History ComicBook / ApamaTheUndiscoveredAnimal

* SpinOff: The series has resulted in two spin-offs - ''Tap Dance Killer'', about the eponymous villain, and ''Bloom'', a prequel series that explores the origins of Regina and her cult. A third spin-off, ''Punchline and the Vaude-Villains'', about Tap Dance killer's former teammates, began in 2022.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Apama's battle with the Lawn Mower Man goes about the way one would expect for a fight where both combatants are idiots and one of them is drunk. Ilyia tries to deliver a haymaker to Jesse, but because the latter is wearing armor and super-durability is not part of the Apama power set, Ilyia screws up his arm. On the other end of things, Jesse tries to retaliate by using his flying rods' acceleration powers to turn himself into a living tornado, but since his internal organs aren't designed to withstand that sort of force, he ends up winded and vomiting.
** Trina Kukula is initially introduced as an IntrepidReporter who's bravely seeking out Regina and her cult. Her near-death experience at Regina's hands leaves her with severe PTSD, killing any lingering inclinations she had to seek out more stories.

* WriterOnBoard: The series is supposedly being written by David from ''Hero Tomorrow'', and thus aspects of it are deliberately written as the power-fantasy of a frustrated pothead. The most notable example of this is Lawn Mower Man being modeled after David's nemesis Greg.

* ShoutOut: The first issue features a cameo by ComicBook/FlamingCarrot, as a thanks to his creator Bob Burden for helping Sikora and Miller with their film and comic-book career.

* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Many of the characters in the series are modelled after actors from ''Hero Tomorrow''. Ilyia is Perren Hedderson, Vica is Joceyln Wrzosek, Jesse is Bryan Jalovec, and Elwin Clements, the CEO of United Federal Oil, is Pat Milo. The various characters associated with the "Nothing Like Vaudeville" arc are modelled after actors from the Near West Theatre.

* SpinOff: The series has resulted in two spin-offs - ''Tap Dance Killer'', about the eponymous villain, and ''Bloom'', a prequel series that explores the origins of Regina and her cult.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Apama's battle with the Lawn Mower Man goes about the way one would expect for a fight where both combatants are idiots and one of them is drunk. Ilyia tries to deliver a haymaker to Jesse, but because the latter is wearing armor and super-durability is not part of the Apama power set, Ilyia screws up his arm. On the other end of things, Jesse tries to retaliate by using his flying rods' acceleration powers to turn himself into a living tornado, but since his internal organs aren't designed to withstand that sort of force, he ends up winded and vomiting.

* WriterOnBoard: The series is supposedly being written by David from ''Hero Tomorrow'', and thus aspects of it are deliberately written as the power-fantasy of a frustrated pothead. The most notable example of this is Lawn Mower Man being modelled after David's nemesis Greg.

* KnifeNut: Hurricane Lizzy has crude knives attached to the ends of her extremely long sleeves. Her main combat strategy is whipping the sleeves at her opponents.

* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Many of the characters in the series are modelled after actors from ''Hero Tomorrow''. Ilyia is Perren Hedderson, Vica is Joceyln Wrzosek, Jesse is Bryan Jalovec, and Elwin Clements, the CEO of United Federal Oil, is Pat Milo.

* DatingCatwoman: After his fling with Trina fizzles out, Ilyia tries rebounding with Nikki St. Clair, a struggling actress who he figures won't give him too much grief about the fact that he's a barely-solvent ice-cream man. Unfortunately for him, Nikki turns out to be the Tap Dance Killer, a deadly supervillainess.

* LostInCharacter: Actors Nikki St. Clair, Vincent Reed, and Klaus Mirogold are tricked into imbibing a substance that turns them into the villains Tap Dance Killer, Sir Terror, and Fletcher, respectively.

* BrandX: United Federal Oil is a stand-in for British Petroleum, which has its US corporate offices in Cleveland.

* LostInCharacter: Actors Nikki St. Clair, Vincent Reed, and Klaus Mirogold are tricked into imbibing a substance that turns them into the villains Tap Dance Killer, Lord Terror, and Fletcher, respectively.

* ProfessionalKiller: Before becoming the Ruster, Alan Friedrich was a "fixer" for United Federal Oil. Much of his job entailed making problems go away for the company, usually through killing people.

* ShowWithinAShow: The series was conceived as a comic book that might have been created by David, the protagonist from the film ''Film/HeroTomorrow'', with Ilyia being an AuthorAvatar of David and Vica being a version of his girlfriend Robyn. Lawn Mower Man, the first villain, is a version of Greg, David's nemesis.

* ContractKiller: Before becoming the Ruster, Alan Friedrich was a "fixer" for United Federal Oil. Much of his job entailed making problems go away for the company, usually through killing people.

* CreatorProvincialism: The series is based in Cleveland and the surrounding area, where Ted Sikora and Milo Miller are from.

* CurbStompBattle: Apama's battle with the Lawn Mower Man goes about the way one would expect for a fight where both combatants are idiots and one of them is drunk. Ilyia tries to deliver a haymaker to Jesse, but because the latter is wearing armor and super-durability is not part of the Apama power set, Ilyia screws up his arm. On the other end of things, Jesse tries to retaliate by using his flying rods' acceleration powers to turn himself into a living tornado, but since his internal organs aren't designed to withstand that sort of force, he ends up winded and vomiting.

* SuperStrength: Part of Apama's power set is strength, which Ilyia compares to that of a gorilla.

* RealityEnsues: Apama's battle with the Lawn Mower Man goes about the way one would expect for a fight where both combatants are idiots and one of them is drunk. Ilyia tries to deliver a haymaker to Jesse, but because the latter is wearing armor and super-durability is not part of the Apama power set, Ilyia screws up his arm. On the other end of things, Jesse tries to retaliate by using his flying rods' acceleration powers to turn himself into a living tornado, but since his internal organs aren't designed to withstand that sort of force, he ends up winded and vomiting.

* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Ilyia is modeled after actor Perren Hedderson, while Vica is modeled after Joceyln Wrzosek. Both actors agreed to lend their likenesses to the characters.

* ShowWithinAShow: The series was conceived as a comic book that might have been created by David, the protagonist from the film ''Film/HeroTomorrow'', with Ilyia being an AuthorAvatar of David and Vica being a version of his girlfriend Robyn.

In the present day, perpetually luckless ice-cream man Ilyia Zjarsky stumbles upon a mysterious cave in the woods outside of Cleveland, where he finds a weird suit and a diagram portraying a pose that could supposedly unlock the secret powers of the apama. Despite not knowing what an apama is, Ilyia dedicates himself to replicating the pose, and is rewarded with superhuman powers, which he uses to defend Cleveland from a host of bizarre villains.

* SpeaksFluentAnimal: Apama can talk to animals, but it doesn't do him a lot of good, as they all have weird syntax.

''Apama the Undiscovered Animal'' is an independent superhero comic created by Ted Sikora, Milo Miller, and Benito Gallego. It is vaguely connected to Sikora and Miller's independent film ''Film/HeroTomorrow''.