Does This Cartoon Need a Caption?

A wordless cartoon is a rare gem.

They're hard to pull off, particularly in editorial cartooning, because so often we must help the reader understand the news item to which we're referring and further the message beyond what the drawing is able to convey. On those occasions when the drawing alone can carry the full weight of the message, I delight in sitting back and watching the power of the image do its magic.

One such cartoon I was proud of recently showed the torch of the Statue of Liberty just visible over a barb-wired border wall. I'm satisfied that my point came across clearly on that one.

So as I inked this cartoon about Ben Roethlisberger's helmetless crash, I kept wondering if the point was coming across clearly enough without the addition of a thought bubble or a caption. ("Guess I won't be needing this helmet." Duh.) Leaving it without some hit-you-over-the-head caption can be perilous, but on the other hand I hate to dumb down a cartoon needlessly.

What do you think? Does it need a caption?