supervision,” and “It’s time for you to accept that you don’t got it anymore. And pretending you still do is bumming people the fuck out.” He’s not just making fun of him, he’s trying to dissuade him from doing something stupid like that again.

If he wants to work out, fine, but have someone there with him so he doesn’t push too far. Because the team needs him behind that desk and him doing this to the point of almost injuring himself will make them worry. Maybe he just cares because Robert is the first good dispatcher the team has had. Maybe he just likes that he’s making the lives of his friends easier. Either way, he cares about Robert and knows that, by this point, the rest of the team does too.

Now, why wouldn’t Flambae just say any of this? Well, they were at work and he has an image to maintain. Flambae is the posturing asshole at the top of the Z Team ranking. He is the manly brute that is so strong and full of himself. It’s the image he’s built for and he never knows when someone else is watching. He has to maintain it at all times at work when he’s not in the field.

On coms, when it’s just him and the team, he talks about his niece and making potpourri (basically fragrant, dried flowers) with Golem. He has casual conversations about what normie jobs they would have and office rumors. He doesn’t have to put up a front with them, but in person he runs the risk of people outside of the team seeing him. He can’t be nice or soft around random people at work. He has to be an asshole in the gym because he doesn’t know if anyone is gonna walk in on him trying to reassure Robert. It would go against everything he had built up.

In a crowded setting, tossing water on an on-fire person/object makes a lot more sense than grain alcohol.

In what universe would a fashionable gay man not have an eyebrow pencil, or at least ask his diva bestie (Prism) to borrow hers?

Personal preference; Flambae losing his tooth due to fumbling (tripping on ice cubes) is a lot more karmatic vs losing his eyebrows cus Mecha Man threw a drink on him. (Still funny tho)

The tooth gap is honestly cute. I've seen really cute ideas where he bonds with his niece over their matching missing tooth.

The loss of his eyebrows brings up... questions.

Is his hair not exempt from fire damage because it's technically dead skin cells? (Instant face peel lol) But in that case, does that mean Flambae coats his luscious locks in thermo-gel every shift like a ballerina? (He does seem like he would) Would he need to do this with his body hair? He might accidentally give himself a Brazilian wax each time he lights up.

Or do accelerants like alcohol bypass Flambae's natural flame immunity? This would put him at major risk if he were ever sent somewhere with an oil spill or a leaky gas main.

One theory on Reddit suggests it's tied to a level of concentration or conscious control - like Invisigal's ability extending to her clothing and/or things she's actively holding.

Either way;

I just realised that every subsequent Mecha man got progressively smaller. Don't believe me? Just look:

Robert "Bobby" Robertson - Mecha Man Prime

Robert "Robbie" Robertson II - Mecha Man Astral

Robert Robertson III - Mecha Man Blue

The possible in universe reason could very well be that the suit itself got less mechanical over the years, reducing the amount of physical effort required to pilot it.

Robert Robertson comes from a generational heritage of heroes. He was raised to be Mecha Man. His behavior speaks to rigorous, military-esque training from childhood. He's been working essentially as a combination tank operator, EMT, cop/soldier since at least 18 years of age. As a kid, his dad told him to "get up" after being shot in the ear by a laser gun.

My point is- Robert is tough as nails. Ofc course he has chronic pain and trauma and deserves a good long cry. He deserves to break down. But he's not going to do that easily. He's not going to allow himself to be soft without significant effort.

I feel like often people skew Robert more toward the softer emotional side- writing him more as Waterboy's personality or fanon Jaskier, to use a non-Dispatch example. And not that there's anything wrong with babygirlifying your faves- it's a valid part of fandom! But for Robert- it sometimes feels a bit too OOC, at least for my personal taste.

The litmus test to evaluate a Robert Robertson depiction is - "Is this Robert as tough or tougher than Steve Rogers?" While there are differences, Steve Rogers and Robert Robertson have enough in common to be used as a sort of bench mark. Captain America's experience in war and as a hero are similar to Mecha Man and pre-serum Steve has a similar tenacity and health issues to post-accident Robert. I would argue for Robert being equally as tough as Steve Rogers- and furthermore, I would argue Robert is likely tougher in certain aspects.

The difference lies in Robert being brought up from childhood to be MechaMan. Steve Rogers was not trained from youth to be a soldier. He was an artist. He went through poverty and illness, but he had a non-violent career and joined the army later in life out of personal conviction to do the right thing. Robert Robertson in contast was raised and trained from birth to fulfill the MechaMan legacy, and then took on that mantle extremely young. He had no career besides the suit. He fully expected to die in it. Unlike Steve, who had at least the support of his mother, Robert's main influence was a cold and miltaristic father. While of course when it comes to the super serum, Steve is physically stronger- Robert is likely emotionally tougher than Steve Rogers, or rather more emotionally stunted. Stunted due to being brought up from youth for the purpose of living a life of brutal service with the expectation to die in the line of service.

And at first it’s sort of funny to Robert and he finds he literally can’t say no for any reason to not hang out with Chase, not anymore, but then Chase gets reaaaal into fixing the place up and making sure it’s fully stocked and shit to the point that it’s sort of overbearing.

Also the fact Robert just doesn’t want to feel like he’s using him, like he did as a kid. Also hes picking furniture Thats a bit Too Much. He doesn’t need a queen size mattress Chase (“motherfucker with how your horn dog teammates talk about your dumbass all day you will” “what” “what”)

So they start bashing heads and arguing over it, Robert wondering what the fuck is going on with Chase, Chase being offended that the man isn’t accepting of his generosity, and it all comes down to a head when Chase admits:

He just wants to make sure Robert will be okay after he’s gone, dammit. That it was one of the last things he thought of: Robert wasting away in his shit ass apartment by himself, again.

And Robert will freeze, will just stop in his tracks, because he can’t handle it. Can’t process it. Can’t admit it’s true, almost sensible even, because that means acknowledging that yeah, Chase is on borrowed time, they don’t know what will happen if he takes off the amulet, not that it truly matters, it’s not like it makes you immortal, but also that it means Chase has accepted this a long time ago, and that he accepted it that night, and will continue to accept one day he will die, a day sooner than he deserves, and Robert realizes, maybe worse than losing someone suddenly, is knowing you’re going to lose them so soon and not being able to do anything about it at all.

And Chase, well, hes been sort of seeing himself like this for longer than he’ll admit. Already gone in a sense— can’t use his powers, can’t really be what he defined himself as for the majority of his life. For those 15 years apart, he had other things to take care of though. His own family, his legacy as a hero, his health.