Hi there readers, I’m once again diving back into my hyper fixation, Dispatch!

Created by ADHOC Studio, Dispatch is a choice-based narrative game where your decisions shape the story’s outcome. You play as Robert Robertson III — aka Mecha Man Blue — who is temporarily sidelined from superhero field work and working as a dispatcher at the Superhero Dispatch Network while his suit is being repaired. As a dispatcher, he’s responsible for coordinating villains-turned-superheroes in the field. The player’s job is to decide which heroes are best suited to each mission, carefully balancing their strengths and character synergy to achieve success. 

Robert Robertson III, the protagonist of our story, has a uniquely interesting positive character arc, using the cliché of the depowered superhero trope; also known as the “brought down to normal” trope, where a character loses their powers. In Robert’s case, that loss is the Astral Pulse, and it usually takes for them to learn a lesson about power, responsibility and strength to reclaim what they’ve lost.

If the writing was formulaic it would use the cliché of him having to relearn to rely on his body instead of the Mech Man suit. Dispatch’s story promptly kicks that thought out of the viewer’s head in the opening of Episode One. Mecha Man Blue proves he’s a capable fighter, both physically and mentally; swiftly taking out multiple henchmen with ease and hacking into Shroud’s security systems. Robert does not need to learn how to function without the suit; he already can. Instead, Dispatch uses the depowered superhero trope to explore Robert’s internal struggles rather than the external forces that plague him. His journey is ultimately about replacing the “get up” attitude his father instilled in him. It’s the expectation that no matter how badly he’s injured or how hopeless a situation presents itself, he must get back on his feet, fight, and keep going. Robert must confront and dismantle the internalised toxic masculinity that shapes his understanding of strength, failure and vulnerability, replacing extreme self-reliance with a healthier form of strength built on trust, vulnerability and interdependence.

The mentality becomes more significant when viewed through the history of the Mecha Man mantle. In total there have been three generations of Mecha Man: Prime, Astral, and Blue; Robert Robertson I, Robert Robertson II and, finally, Robert Robertson III. Each generation has made a significant contribution to the superhero and general community. This creates an unspoken expectation that the next Mecha Man must be stronger, more capable and more heroic than the one who came before him.

Robert’s inheritance is not simply a suit of armour or the superhero mantle; he is inheriting the weight of an entire family legacy. For Robert, the Mecha Man legacy is framed as an ongoing trial, one he is forced to endure repeatedly, as voices inside and outside make him continually prove himself worthy of the name. From the press to his own inner critic telling him to “get up.”

This puts a huge weight on his shoulders, and in some cases distorts his judgement. We can see this in the less-than-ethical interrogation of Toxic in Episode One by kidnapping him and depending on your choices you knock him out or throw him off your balcony. This is all to get the location of Shroud, the villain who killed Mecha Man Astral and Mecha Man Blue’s father. By pursuing Shroud at any cost, Robert attempts to transform his grief into action. He becomes so single-minded in his pursuit of Shroud he doesn’t ask himself if his actions are reflective of him being a good hero or questioning if the intel is legitimate.

Doing whatever is necessary to avenge his father’s death is not only an expression of his love for him but also a way to prove that he can live up to, and even surpass, the legacy of previous generations of Mecha Men. To Robert, avenging his father may feel like the ultimate demonstration that he is enough to carry the Mecha Man legacy to himself and to his dead father. Yet, his willingness to cross ethical boundaries reveals the danger in this belief, he’s so desperate to honor his late father that it blinds him to the danger ahead.

In Episode Five, Chase asks Robert if he could kill Shroud, as the player you are given three options; “yes,” “I’m not sure,” and “heroes don’t kill people.” On the surface, this appears to be a straightforward moral choice. However, it also reveals how Robert defines strength, and whether he believes honouring his father requires him to continue the cycle of violence or finally break away from it. It’s up to the player to choose how to proceed.

This moment is also important because Robert’s toxic masculinity is not expressed in the most stereotypical ways. Robert does not embody every behaviour associated with toxic masculinity. He is comfortable working under Blonde Blazer’s authority, openly comforts Waterboy, and does not react defensively to sexual humour that challenges conventional heterosexual masculinity. He is neither a straightforward misogynist nor a man incapable of tenderness. His harmful behaviours are less overt: he prizes extreme independence, suppresses distress until it becomes self-destructive, and treats physical suffering as an unavoidable requirement of heroism (Nordin et al., 2024). This distinction is important because toxic masculinity is not a personality type or checklist. Robert can be compassionate and emotionally intelligent in some situations while still struggling to extend that same compassion to himself.

Robert’s character transformation is about confronting the belief that his worth comes from the pain he can withstand and how many issues he can solve alone. Robert has tied his identity so closely to Mecha Man that the destruction of the Mecha Man suit and losing the Astral Pulse is not merely taking away his job but destabilises his sense of purpose. To move forward, he must redefine heroism as a collective act rather than having to carry it entirely by himself.

The story either actively pushes against or punishes him for this toxic behaviour: 

When Vengeance Fails

• In Episode One, Robert goes after the main antagonist Shroud, the villain who killed his father and the reason he took up the Mecha Man mantle. He faces him all alone because, at this point in his character arc, Robert believes fighting him and taking him down is his responsibility. He knows the possible dangers that may be waiting for him as shown by the string board he’s made, but reality has no place in his world. His toxic mindset drives him to abandon reason, and Robert decides to confront him on his home turf. For he feels as though it’s his duty to “get up” and fight, to carry on the legacy he was literally made for, to carry on the Mecha Man name and honour it by putting away his father’s killer. From this confrontation the consequences are swift and brutal. He’s promptly put in a coma, his Mecha Man suit destroyed and the Astral Pulse lost. His attempt to prove that he can carry the burden alone instead leaves him stripped of almost everything he associates with being Mecha Man.

The Proposition

• Later in Episode One, after the press conference, he runs into the skittles squad robbing an electronics store alone and is immediately overwhelmed by them and is then saved by Blonde Blazer. Though she does more than save him from a beat down and offers him a job at the Superhero Dispatch Network dispatching heroes. There’s no option where you can refuse, you can resist or complain, but the story doesn’t allow you to continue entirely alone.

Scars

• In Episode Two, the player is given a clear visual representation of the physical toll that fifteen years of working as a solo hero have taken on Robert’s body. In a scar chart I’ve sourced from Bloopiebloops on Tumblr illustrates the extent of the damage inflicted throughout his career. His body becomes a tapestry of endurance, with each scar documenting the physical consequences of his commitment to heroism. Robert’s nonchalance about undressing in front of others further suggests that he has normalised pain and views it as something to be silently endured. The scars therefore serve not only as permanent reminders of his bravery but also as evidence of his self-neglect. Robert repeatedly allows himself to be hurt, suggesting that suffering has become inseparable from his understanding of duty.

Learning to Connect

• At the end of Episode Four, the player is presented with two choices: Robert can either go on a movie date with Invisigal or have an intimate evening with Blonde Blazer. What you can’t do, however, is choose to be alone. No matter who the player chooses to spend the evening with to progress further in the story you need to form some emotional and romantic connection. Episode Four challenges Robert’s toxic belief of complete isolation, he cannot close himself off as he typically does, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders alone. The player can choose who Robert connects with, but they cannot make him completely withdraw from everyone around him. This shows how Robert is reaching out to others and slowly shedding his toxic masculinity. If you choose to go out with Invisigal, it gives Robert the opportunity to interact with someone outside off a mission or a superhero persona defining the interaction. Likewise, his evening with Blonde Blazer places him in a situation built around intimacy and vulnerability rather than violence or duty. The game therefore makes an interesting distinction between player choice and character development. The player decides who Robert reaches out to, but you cannot choose solitude. The game tells the player Robert cannot truly progress into a healthier version of Mecha Man until he stops treating loneliness as proof of strength.

The Weight of Strength

• In the beginning of Episode Five where Robert is working out at the SDN GYM, he’s literally crushed by the weight he attempts to bench press but is luckily saved by Flamabae but not without a little mocking. The way he says that line, “You need some help?” His face reminds me of a satisfied cat and his tone is just so condescending. Beyond the humour of the scene, however, the moment perfectly reinforces Robert’s ongoing struggles with the “get up” mentality. He pushes himself beyond what he can physically handle rather than admitting that he needs assistance, and the weight literally almost crushes him. Robert’s obsession with proving his strength ironically leaves him completely helpless. Flamabae’s teasing therefore does more than simply puncture Robert’s pride, especially when we consider the defensive response options available to the player. The scene exposes the absurdity of Robert’s belief that needing help is somehow incompatible with being strong. In trying so hard to prove that he can handle everything alone, he instead demonstrates exactly why relying on others is sometimes necessary.

The Power of Friendship

• In Episode Five, after being goaded into visiting the villain bar the Sardine, Robert once again finds himself unable to rely solely on his own strength. A fight breaks out, and the player must complete a series of quick-time events. Notably, if the player fails the bathroom quick-time event against the dragon metahuman, Robert is rescued by either Coupe or Sonar, depending on which character was kept on the Z-Team earlier in the game. It is a small piece of branching gameplay, but thematically it reinforces Robert’s character arc. He is accustomed to being Mecha Man—the person who charges into danger and saves everyone else—but here those roles are reversed. Robert is vulnerable, outmatched and dependent on someone he previously had the authority to remove from the team. Whether Coupe or Sonar saves him, Robert’s earlier decision matters because the person he chose to keep is now willing to protect him. Although, if you choose Coupe, she does throw up on you. The scene demonstrates that leadership is not simply about being the strongest person in the room. Robert is gradually building something just as valuable as the Mecha Man suit: a team he can depend on. The consequences of his choices extend beyond this rescue. Previously in Episode Four, friends of the hero Robert cuts retaliate with a prank, furthermore, Malevola leaves the shift early if Sonar is removed. Later, the dismissed hero works for Shroud and knocks Robert unconscious at the Sardine. The contrast is striking: the person Robert keeps becomes someone willing to save him, while the person he casts aside returns as a threat. Dispatch therefore turns Robert’s relationships into tangible consequences, reinforcing that his growing strength comes not from standing alone, but from the connections he chooses to build and maintain.

Vulnerability

• When Robert retreats to his apartment drinking alone lamenting the latest failed Astral Pulse test in Episode Six. Rather than speak to anyone about his disappointment, he isolates himself and attempts to numb his agony. His response illustrates the connection between emotional stoicism and exaggerated independence. He does not simply conceal his pain from others; he denies them the opportunity to support him. Invisigal, Malevola and Roy’d portal into his apartment and disrupt his pity party with a real party that’s actually a façade to retrieve the stolen Astral Pulse. Together, they represent different parts of Robert’s life: his past, his present and a possible future. Their presence physically breaks through the isolation he has imposed on himself, pulling him out of his metaphorical shell and eventually onto the dance floor.

Drowning Instead of Feeling

• In Episode Seven, after Invisigal is either suspended or removed from the team, Robert goes to the Sardine alone. Whether he intends to become intoxicated, provoke a fight, or do both, each possibility serves the same purpose: avoiding emotional confrontation. He does not want to sit with his feelings; his fears over Chase’s health, his conflicted feelings about Invisigal, or his possible guilt over what has happened. Instead, he enters an environment where those emotions can be translated into anger and physical violence. When the bartender makes a lewd comment about Blonde Blazer, the player can choose to glass him. The insult gives Robert a socially acceptable target for feelings that originated somewhere else. Anger is one of the few emotions Robert appears willing to express without restraint. Fear, grief, helplessness, and guilt are buried, but anger can be acted upon because it allows him to feel powerful rather than vulnerable. The Sardine scene in Episode Seven, shows how emotional suppression does not eliminate emotion; it merely changes the form in which that emotion emerges.

Robert’s position at the Superhero Dispatch Network is the perfect narrative challenge to his exaggerated self-reliance or as I like to call it the “get up” attitude instilled by his father. 

As Mecha Man Blue it was him on the line, if he failed it was on him, if a person died it was on him. He had the ability to enter a dangerous situation and the only one he could trust fully to have his back was him. If he failed, it was over and so he constantly had to get up. Rendered to the position of dispatcher, he’s no longer in the field, the guy in the chair as they say. He is put in an objective position to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of his team, asses the mission with limited information and trust those he put in the field to complete the mission. The game’s central mechanic therefore reflects his emotional arc.

Robert’s success no longer rests solely on his own shoulders. Instead, it depends on his ability to recognise the strengths of others, delegate responsibility and trust his team. Dispatching may initially appear to be a step down from his life as Mecha Man Blue, but it teaches Robert a form of heroism his suit never could: interdependence. The game therefore literally changes the player’s relationship with heroism itself. Instead of controlling Mecha Man in combat, the player succeeds by trusting people Robert cannot completely control. The game mechanics make the player practice the lesson Robert needs to learn.

A game mechanic that I’ve grown to appreciate is the character-synergy system that reinforces this lesson. Synergy is a gameplay system that increases the mission success when certain characters are sent together on missions. When characters complement one another, their connection becomes a literal power boost. Mechanically, the game turns cooperation into strength.

For Robert to get his powers back he needs to replace stoic independence with vulnerability and care. Robert has the ability to care for others as we see for Waterboy and Phenomaman in Episode Four. He can recognise their vulnerability, and dejection without being sardonic or cruel. He offers these two understanding and avenues to do more and be more. He willingly offers the pair consideration that he himself has trouble accepting from those around him. This gives the impression that Robert’s central problem is not an inability to feel compassion; it is the belief that he personally has not earned the right to need it.

The audience isn’t shown much of Robert’s father in the game itself. Episode Two briefly establishes that Robert was raised on “tough love”, but it is the canon comic, Volume Three that reveals what this actually looked like.

After completing Episode Six of Dispatch the player is given access to a canon comic titled Get Up. The comic goes through a regular Brave Brigade barbecue and Robert is in the garage trying to destroy the Mecha Man suit with a hammer. He accidently activates the self defence protocol, Chase luckily hears this and saves Robert but not unscathed. The famous notch taken out of Robert’s ear, this is the origin story of the incident. Robbie a.k.a Mecha Man Astral looks down at him, you can tell he wants to comfort his son, but instead with a growl tells him to “get up.” Not a, “are you alright”, “are you hurt”, but a demand to shelve his feelings, put away his pain and get back on his feet. What makes this scene especially revealing is that Robbie has to hold himself back from comforting Robert. This suggests that the “get up” mentality may itself be generational: Robert has inherited not only the Mecha Man mantle, but also a restricted way of expressing pain, love and vulnerability.

This “get up” attitude has been the anthem Robert has been marching to the entire time he’s been Mecha Man Blue and beyond. In that same comic after Robert crashes, he immediately gets back up and because of this over exertion I believe he ends up in a coma. In Episode Six as Invisigal has an asthma attack, and is on the verge of death. Robert commands her to “get up” the same words he was told by his father. Harsh, demanding and callous, but it can’t work and the story punishes him for these words. Chase goes to save her, but at the cost of his health and at the time quite possibly his life.

In Chase’s hospital room, Blonde Blazer gives him a dollar for the vending machine and tells him: “He’s so fucking proud of the man you’ve become.” Once she leaves the room, Robert cries for what seems to be the first time in years. He doesn’t bury his feelings in alcohol, fights or jokes, for once he allows himself to feel and express his emotions like he was when he was a child before the “get up” attitude consumed his whole life. It’s painful to watch, but cathartic to the character, to be healed you must first admit you are hurt. It’s only by admitting this can you begin to rebuild into a stronger version of yourself.

The repair and restoration of the Mecha Man suit can be interpreted as Robert moving beyond his father’s influence and beginning to craft a new identity. Roy’d alludes to this in Episode Three: “That one over there, that’s your father’s suit. We are going to make this one a Robert suit.” Robert’s recovery of the Astral Pulse in Episode Eight further demonstrates how he has grown and evolved. Having shed the toxic masculinity that once defined his approach to heroism and learned to rely on others, Robert receives the Astral Pulse back from Invisigal herself. This suggests that Robert is not rejecting his father, but rather rejecting the harmful lessons embedded within the love and legacy his father left him. By the finale, Robert has regained almost everything he lost at the beginning: the suit, the Astral Pulse, and the identity of Mecha Man. However, he returns to each of them as a fundamentally different person.

If you are on the good ending route in Dispatch, you can either spare Shroud or kill him. Regardless of which choice the player makes, Robert is not punished for the decision. There is no hidden morality test that declares one choice objectively right and the other wrong. This is similar to the choices surrounding the Astral Pulse, where the player can give Shroud the real Pulse, the fake one, or both. These choices reinforce that Robert’s journey is not about proving himself through a single “correct” action. He has spent much of the story believing that strength is something he must prove through violence, sacrifice and independence. But there was never a test he needed to pass to become Mecha Man. Instead, the game asks Robert to broaden his definition of strength and recognise that being a hero can also mean trusting others, accepting help and choosing his own path.

The game’s real test happens long before the confrontation with Shroud. To achieve the good ending, whether with Blonde Blazer or Invisigal. You must create a foundation of trust and form genuine connections with the other characters. The player must combat the urge to sever ties with those you have a disagreement with or disobedience. The player must be articulate and allow yourself to put your trust in others. These are the qualities that directly challenge the isolated, controlling version of masculinity Robert embodies at the beginning of the story. When Robert gets into the Mech suit again he’s not in the Mecha Man uniform but as himself. He has transformed from the toxic loner to a rounded person.

It’s only when the player puts thoughts into actions, create instead of destroy and are clear in your communication that the player gets the most conventionally rewarding ending: Robert gets the girl. 

However, romance is not simply a prize for clicking on the correct dialogue options. It’s a final symbol of Robert’s transformation from a man shaped and molded by toxic masculinity to just a man. Whether the player chooses Blonde Blazer or Invisigal both these romances show Robert’s growth as someone able to form intimate relationships. At the onset of Dispatch, Robert struggled to accept that kind of attachment because closeness requires the qualities he has spent his life resisting. Relationships require vulnerability, trust, communication and the willingness to recognise another person as an equal rather than someone to protect, control or push away. 

The kiss therefore becomes less a reward for “winning” and more a final visual symbol of Robert’s transformation. He does not become a better man because he gets the girl. He is capable of having that relationship because he had already changed. Even if you manage to avoid such a relationship with either of them you still learn to let others in, just in a platonic rather than romantic way, but the emotional significance remains the same. Romance is not always the goal, sometimes you just need a couple of good friends.  

Whether you get the good or bad ending, romances Blonde Blazer or Invisigal or ends the story alone, he emerges from Dispatch with a better understanding of who he is. At the onset of the game, Robert believes he must constantly prove that he is strong enough to be Mecha Man. By the end, he realises that he never needed to prove it in the first place. His arc is not about abandoning strength, resilience or the Mecha Man legacy. It is about redefining what those things mean. Robert learns that strength does not require sacrificing the parts of himself that make him human: vulnerability, connection, family and love. He does not finish Dispatch as the perfect superhero or the perfect man. He finishes it as Robert, just Robert, and that’s more than enough.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post, remember to like and subscribe. If you think I’ve missed anything or want to add your own opinion tell me in the comments below.