It's Strawman Chauvinist John having a damned good point and looking way better than the alleged heroine.
Panel 1: John, who has to console a wailing Lizzie, takes exception to the hateful statement Mike made in yesterday's strip; he tells Mike that that was a mean thing to say. Mike says a perfunctory "Sorry."
Panel 2: John tells him to apologize to Lizzie, not to him; Mike again apologizes insincerely.
Panel 3: Noticing this and not liking it, John says "That wasn't a sincere Sorry; say you're sorry and mean it!" Mike sighs because he doesn't know what he did wrong in the first place.
Panel 4: He does, however, say Sorry in such a bizarrely over-the-top way that it needed to be written in blackletter.
Panel 5: As a justifiably pissed-off John marches him upstairs, Mike whines "But that was the best I could do."
Summary: As I said, Mike doesn't actually understand why John is so angry; after all, it's not if Elly has time to teach him right from wrong or anything. All he does know is that he'd better get what he can when he can get it 'cause she isn't going to "spoil" him by paying attention to him.
