History ComicBook / AstroCity

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[[folder:Tropes N-R]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Death-Walker robots, made by mad Korean scientists in TheFifties. Steeljack dryly notes that even if they weren't lumbering, entirely black death-robots, the name would still be a hint as to what they're like.
* NebulousEvilOrganisation: Pyramid, a recurring worldwide evil organization with an Egyptian theme.
* TheNeedless: As a living cartoon character, Loony Leo does not need to eat, drink, or sleep, and is effectively immortal.
* NeverGrewUp: Matilda "Tillie" Armstrong, a ten-year-old girl [[spoiler:who uses her psychic powers to stay young forever]]. She could grow older if she wanted to, but that would make her unable to [[spoiler:manifest the Astro City hero The Gentleman]].
* NeverMyFault: After the Point Man used a LostSuperweapon against an alien menace -- destroying a dozen city blocks and killing several hundred people in the process -- he proceeds to blame the other superheroes for not telling him that it was a destructive world-ending superweapon (even though they ''did'' do exactly that).
* NiceGuy: Many of the heroes would fall under this trope, but the TropeCodifier in the verse is The Gentleman, who's completely and unflappably polite, no matter how dire the situation -- after rescuing a news helicopter that [[TooDumbToLive endangered itself by flying into a battle against a storm elemental,]] he simply smiled at the crew and politely suggested that they might want to get to safety and not endanger any of the bystanders on the streets below.
* NiceGuysFinishLast: MPH tries this on Quarrel when she breaks up with him and goes back to Crackerjack. She shuts him down immediately, pointing out she isn't representing "all women," she's herself, and she feels guilty that she can't reciprocate his kindness because [[MarriedToTheJob she's too committed to her training.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Point Man, a brash new hero, fired The Innocent Gun (a weapon containing one of the fundamental powers of the universe) at a planet-threatening menace... ''despite'' all of the experienced heroes telling him '''not''' to do so. He ended up leveling a dozen city blocks, killed hundreds of people, and tore a hole in reality... not to mention leaving the gun inert, useless against the ''real'' threat it was meant to stop.
* NighInvulnerability: Steeljack is 800 pounds of living metal, making him ''damn'' tough to hurt. He can still be incapacitated or killed by other, indirect means.
* NinetiesAntihero / SociopathicHero: A depressingly large number of characters in "The Dark Age" story arc fall into this trope, especially in the last act.
** The Pale Horseman [[KillItWithFire incinerates]] ''all'' criminals, whether it's murderers or shoplifting kids.
** Gloo is a mindless BlobMonster that fights crime by pulling "pranks" on its targets -- such as spraying [[AcidAttack flesh-melting "seltzer"]] or jamming eight {{Mooks}} [[FoldSpindleMutilation into a subcompact car]]. And it treats armed robbery and littering as equivalent crimes...
** The Blue Knight is a skeletal vigilante who hunts down and kills anyone associated with the criminal underworld, whether it's a mob boss or a {{Mook}} fencing stolen goods. He is eventually succeeded by the Blue Knight'''s''', a squad of armed vigilantes.
** Stonecold is a murderous vigilante with rock-solid armor and knuckledusters.
** Subverted by Hellhound, one of the first DarkerAndEdgier heroes. Despite having the demonic background, monstrous appearance, torn leather and chains costume, and [[DarkAgeOfSupernames "edgy" name]], is actually a NobleDemon who respected the [[TheCape Silver Agent]] and is friendly with the old-school heroes.
** By the end of "The Dark Age", the protagonists Charles and Royal Williams have become this in their obsessive quest to [[YouKilledMyFather kill the man who murdered their parents]].
* NoAdequatePunishment: Infidel's crimes include laying waste to the entire world and ''destroying the entire omniverse'' at least once. Unfortunately, he has been involved in so many historic events (including several in the future) that his longtime enemy Samaritan has been unable to come up with a punishment that would suit the crime without damaging the timeline. On the other hand, Infidel has been unable to find a way to kill Samaritan without causing similar damage. As a result, they've been at an impasse for years, so Infidel has agreed to go into retirement in a pocket dimension, while Samaritan agrees not to interfere with whatever he does there... for now, anyway.
* NobleDemon: Infidel may be a world-conquering EvilSorcerer, but he [[EvenEvilHasStandards follows his own code of honor]] and [[IGaveMyWord won't break his word]] once he gives it.
* NobodyHereButUsStatues: In "Ellie's Friends", the elderly Ellie Jennnersen runs a modest roadside museum featuring various robots, drones, and other mechanical {{Mooks}} salvaged from superhero battles. But they only resemble inert exhibits -- in the evenings, they become active, helping Ellie with her chores and tending to her (and their) needs.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
** ComicBook/{{Shazam}} expy The Gentleman is modeled after Fred [=MacMurray=] (who has always been co-creator Creator/AlexRoss' model for Captain Marvel), while his sidekick Young Gentleman is modeled after Music/ElvisPresley (a huge real-life fan of CM Junior).
*** Similarly, [[spoiler:his daughter]] Matilda "Tillie" Armstrong is modeled after Creator/JudyGarland (in a nod to Mary Marvel originally being modeled after Garland).
** The Green Man, in addition to being a Swamp Thing CaptainErsatz, is also heavily inspired in appearance by Creator/AlanMoore, the best-known writer of ''ComicBook/SwampThing''.
** The British villain The Headmaster of Crime is Creator/JohnCleese in a monocle and mortarboard.
** Tom O'Bedlam is essentially Creator/TomWolfe, immaculate white suit and all.
** One of the scientists in "Resistance" is a blatant personification of [[Characters/TheMuppetShow Dr. Bunsen Honeydew]].
* NoFourthWall: The Broken Man, a (possibly) insane being who directly addresses the readers to enlist them in his quest against the Oubor.
-->"Look, I can't explain everything all at once -- we'd be here for like a dozen issues and your eyes would glaze over!"
* NoGuyWantsToBeChased: Played for drama in "Shining Armor", where Irene Merriweather becomes obsessed with proving her coworker Adam Peterson is actually ComicBook/{{Superman}} {{Expy}} Atomicus. She thought he was playfully hinting that she needed to prove herself worthy of his love, when in actuality he was [[ReallyWasBornYesterday a child in a man's body]] and too confused and frightened to express himself emotionally. She eventually [[spoiler:drives Atomicus to leave Earth forever]].
-->"I chased him, so he ran."
* NonHumanNonBinary: The only non-binary character who's appeared in the entire run is Glamorax, who is the living embodiment of glam rock.
* NoodleIncident:
** For the longest time, this was the unexplained fate of the Silver Agent (complete with memorial statue inscribed "To Our Eternal Shame"). It was finally revealed that [[spoiler:he had been unjustly executed for murdering a foreign head of state, as the public was growing distrustful of superheroes and the government wanted to assert they still had control over metahumans. And even ''after'' his death, the Silver Agent ''still'' returned to save the world several times afterwards]].
** On a lighter note, Infidel once did ''something'' that swapped Samaritan's hair and costume colors.
--->"What's he done to reality ''this'' time?"
** It's not sure ''what'' specifically the Astro-Naut did to [[SmashMook The Convincer,]] but it was enough to turn him into a wimpering coward ready to turn state's evidence.
* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Dr. Bertram Garneau kept the critical knowledge of his [[{{Technobabble}} neuro-memetic imprint]] research in his mind, so his CorruptCorporateExecutive sponsor would not be able to exploit it.
* NoSell: Dame Progress used tranquilizing shells in her war on crime. Mister Cakewalk, who she frequently faced, was largely immune to them (though he did note they stung a lot).
* NotMeThisTime:
** The story "Adventures In Other Worlds" plays this to eleven. When Astra Furst goes missing, the First Family hunt down all of their usual super-villain enemies, convinced that one of them has captured her. Each villain's latest scheme gets disrupted, even though none of them are guilty of kidnapping Astra... when, in reality, [[spoiler:she's run away from home to experience elementary school and learn how to play hopscotch]].
** In "Things Past", the retired villainess Cutlass is the lead suspect in a brutal bank robbery that used her signature LaserBlade weapons. She insists she didn't do it, and hires Steeljack to find out who was really responsible.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: One issue reveals that the Time-Keeper, a time-themed villain in a referee outfit, managed to trigger a CrisisCrossover by starting a fight with a ''god'' and shattering time itself as a result.
* NotUsedToFreedom:
** In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack agrees to investigate the deaths of small-time criminals simply because, as a recent parolee, he's got way too much time on his hands and don't have any other way to fill it.
** In "The Deep Blue Sea", Mister Manta (a sea-based supervillain) is marooned on a deserted island with his tech severely damaged. After decades of plotting and repairing his suit, he finds his way back to civilization, but his first encounter completely overwhelms him because he hasn't spoken to another living person for so long. By the end of his story, he gets marooned again, and happily goes back to plotting his inevitable return... [[TheHermit by himself.]]
* TheNthDoctor: [[spoiler:As times change, and the cakewalk disappears from memory, Mister Cakewalk fades away. When jazz kicks up, Jazzbaby appears, and turns out to be a reincarnation of Cakewalk with no recollection of her origins. The pattern repeats with subsequent incarnations, each forgetting their previous lives.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity:
** In "Pastoral", people feign being unable to notice a CoverBlowingSuperPower.
** Crackerjack sometimes uses his carefree IdiotHero persona to lull people into lowering their guard around him.
* OddShapedPanel: Camilla at the carnival in "Pastoral" features panels like a ferris wheel -- with the borders being lights.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: This is a mainstay trope of many ''Astro City'' stories; since the focus is on the emotional or personal growth of the characters, earth-shattering events are often reduced to mere background color.
** "Everyday Life" has the First Family repeatedly tearing through armies of {{Mooks}} in search of their missing daughter, yet each battle is relegated to one or two frames, while the focus is on Astra's efforts to master hopscotch.
** "Confession" has a worldwide alien invasion with dozens of heroes against an army of shape-shifting extraterrestrials, with a dozen panels devoted to the actual battles themselves.
** "The Nearness of You" turns a TimeCrash CrisisCrossover into a background reference, summarized in a handful of panels across a single SplashPage.
** In "The End of the Whole Mess", a tired, worn-down Steeljack faces off against six ancient vengeful ghosts. Two panels later, he's lost his shirt and the few survivors are fleeing for their unlives.
* OffTheWagon: Done with a comic-book twist in "The Deep Dark Woods". Edward "Ned" Calloway is addicted to being a well-dressed [[GangOfHats themed costumed crook,]] despite his repeated efforts to pull himself out of the criminal lifestyle.
* OldSuperhero: ''Astro City'' is rife with examples of this trope, as it establishes a long history of generational superheroes, and the avoidance of ComicBookTime means characters age and cope accordingly. Some heroes are extraordinarily long-lived (''e.g.'' The Confessor, The Hanged Man, the N-Forcer, the Gentleman) and remain active, while others have [[RetiredBadass retired]] (''e.g.'' The Black Badge, Supersonic, Starfighter) or passed away due to natural causes (Noah of the Crossbreed).
** The oldest known superhero in the mythos is Coyotl, who was presumably a significantly pre-Colonial Native American. The oldest known hero still alive is Iron Horse The Human Locomotive, a steam-powered hero who's been active since the 1860s.
** The Black Rapier is an EmpoweredBadassNormal who used a rejuvenation serum to prolong his crimefighting career, but eventually retires as even that wasn't sufficient to keep him active.
** Quarrel and Crackerjack, two [[BadassNormal non-powered heroes]], are in the middle of the process; they don't ''want'' to retire, but age is taking its toll.
** Mister Manta is a villainous example; he's been marooned on a deserted island for so long that when he finally appears during a raid on a cruise ship, nobody recognizes the white-haired long-bearded skinny hermit. [[spoiler:He still manages to kick a prodigious amount of ass, though.]]
--->"Look at this guy! What does he think he is, Geezer Man?"
* OmnidisciplinaryLawyer: Played with. Averted when [[HorrifyingHero the Hanged Man]] contacts estate lawyer Marta Dobrescu about a [[ItMakesSenseInContext real estate fraud case,]] Marta realizes that's out of her wheelhouse and refers the matter to another lawyer.[[note]]Who happens to be the wife of one of the First Family, but that's not relevant here[[/note]] Played straight later when she gets collared into interpreting some mystical contracts for [[TheArchmage the Silver Adept.]]
* OncePerEpisode: Each ''Astro City'' story ends with a street sign reading "You Are Now Leaving Astro City. Please Drive Carefully." Stories that span multiple issues have each one end with a "To Be Continued" sign instead.
** "Pastoral" ends with a sign reading "Caplinville City Limits - Come Back Soon!"
** "Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes" ends with a "To Be Concluded" sign.
* OneLastJob:
** In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack finds that almost all of his fellow low-rent supervillain peers are constantly lining up for that one last job, the one that will lead them to greatness and riches... but it never works out.
--->"Oh, there was always a new job. And always a sure thing, too. This time was the big one, always. This time, the one that'd end all our troubles."
** This attitude eventually destroys Ned Carroway's marriage in "The Deep Dark Woods".
* OneProductPlanet: The world of the Quiqui-a trades their grain Jhef with other planets.
* OneWingedAngel: Hellhound is normally a normal-looking ScaryBlackMan, with a friendly demeanor and heroic intent. But when he was infected with a HatePlague, he was forcibly turned into a forty-foot-tall {{Kirin}} with fangs and horns.
* OrphanedPunchline: Crackerjack gives us "...so the woman says 'You idiot -- This is a duck, not a pig!' And the bartender says 'I was talking to the duck!'"
* OtherMeAnnoysMe: In "Where the Action Is", several of Manny Monkton's [[ComicBooksAreReal depictions of in-unverse supers]] draw their ire. First, Nightingale chews him out for insinuating that she and her sidekick Sunbird are a lesbian couple. Then, Glowworm beats him up for depicting him as a white supremacist (which particularly offends him because [[YouKnowImBlackRight he's actually black]] under the PowerGlow). Afterwards, Monkton gets the idea to avoid future problems by shifting his focus to stories about high-level cosmic entities who [[BeneathNotice won't care what he writes about them.]] This proves [[TemptingFate not to be the case...]]
* OurGargoylesRock: The Silver Adept's brownstone home is protected by Grev and his team of magic gargoyles, who guard the place and ward off incursions (magical and otherwise) as needed.
* OutsideRide: A variation; the Astro-Naut would ride jet engines -- and nothing else, ''just'' the engine -- for fun, like a rodeo cowboy.
* OverlyLongName:
** The Working Group on Unsettling Anomalies Classification and Contamination, otherwise known as the Blasphemy Boys.
** The Steel-Jacketed Man shortened his name to Steeljack.
* PaletteSwap: Infidel once did [[NoodleIncident something]] that gave Samaritan a blue costume and red hair.
* ParentalAbandonment:
** Louisa Garneau loses her parents as a teenager; her father left home to work on advocacy for various progressive and liberal causes, while her mother died of cancer in a hospital.
** Brian Kinney loses both of his parents at a young age and ends up in an orphanage as a result.
** El Hombre recruits his KidSidekick Bravo after his parents were killed by gang violence.
* PassingTheTorch:
** Jack-in-the-Box III takes up the mantle after his predecessor discovers he's going to be a father. Jack-in-the-Box II ends up serving as MissionControl instead.
** Done indirectly with G-Dog. [[spoiler:After his pet corgi Hank dies, Andy Merton decides to stop being a superhero instead of trying to find a replacement pet to bond with.]] He takes the medallion to a remote area and leaves it on a tree branch, so fate can choose a successor on its own.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Used repeatedly in "The Dark Age" as Charles and Royal Williams recall the night their apartment exploded and their parents were killed. When they finally confront Lord Sovereign, his enhanced mental powers allow him to enter their memory and [[EvilGloating taunt them]] about [[KillTheOnesYouLove killing everyone they've ever known]].
* PastLifeMemories: Tom O'Bedlam triggers Glamorax to recall their past lives -- as [[TheNthDoctor Mr. Cakewalk, Zootsuit, the Bouncing Beatnik, the Halcyon Hippie, and more]] -- by introducing them to people who were close to those incarnations.
* PatchworkWorld: The Gordian Knot, a reality nexus where millions of different planes of existence are caught in mid-collapse.
* PatrioticFervor: Discussed in "The Dark Age"; the disillusionment many Americans felt in TheSeventies -- that the United States was [[BrokenPedestal no longer a flawless leader of the world]] -- is reflected in the public's growing skepticism about superheroes. Meanwhile, a group called the Sterling Foundation pushes for a renewed sense of nationalism, urging Americans to "stand up" against opposition and criticism.
* PeoplePuppets: At one point, a group called the Sterling Foundation managed to put a device on Starfighter which allowed them to control him.
* PerspectiveFlip:
** "The Tarnished Angel" shows the Honor Guard from the outside. Since Steeljack's a former criminal screwed over by poor decisions and lousy circumstances now trying to do right, Honor Guard's skepticism come across as arrogant, bullying and elitist.
** "The Menace From Earth" and "Enemy of the State" shows a rescue mission by the First Family on an alien planet from the viewpoint of an alien child.
* PhantomZone: Samaritan has access to such a dimension, but rather than use it for criminals or epic battles, he uses it as [[MundaneUtility a storage closet]], mainly holding all the awards and plaques he regularly receives. It's also a convenient place to change his clothes when no phone booth is available.
* PlanetaryRomance:
** A major part of Starfighter's past adventures involve Illula, Seven-Fold Empress of Jarranatha.
** Also a good part of the Astro-Naut's adventures, with Xalzana the space princess.
* PlanetLooters: The Mrevani from "The Sky's the Limit" are primitive scavengers who steal their technologies from other, more advanced, civilizations, then use it to conquer them. The Astro-Naut fears that humans could do the same if they [[TheWorldIsNotReady used his discoveries prematurely]].
* PlanetOfHats:
** The gorillas of Gorilla Mountain (a hidden tropical zone in Antarctica) are all trained to be warriors and protectors. Somewhat justified as Gorilla Mountain is on top of an interdimensional rift and frequently gets invaded as a result.
** In "Sorrowsday", the Quiqui-a are a race of farmers devoted to raising and preparing the Jhef, [[OneProductPlanet the grain of their world.]]
** The Zirrs are a race of insectoid aliens whose entire social structure is geared towards worshipping their warlord leader and serving the Zirr Empire.
* PlantMooks:
** In one story, the villainous group Pyramid was growing an army of plant-soldiers inside a secret creche in Burma, only to be stopped by the Point Man.
** Another story refers to plant-based ArtificialHumans created with technology from the Garden Gnome.
* PlantPerson: The Green Man (an {{Expy}} for ComicBook/SwampThing) was formed when the mage Simon Magus accidentally melded with Earth's biosphere. He stands about fifty feet tall and [[ShoutOut bears more than a passing resemblance]] to Creator/AlanMoore.
* PlayingWithFire:
** The villain Flamethrower is this, with a touch of PyroManiac thrown in.
** There's an alien species called the Thermians who are WreathedInFlames and wear backpacks that let them manipulate fire.
* PleaseSelectNewCityName: "The Sky's the Limit" tells the story of how Romeyn Falls was renamed Astro City. [[spoiler:It was in honor of the GoldenAge hero the Astro-Naut, who saved the city from an alien invasion which had leveled most of it.]]
* PocketDimension: A number of these have appeared in various stories. Infidel has [[SelfImposedExile voluntarily exiled himself in one]] to pursue his studies, American Chibi is [[SealedEvilInADuel locked in one]] to battle the King-In-Chains, and Samaritan uses one as a [[MundaneUtility storage closet]].
* PokeThePoodle:
** Among the curses Mr. Malefic wishes upon the Silver Adept are that her feet be covered in blisters, her toenails cut too short and her lips be forever chapped.
** In a battle against The Gentleman, Professor Borzoi threatens to ''crumple his carnation'' and ''muss his coif''.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain:
** While Infidel isn't at the level of a StrawMisogynist, he does feel that women are inferior, and that treating them as equal to men is folly.
** Dr. Aegyptus, who kidnapped dozens of African-American folks and planned to use time-travel to take them back to before the American Revolutionary War and sell them into slavery.
** In "Where the Action Is", Manny Monkton publishes a story that said the villain Glowworm was a white supremacist with a scheme to exploit the black teens of the city. Unbeknownst to Manny, Glowworm is African-American, and ''really'' resents the implication...
** The Lawmen are a group of [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything hooded supremacists]] who attacked a gay pride parade.
** Dr. Gearbox was a GadgeteerGenius who refused to allow his daughter follow in his footsteps because he believed that engineering and math were inappropriate fields for girls.
** Earthpride is a hate group of former white supremacists who've extended their bigotry to aliens.
** The Master was a LongLived evil mastermind who rejoiced in hatred and fed on people's suffering and misery.
* PosthumousCharacter: ''Astro City'' has lots of these, given the lack of ComicBookTime and heavy use of flashback stories. To point out only a few examples:
** The heroic Stormhawk is seen entirely in flashback, yet is a key character in "Sorrowsday".
** Many of the incarnations of counterculture music -- Mr. Cakewalk, Jazzbaby, the Halcyon Hippie, etc. -- are shown in flashback stories or only mentioned in passing.
** Several of the founding members of [[SuperTeam Honor Guard]] (Leopardman, Max O'Millions, the first Cleopatra) appear only in flashbacks.
** The earliest adventurers of the 'verse, such as the Astro-Naut, Air Ace, Coyotl, and the All-American are seen exclusively in flashbacks or references.
* PostModernMagik:
** Appears twice in the "Confession" story arc.
*** First is with Mordecai Chalk, a cyborg monster-hunter with iron- and silver-enhancements, assorted mystical runes, weapons that fire anti-monster ammunition, and an onboard database that references thousands of occult tomes. [[spoiler:He tries to fight an occult serial killer and barely manages to survive.]]
*** Second is [[spoiler:an alien squad fighting a vampire with holographic crosses, holy water-soaked cables, and a two-handed stake-launching cannon.]]
** Steeljack's steel skin proves useful when he fights a group of demons vulnerable to being attacked with iron.
** The Silver Adept, the sorceress supreme of the series, uses the Aethernet -- a magic-powered internet -- to [[MundaneUtility respond to emails, track appointments, and get navigational updates]] across the myriad dimensions.
** American Chibi owes her origin to an EldritchAbomination trying to get into the world via ''video games''. Hummingbird II is dubious.
--->'''Hummingbird:''' But-- computer games? Creepy elder-god pixel-things?
--->'''Assemblyman:''' Hey, modern times, modern forms.
** When Hummingbird II needs to open a portal to the mystic realm of Khapak Iqun, it required a magic spell augmented with a technological gateway.
* PowerFist: Goldenglove's gloves gave him this power, but his daughter discovered they were capable of a lot more.
* PowerLimiter: Lord Sovereign has a fragment of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Sekhmet Stone]] embedded in his armor; it's the only thing that allows him to control his dark energies and prevent them from overwhelming him.
* ThePowerOfRock: ''Astro City'' has had a number of heroes and heroines, dating from its foundation as Romeyn Falls, with powers associated with various forms of music.
** Silverstring was a demon-slaying troubadour from the 1870s who [[WalkingTheEarth traveled from place to place and realm to realm]], learning music and fighting evil along the way.
** The AnthropomorphicPersonification of counterculture music is a [[TheNthDoctor recurring superhero]] in the series. Its manifestations have been Mister Cakewalk (a Ragtime-inspired vigilante from the 1900s), Jazzbaby (a jazz-themed heroine from the 1920s), Zoot Suit ('40s big band), the Bouncing Beatnik (hep cat from TheFifties), the Halcyon Hippie (psychedelic rock of TheSixties), then finally Glamorax (a Music/DavidBowie-inspired glam rocker of TheSeventies). Going beyond conventional crimefighting, they are also the ArchEnemy of the Oubor, an EldritchAbomination from outside of reality.
** Played with in Sticks, a talking gorilla from a militaristic gorilla society who left his home to pursue a career as a rock drummer. Due to his superior strength and agility, he was targeted for recruitment by both heroes and villains, which made it difficult to fulfill his goal. His solution was to [[spoiler:assemble a band of superpowered beings called "Powerchord"]].
* PromotionToParent: After the first (villainous) Quarrel was arrested, his daughter took it upon herself to take care of her three brothers and mom.
* ProtectionRacket: During the Great Depression, the Ingels Street Mob would intimidate shopkeepers into signing up for "protection"; those who refused would be visited by The Convincer, an armored thug who'd smash up the place (and maybe the owners).
* ProtectorBehindBars: In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack has been imprisoned by Honor Guard after they [[CassandraTruth refuse to believe his warnings]] about an impending citywide supervillain attack. Out of options, he breaks free and gets back to the city because he realizes that the [[CloseKnitCommunity small-time crooks of his neighborhood]] had no one else to protect them from a murderer.
* PsychoForHire:
** There's Demolitia and the Unholy Alliance, who enjoy their work too much to be PunchClockVillains and are not classy enough to form MurderInc
** The terrorist organization Pyramid is not above renting out their psycho killer Jitterjack for whoever has the price.
** For a while, the NinetiesAntiHero Hollowpoint was running a killer-for-hire service.
* PsychicPowers: This is the secret origin of [[spoiler:The Gentleman -- he is the psychic manifestation of Matilda Armstrong, a girl who wishes him into existence when there's trouble. Matilda is also able to use her powers to create additional people (like [[KidSidekick the Young Gentleman]]), keep herself immortal, and BreakTheFourthWall]].
* PunchAWall: In "The Tarnished Angel", Carl gets so frustrated that he takes out his anger by smashing up a [[ConvenientlyEmptyBuilding condemned apartment building.]]
* PunchClockVillain: In "Ellie's Friends", Ellie's nephew Fred is making money on the side by renting out Ellie's collection of [[RobotBuddy robot friends]] as mooks and henchmen to anyone. Ellie ends up getting arrested as a result.
* PutOnABus: Done literally in "A Little Knowledge", as "Eyes" Eisenstein takes a bus [[spoiler:to get ''very far away'' from Astro City]].
* TheQueenpin: "The Voice of the Turtle" has the Red Queen, [[spoiler:''a.k.a.'' Lucia, childhood girlfriend of the Mock Turtle]]. She built up a criminal empire using a combination of her own cleverness and guile, his intelligence, and various stolen goods.
* QuittingToGetMarried: In "Waltz of the Hours", a sudden citywide [[LoveIsInTheAir burst of romance]] prompts the costumed bank robber Gundog to suddenly retire from crime and move to Maine with his new girlfriend Laura.
* RageBreakingPoint: In "The Deep Dark Woods", a lifetime of being insulted and ignored finally spills over when a stranger just walks into Ned Carroway. Ned proceeds to ''demolish'' the man before stealing his clothing.
* RayOfHopeEnding: At the end of "Enemy of the Empire", Zir realizes [[spoiler:his sister is ReassignedToAntarctica and his entire society is a horrible, broken mess of lies]]. But he vows to try and find a way to change it from within.
* ReactionShot: At the end of "Pastoral", we see Cammie's reaction to what she saw in the barn -- including her going back to the house and writing an entirely new email that shows she has decided to become a SecretKeeper -- before the last panel reveals what she saw.
* TheRealHeroes:
** Samaritan says this in "In Dreams" when receiving an award from the fire service. He really believes it, though he wishes he could skip the ceremonies and [[SamaritanSyndrome spend more time saving civilians]] instead.
** There's also a poster seen in one story of the Silver Agent next to a police officer. "Silver Agent says salute your local heroes!"
** The story "Since the Fire", written for one of the 9/11 benefit books, is all about this.
* ReallyWasBornYesterday: In "Shining Armor", Atomicus looks like a thirty-something adult male, but has the emotional maturity and understanding of a young child since he was created just a year ago.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Commander Flint, of E.A.G.L.E., who comes to one of Winged Victory's facilities to investigate it when she's under accusation. He hears her out, respects her wishes, and tells her he's not there to arrest her. When he gets word that a warrant's being put out for her arrest, he gives her a warning.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: All the soldiers of the Zirr Empire who were defeated by the First Family are cashiered, demoted and reassigned to crap work. Since they're brainwashed, they accept this as failure for not doing their all to serve their empire.
-->'''Zir:''' This was our system. This was our way. We do as the priestlords say. And the priestlords ''lie'' to us. And good people break and are punished for failing, rather than blame those who created the situation in the first place.
* {{Reconstruction}}: ''Astro City'' is a series built on the repeated reconstruction of comic book superheroes. While most of Creator/KurtBusiek's works involve nuanced reconstruction on some level, ''Astro City'' has it as its lifeblood. You will be hard-pressed to find a single issue that doesn't reconstruct one ComicBook trope or another, whether it's the CrisisCrossover, the BadassNormal, MundaneUtility, the IntrepidReporter, [[SecretIdentity Secret Identities]], the NinetiesAntihero, PostModernMagik...
* RecursiveReality: "Sorrowsday" introduces the Moleculands, an entire set of microscoping realities like Subatomia and the Quarkrealms.
* RedRightHand: Royal recognizes Aubrey Jason as his parents' killer by his distinctive facial scar.
* RedOniBlueOni: Julius Furst is red to his brother Augustus' blue.
* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Usually played straight, as Creator/KurtBusiek believes that it's important that the stories take place in our world. That said, a key event in the universe is [[TheCape Samaritan]] averting the ''Challenger'' shuttle disaster, which ushered in a new era of inspirational superheroes.
** There's also the story of Vincent Oleck, a lawyer who successfully defended his client in a murder case by citing superhuman tropes such as {{Shapeshifting}}, {{Evil Twin}}s, and DeathIsCheap. Later, it is explained that the case caused a major overhaul of praxis in ''Astro City's'' legal system, so the defense wouldn't work in the present day.
** Deconstructed in the Astro-Naut's story. Roy Virgil, ''a.k.a.'' the [[CaptainSpaceDefenderOfEarth Astro-Naut]], developed many super-advanced inventions during his interplanetary adventures. However, he refuses to share them with anyone because he's convinced that TheWorldIsNotReady for them. The public is ''outraged'' that he's hoarding futuristic technology from them, especially as this was during the start of World War II and the Allies' war effort, causing [[HeroWithBadPublicity his popularity to plummet.]]
* ReformedButRejected: In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack leaves prison tired of being a supervillain and simply wants to make an honest living for himself. However, he is shunned by most employers, and the only work offers he gets are for supervillain jobs, which he cannot accept lest he break parole. When he tries to investigate a string of murders, his efforts are met with rejection and scorn from people who assume he's up to no good.
* ReligiousVampire: [[spoiler:The Confessor]] was a young priest that was turned into a vampire and became a superhero as [[TheAtoner form of penance]]. His uniform is styled with a cross on his chest that causes him constant pain to prevent him from giving into the temptation to drink blood and reminds him of his mission to defend justice.
** Notably, after [[spoiler:he is exposed as a vampire and then destroyed]], his (non-vampiric) sidekick encounters the Crossbreed, a team of Christian superheroes. He assumes they'll be just as horrified that he was a vampire as the public is, but they reveal that they've always known what he was and didn't hold it against him because he was "doing the Lord's work."
* RemoteBody: The Death-Walker robots are controlled by human operators from a remote location.
* RepressiveButEfficient: Infidel tries to convince Samaritan that his life would be ''so'' much easier if he'd stop being TheCape and use his powers to TakeOverTheWorld.
* RescueSex: At the end of "Things Past", after Cutlass has thrown a celebratory block party for Steeljack and handed him the keys to his new home, she suggests that they can try out the [[DestructoNookie reinforced bedroom]] afterwards.
* WeHelpTheHelpless: This is how Resistor works -- at times of intense emotional energy, when peaceful people are being attacked, selfless people nearby who want to help them are [[SuperEmpowering transformed into energy beings]] able to [[BarrierWarrior protect them from harm]].
* RetGone:
** This is a key point in "The Nearness of You", where Michael Tenicek keeps dreaming of a woman he's never met, yet knows all of her intimate details. It turns out [[spoiler:she was his wife, but got erased in the aftermath of a TimeCrash event due to a CloseEnoughTimeline]].
** This was the result of Samaritan's first mission. He eliminated the BadFuture he came from and wiped out all of his loved ones from his original timeline.
*** In fact, two of the stories featuring Samaritan strongly hint that the reason why he's been [[SamaritanSyndrome obsessively doing good acts]] is to make up for deleting the loved ones of his original timeline. Talk about [[SurvivorGuilt Survivor's Guilt]]!
** This is also what led to Infidel becoming Samaritan's ArchEnemy -- when Samaritan eliminated his BadFuture, he also accidentally eliminated Infidel's empire in the [[ToTheFutureAndBeyond distant future]]. Prior to their truce, many of their battles involved one trying to eliminate the other's reality.
** Preventing this is why the Silver Agent willingly allows [[spoiler:himself to be executed]].
* RetiredBadass:
** "Hero's Reward" is about Duncan Keller, ''a.k.a.'' the hero Starfighter, adjusting to being this. [[SentientCosmicForce The Lorus]], the source of his powers, has decided he should enjoy his retirement, and he should accept that it's okay to just take it easy for a while.
** The Black Rapier, leader of Honor Guard, voluntarily retires after decades of super-heroics.
** Dr. Cannon, Honor Guard's on-call medic, was formerly the superhero known as Tenspeed.
** Though they stopped short of giving themselves a team name, Charles and Royal Williams qualify -- they go from being a pair of vengeful {{Nineties Anti Hero}}es to running a chartered fishing business in Mexico.
** "Old Times" shows that Supersonic still has the speed and the strength of his youth, if not the cleverness.
* RevealShot: The end of "Pastoral" reveals what Cammie saw that made up her mind about Caplinville.
* RidiculouslyFastConstruction:
** A newspaper clipping from the "Local Heroes" trade paperback mentions that Honor Guard often uses alien technology to quickly repair damages after super-powered fights.
** It is also mentioned that quick repairs to the city's infrastructure is SeriousBusiness to the Astro City Department of Public Works.
* RidiculousProcrastinator: Mister Manta has been marooned on a deserted island for decades. He vows to return to civilization someday and resume his life of crime, but keeps putting it off to improve his [[BambooTechnology makeshift gear and weapons]]. In reality, he could leave if his gear was [[DoWellButNotPerfect good enough to reach the mainland,]] but deep down he enjoys being TheHermit.
* RingRingCrunch: The Silver Adept has an annoying habit of magically smashing her alarm clocks into the wall every morning.
* RingsOfDeath: Street Angel's halos during TheSeventies are made of high-impact ceramic with a steel core. They might not be fatal, but they will inflict a ''lot'' of injury and possibly maim...
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** "The Dark Age" follows the lives of Charles and Royal Williams as they evolve into {{Sociopathic Hero}}es to get revenge on the man who killed their parents.
** In one story, the Zirr Empire sends troops to attack the First Family, but they can only settle for abducting the non-powered wife of one of them. About ''five minutes later,'' the '''entire''' Family storms the Empire to get her back.
* {{Robosexual}}: Played every which way with Beautie. She is a human-sized superpowered robot fashion doll, and while she has an interest in romance she finds the people who aren't put off by her completely rigid body and lack of genitalia more disturbing and difficult to interact with than those who are.
* RobotBuddy: "Ellie's Friends" features an entire roadside museum full of these, with dozens of robots she salvaged and befriended after countless superhero battles. Special credit goes to Arthur, a ball-shaped former warbot who [[spoiler:masterminds Ellie's escape from jail after she's wrongly accused of terrorism]].
* RobotMaster:
** The first Assemblyman creates rampaging robots for anyone who pays.
** Vivi Vector is a female example who thinks big -- she's spent ''decades'' infiltrating robotics and electronics systems worldwide with her creations.
** Ellie Jennersen was a robotics genius even before she got into college and broadened her expertise. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:her potential was cut short after her roommate {{Mind Rape}}d her and stole her work]].
** Dr. Saturday is a MadScientist who builds giant robots that resemble cartoon characters.
* RobotSuperhero:
** Beautie is a [[FlyingBrick super-strong flying robot]] that resembles an adult-sized Beautie fashion doll.
** Rivets, the Robot Kid, is an android programmed to be a heroic teen superhero.
* RockMonster: The Ore-Master is a ten-foot-tall being made of metals pulled from the earth and burning with internal fire.
* RubberMan: Karl Furst of the First Family has this power.
* RunicMagic: Starfighter activates the powers of the Lorus by drawing glowing symbols on nearby objects or in midair. These powers include flight, sound suppression, costume changes, and interstellar travel.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes S-Z]]
* SamaritanSyndrome: A lot of the heroes have shades of this, but [[TropeNamer Samaritan]] himself has it the worst; he is so busy helping people that he hasn't been able to form a single normal human relationship in ''twenty years.''
** In one story, his fellow superheroes make arrangements to protect the world without him for one night so that he can go on a date with Winged Victory, who is similarly as dedicated to heroism. Both of them have a hard time relaxing on the date, but it's implied that their being out of action for a little while didn't cost the world anything due to their friends stepping up their game. There's also a moment towards the very end where they get to relax and enjoy a very short moment of dead silence, with no emergencies.
*** Later issues heavily imply the two of them are an item, which is appropriate considering their similarities to their duty.
*** It's really brought home by the fact that Samaritan's dream is to be able to fly free -- as in, "just fly around for the fun of it" rather than "fly toward the latest emergency".
** Discussed in "After the Fire", where a teen named Farrell talks to a firefighter who lost his leg rescuing him from a burning high rise.
--->'''Artie:''' "The superheroes flyin' around, they're okay -- but they can't always be there. We gotta take care of ourselves."
* SavedToEnslave: This is Infidel's way of gathering followers -- rescue people from calamity using TimeTravel and then bind them into his service.
* ScaryBlackMan: Hellhound is a burly black man with a demonic look, a torn leather jacket with chains, and other scary accoutrements. Subverted in that he's one of the ''nicest'' heroes around.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Simon Magus' glasses give off a constant glow, as if they're hiding some great power behind them.
* ScrewDestiny: The only thing that can stop Krigari Ironhand from conquering the micro-realms is to tell him that he's destined to be defeated by Honor Guard. This causes Krigari to refocus his energies on defeating them to defy the prophecy.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: In "Things Past", the Iron Guard beat a hasty retreat after Steeljack single-handedly tears through their antiquated armor.
* SealedEvilInADuel: When American Chibi realizes that her presence in the real world is what allows the [[SealedEvilInACan King-In-Chains]] to exert its influence beyond Ibbopolis, she volunteers to seal herself in their PocketDimension to keep it trapped. Chibi and the King remain locked in a never-ending battle as a result.
* SecretIdentity: Played with every way possible.
** Some supers have their identities publicly known and are treated like celebrities, such as with the First Family.
** Others are shrouded entirely in myth and feared or shunned, like The Confessor or the Blue Knight.
** And still others have revealed their identities to the authorities while keeping them secret from the public at large, such as the Street Angel and Quarrel.
** Roustabout has, in reality, a public identity in the CloseKnitCommunity of the carnival and the towns it visits, but because he's wanted by the law, the community acts as a large-scale SecretKeeper and even feigns ObfuscatingStupidity as if it were an ExtraStrengthMasquerade.
** In one story, a petty criminal stumbles upon Jack-in-the-Box's identity, then starts thinking about the ways he might exploit the information. [[spoiler:The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that [[DeathBySecretIdentity it will all end VERY badly for him]]. He decides to forget everything and leave town instead.]]
* SecretKeeper: ''Astro City'' has dozens of these, given the sheer number of superheroes and supervillains in the 'verse. Special recognition goes to the entire town of Caplinville, where the CloseKnitCommunity maintains an ExtraStrengthMasquerade for local hero Roustabout.
* SecretRelationship: As Roustabout is on the run from the law, he and his girlfriend naturally keep quiet.
* SecretSecretKeeper: Andy Merton's girlfriend, Esme, already knew he and Hank were G-Dog before he told her. [[LampshadeHanging As she points out,]] it wasn't difficult to figure out considering they all live together, and every time Andy and Hank disappear G-Dog shows up soon after...
* SeenItAll:
** The residents of Astro City treat the various super-heroics as part of the appeal of the city. Even when a gigantic Thunder God threatens to level the town, most folks get outside, pull up lawn chairs, and watch the show... if they don't have homework to finish, anyway.
** In "On the Sidelines", Martha Sullivan treats being forcibly "recruited" into becoming a minion for an up-and-coming supervillan with bored derision and apathy. She's been through this so many times that she's simply ''annoyed'' at having her time wasted before this wannabe gets his ass kicked.
--->"Seriously? ''Gas?'' Of all the hoary old--"
* {{Seers}}: Played with in "Sorrowsday". The interdimensional rampage of Krigari Ironhand is only paused when Druin the Seer appears and foretells of his defeat by Honor Guard. This angers Krigari to refocus his energies on [[ScrewDestiny defeating Honor Guard and defy the prophecy]]. In the end, it is revealed that [[spoiler:Druin is simply a farmer in disguise, using a desperate attempt to deflect Krigari's destructive campaign]].
* SelfDeprecation: At the end of "My Dad", [[FourthWallObserver the Broken Man]] grumbles about not having enough pages to tell his story and blames the pacing issues on the comic's creators.
* SelfImposedExile: After destroying reality in a futile battle against Samaritan, Infidel agreed to exile himself into a pocket dimension where he could study and scheme without directly endangering the universe.
* SelfMadeMan: Infidel started off as a poor boy from Kenya and grew to become the most fearsome EvilSorcerer and MadScientist simply through his boundless intellect.
* SelfMadeOrphan: Technically speaking, Samaritan qualifies. He arrived in the present day from a BadFuture and succeeded in averting that -- but [[RetGone wiped out his own early history]] as a result.
* SentientCosmicForce:
** The dark energy that infested Astro City during TheEighties is implied to be this. It's an energy field that is implied to be attracted to (or induces) feelings of vengeance and malevolence in others, and can empower beings like The Pale Horseman and Lord Sovereign with paranormal abilities.
** The Lorus that empowers Starfighter is this, a cosmic force associated with patterns and shapes.
* SentIntoHiding: After he is tagged by the Blue Knight with a TrackingDevice, Royal Williams wraps tin foil around his neck and hides in a brick-walled basement to block the signal.
* SequelHook: The Vertigo run concludes with [[spoiler:someone claiming to be a former pilot of the N-Forcer armor coming forward]], intended to set up the first original graphic novel.
* SeriesFauxnale: "The Voice of the Turtle" ends with Steeljack believing that he's stopped the Kiefer Square murders by [[MistakenIdentity driving off the Chessmen and saving the Mock Turtle.]] The issue even closes with the [[OncePerEpisode "You Are Now Leaving Astro City" street sign,]] signaling the end of the "Tarnished Angel" story arc. The next issue opens with [[spoiler:the death of the Mock Turtle]], indicating the case is far from over.
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong
** Samaritan was originally from the 35th century, when mankind was nearly extinct. In a desperate attempt, he was sent back in time to stop the event that triggered his BadFuture. He arrived in 1985, accidentally infused with the primal energy of time and space, and barely managed to avert the ''Challenger'' shuttle explosion. He had saved the future and became a superhero, but at the cost of [[RetGone eliminating his original timeline and everyone in it]].
** This is a background event in "The Nearness of You". A time-manipulating supervillain ends up shattering time itself and endangering all of reality as a result. The heroes eventually managed to restore the timestream, but with [[CosmicRetcon some minor differences...]]
* SettleForSibling: Silver Agent's first girlfriend eventually got over their breakup and married his brother.
* SewerGator: One of the outcast heroes who was recruited by Bravo to become a founding member of the Astro City Irregulars was a mutant alligator that lived in the city sewers, with the unoriginal name of Alligator.
* SexGod: According to Quarrel, [[IdiotHero Crackerjack]] is ''fantastic'' in bed.
* SexMagic: At least one of Simon Magus' rituals require having sex with his assistant Grimoire.
* ShameIfSomethingHappened: Played completely straight in "Knock Wood"; a lawyer uses a genius defense to acquit the son of a mafia boss, who then wants to recruit him permanently. When the lawyer refuses, the boss invokes the trope nearly verbatim against his family so he will accept the offer...
* SharedMassHallucination: In "The Dark Age", there is a brief mention of a battle with the L.S.Deviant, an alien that induced [[RealityWarper reality-warping hallucinations]] throughout the city -- cars eating pedestrians, buildings breathing, people sprouting wings...
* SharpDressedMan:
** No one can hold a candle to The Gentleman, who has never been seen wearing anything other than his impressively elegant tuxedo, complete with sash and buttonhole rose.
** "Ned" Carroway is addicted to being a costumed {{Mook}} partially because it allows him to imagine himself as a BadassInANiceSuit. Pity his criminal skills aren't as good as his clothing sense.
** In Astro City, "clotheshorses" are career criminals who are addicted to [[GangOfHats committing crimes while dressed up in elegant clothes or elaborate costumes]].
* ShockAndAwe: Juice of the Astro City Irregulars is a manifestation of electrical energy who can fly and project energy bolts. White Lightning is a supervillain with similar powers.
* {{Shout Out}}s: ''Astro City'' is a massive Shout Out to the comic book industry; almost all the storefronts, streets, neighborhoods and locations are named for notable creators, most of which will fly past the uninitiated. Here are some of the more notable ones:
** Astro City itself is overshadowed by the massive [[Creator/JackKirby Mount Kirby]], the city's prominent landmark.
** Julius Furst of the First Family is based on Creator/DCComics' creator Julius Schwartz.
** A race of shape-shifting aliens is named the Enelsians, after Magazine/{{MAD}} magazine and Creator/DCComics writer [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Nelson_Bridwell E. Nelson Bridwell.]]
** The Sprang Museum of Popular Advertising -- which features an assortment of massive props -- is named after Golden Age ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' artist Dick Sprang.
** A high-class restaurant in the city is named Goscinny's, after René Goscinny (writer and co-creator of ComicBook/{{Asterix}}).
** Kiefer Square is a reference to artist Henry C. Kiefer, who drew various Golden Age comic books as well as the ''Classics Comics/Classics Illustrated'' line of books.
** Characters are shown drinking Haddock's brand whiskey, named for the Franchise/{{Tintin}} character.
** The main prison of Astro City is on Biro Island; Charles Biro was the editor of the (pre-Comics Code) ''Crime Does Not Pay'' comic book series.
** Bakerville, the predominantly African-American neighborhood, is named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Baker_(artist) Matt Baker]], the first African-American comic book artist best known for drawing ''ComicBook/PhantomLady''.
** Hillman Aviation is named after Hillman Periodicals, publishers of ''ComicBook/{{Airboy}}''.
** The Chesler neighborhood of Astro City is known for its sweatshops. This doubles as a TakeThat to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_%22A%22_Chesler Harry "A" Chesler]], an early comic book publisher infamous for his sweatshop conditions.
** Binderbeck Plaza is named after Otto Binder and C.C. Beck, creators of the Fawcett [[Characters/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]].
* ShroudedInMyth:
** The Blue Knight is the subject of much rumor and speculation. An ex-cop with a holographic skull face, an actual avenging spirit, etc. Whether or not he's eight feet tall or has a skull collection is also disputed.
** The Confessor originally existed as little more than a legend because no video footage or photos of him had ever been taken. [[spoiler:This is because he's a vampire. The fact that after Altar Boy succeeded him there ''were'' photos made criminals even more confused on the matter, thinking that he's somehow immune to traditional vampire weaknesses and that he'd come back from the dead rather than making the more obvious connection.]]
* SickeninglySweet: Every time G-Dog (half-man, half-corgi) rescues someone, they invariably gush over how ''adorably cute'' he is... which irritates his human half to no end.
* SignatureScent: Louisa Garneau can recognize when [[SuperEmpowering Resistor]] is about to appear because the manifestation is accompanied by the smell of her father's pipe tobacco and lemon drops.
* SinisterMinister:
** Subverted by The Deacon, who is the undisputed leader of organized crime throughout the city, but is simply a crime boss who [[BadHabits dresses like a religious figure]].
** The Deacon is balanced by his greatest enemy, the Confessor, who's not only religiously themed, but is actually a real priest. And then subverted again when [[spoiler:the Confessor is outed as a vampire]].
** "The Dark Ages" featured the Hellsignor, a skeletal EvilSorcerer who called himself "Satan's Archbishop".
* SizeShifter:
** Natalie Furst of the First Family and Max O'Millions of Honor Guard can make themselves grow to enormous size.
** Wolfspider can shrink to the size of his namesake.
** The Hanged Man can change his size at will; he's been seen several times to grow tall enough to tower over the city.
* SkullForAHead: The Blue Knight wears a face mask that projects a holographic skull.
* SleepDeprivation: "In Dreams 2015" begins with Samaritan having problems sleeping; this causes him to become uncharacteristically irritable and to [[ExhaustionInducedIdiocy make careless mistakes]].
* SliceOfLife: Many of the stories focus on regular civilians as they go through their days in a world full of superheroes and whatnot.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: It varies by the viewpoint character. Busiek seems to be experimenting with stories where neither the idealistic nor the cynical characters come out constitutionally certain that their core beliefs are correct as the series progresses (e.g. the ''Samaritan'' and ''Beautie'' one-shots). As a whole, the series tends more towards idealism than cynicism.
* SmokyGentlemensClub: Butler's, an upper-class club where superheroes can relax in their secret identities (and formal wear) while the staff wear masks. Discretion is absolutely guaranteed.
* SocialClimber: Maria Alvardo Vega started off running charities and social reform groups for migrant workers in the barrios of Los Angeles, and ends up as the president of an investment banking company. It's hinted that her ambition is what led to her divorce from her political activist husband.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: Samaritan suffers from this when his super-heroic peers maneuver him into a dinner date with Winged Victory.
* SoProudOfYou: Many characters have this; even the retired villain Quarrel admits that he's proud of his daughter's heroic career.
** In "The Menace From Earth", Zo's mother is ecstatic after seeing his high aptitude scores, as they indicate he's an extremely talented Zirr and may get to choose his own role in [[HiveCasteSystem Zirr society]].
* SpaceBase: The Astro-Naut had one on an asteroid, complete with [[MST3KMantra hangers and an airstrip.]]
* SpacePolice: G.A.L.A.K.T.I.K. is an alien law-enforcement group that arrests and incarcerates interstellar criminals. They resemble TheGreys wearing [[TheMenInBlack black suits]].
* SpannerInTheWorks:
** When the Ion Empire captured Honor Guard, Quarrel managed to follow the robots to one of their ships. Since they were unaware of her presence, she was able to blow up the power supply for the "stasis lens" and rescue Honor Guard.
** Professor Borzoi's Belief Ray created a giant gorilla powerful enough to challenge the Gentleman. Unfortunately, it also brought Loony Leo to life, who smashed the ray and made the gorilla disappear.
** Krigari Ironhand's second defeat against Honor Guard came because he abducted all of their members except for Mermaid, whom [[BeneathNotice he didn't think was worth bothering with]]. She manages to free them all.
** [[spoiler:Karnazon's]] campaign to discredit Winged Victory is foiled when an abused boy sneaks into their secret base and informs the heroes of its location.
* TheSparkOfGenius: Roy Virgil, ''a.k.a.'' the Astro-Naut. He was [[BadassBookworm so smart]] that he could copy the alien technologies he saw on his space adventures ''without'' the benefit of reverse-engineering them -- just knowing what was possible was sufficient.
-->"Just knowing they exist, knowing that whatever they do actually can be done... well, that lets me know it's possible, if I only find a way. [[BlaseBoast So I do.]]"
* SpiderManSendUp: Though Jack-In-The-Box has a "prankster/clown" motif borrowed more from ComicBook/TheCreeper or Killjoy, is clearly meant to be ComicBook/SpiderMan at first glance -- street-level hero, acrobatic FragileSpeedster fighting style, unusual means of locomotion (spring-feet), favors string-like weapons to snare criminals, and constant wisecracking. One issue involves his fear of spawning murderous, deathly serious AntiHeroSubstitute successors, a pretty obvious joke on characters like Venom and Kaine. Appropriately enough, his first appearance was a [[DolledUpInstallment reworked pitch]] for a ''Spider-Man'' story that Marvel didn't approve.
* SpiderPeople: Little Miss Muffet was a short-lived local superhero; she resembled a blond young girl with six arms who could climb walls.
* SpockSpeak: Several characters do this, most notably the robot Beautie.
* SpottingTheThread: The key moment of "Confession" is when Brian confronts the Confessor with various observations he's made.
-->'''Brian''': You're prenaturally strong and fast. Bullets go through you. You can turn into mist. You mesmerize people with a look...You snuck up on me [[spoiler: when I was looking in a mirror! You don't have a reflection! You...you're a vampire, aren't you?]]
-->'''Confessor''': Ah, Brian, well...well done.
** Shortly after, Brian openly notes that "I spotted the clues but you ''let'' me", knowing the Confessor wanted him to figure out his secret.
* StableTimeLoop: Preserving this is why the Silver Agent voluntarily allows himself to be [[spoiler:executed in 1973 by the people of Astro City. Prior to his execution, he had been pulled into the far future to lead a war against a galaxy-spanning menace. As he traveled back to the present day, he continued to help and inspire more people in their times of need -- and he was afraid that trying to avoid his fate would lead to alternate timelines that would [[RetGone erase their efforts]].]]
* StarfishLanguage: The Enelsians. Their speech amongst their own kind is represented by alien glyphs... which are actually part of a cypher in English. Translating what they are really saying is a fun little puzzle, if you have the time.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:The Deacon]] plays this role in "The Dark Ages". As second-in-command to Joey "The Platypus" Platapopulous, he covertly engineers events during the citywide gang war to pit the gangs against each other, destabilizing them all and pitting them into a collective stalemate. Then, with the city in chaos due to a HatePlague, he [[spoiler:kills "The Platypus",]] then seizes control of most of the city's underworld before the night is over.
* StayInTheKitchen: Played for drama in "Her Dark Plastic Roots". [[spoiler:Elaine Girbachs, the daughter of GadgeteerGenius Dr. Gearbox, was a ChildProdigy whose expertise exceeded his own. But when he found out about her talent, he denounced her because he believed engineering and math aren't proper fields for girls.]]
* StealTheSurroundings:
** Occurs in "Where the Action Is". [[spoiler:When a cosmic being gets irritated with Manny Monkton fabricating unflattering stories about it, it causes Manny's entire office building -- with Manny inside -- to disappear for parts unknown.]]
** ''Something'' causes [[TheArchmage Simon Magus']] home to disappear in "The Day the Music Died".
* StealthPun:
** The supervillain Slamburger appears to be made of ground beef.
** See also the Crossbreed: David (the giant), Daniel (the lion-man), Peter (rock-skinned stone manipulator), Mary (winged flyer), Joshua (sonic screams) and Noah (commands rain and lightning). Though in this case, the characters make it deliberately clear that these are religious references, not much stealth utilized.
** And the astronauts-turned superheroes in the Apollo Eleven. Why, yes, they ''did'' land on the moon. The name came first (from Alex Ross), and the characters followed.
** The Confessor. [[spoiler:Vampires are stereotypically associated with bats, making him a literal ComicBook/{{Batman}}.]]
** The main prison is Astro City is Biro Island Correctional Facility. In British English, a "biro" is a generic term for a ''pen''.
* {{Steampunk}}: Dame Progress, an early twentieth century hero of Astro City, fights crime using a steam-powered flight harness and a steam-powered mecha.
* StickyFingers: "The Dark Age" opens with Royal Williams pickpocketing valuables from various shell-shocked citizens, in contrast to his early childhood being the honest and upright brother to Charles.
* StickySituation: Glue-Gun, who is [[ButtMonkey regarded as a joke]] by the entire superhero community.
* StoneWall: Resistor is a [[{{Technobabble}} free-floating emotional memetic field]] that -- at times of strife -- [[SuperEmpowering turns bystanders into energy beings]] who [[BarrierWarrior cast protective shields]] to protect others. This is Resistor's '''only''' power; they have no offensive capabilities whatsoever.
* StrawFeminist: The Council of Nike that empowers Winged Victory. They criticize her for her relationship with Samaritan and for joining the Honor Guard (which is led by a man), believing that any association with any men makes Winged Victory look weak and undermines her message.
* StrawmanPolitical:
** Some citizens of Astro City view Winged Victory in a distinctively negative light because of her strong advocacy for women's rights and independence.
** Similarly, the Crossbreed are typically dismissed as religious fanatics because they believe their powers are a gift from God and proselytize when not fighting super-villains.
* StringTheory: The Broken Man has this set-up in his realm, linking objects related to the Oubor and his plans to fight it, although the pins are stuck in thin air and looking closely at an object lets you enter its story. Later on, in "This Town", he says [[NoFourthWall we're]] not going in that room today, "the yarn's been unruly and the thumbtacks... it hasn't been pretty."
* SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: Infidel narrates that he once [[ApocalypseHow/ClassZ destroyed the universe]] in a "fit of pique." After discovering even that wouldn't kill Samaritan (and Samaritan realizing the same for Infidel), they collaborated to put everything back together. Once that was done, they decided to [[GoKartingWithBowser have dinner together once a year]] instead of constantly putting reality at risk.
* SuicideAttack: Done by [[spoiler:Mister Drama]] when he discovered he would die of cancer in a few weeks. Wishing to go out in a blaxe of glory, he [[spoiler:pretends to be The Underlord to lure the original Jack-in-the-Box to an underground lair]], then blows it up to kill them both.
* SuperDeformed: American Chibi looks like an {{Anime}} character with a huge head, big eyes, and an undersized body. Justified as she is the creation of a video-game artist who wanted a positive, life-affirming character to star in her game. [[spoiler:When Honor Guard follows American Chibi to her PocketDimension homeworld, they are also turned into super-deformed designs.]]
-->"Oh, you are all just so ''totally'' adorable...!"
* {{Superdickery}}:
** The story "Shining Armor" is a brutal deconstruction of [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane's]] brand of Superdickery in MediaNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} Superman/Lois relationship. Irene Merriweather [[MistakenForFlirting tries to prove herself worthy]] of Atomicus' love by exposing his secret identity, even as she ''repeatedly'' endangers him by doing so. When she finally succeeds, [[spoiler:Atomicus explodes in rage and leaves Earth '''forever,''' tired of her dogged pursuit]]. Atomicus never wanted to play that game at all, but was [[ReallyWasBornYesterday too naive and afraid]] to tell her so.
** There was also a brief mention in the story "Old Times" -- Supersonic, after an adventure that temporarily gave him 16 exact doubles, took his Lois-type girlfriend Caroleen to a dance as Supersonic and had one of his doubles come as his secret identity of Dale Enright. He did this ''just to mess with Caroleen.''
* SuperEmpowering: Resistor is a [[{{Technobabble}} neuro-memetic imprint]] that free-floats in the public consciousness. When a concentration of high social strife breaks out at a location -- such as peaceful protestors being attacked -- it turns ordinary people into flying energy beings who can [[BarrierWarrior protect the innocent.]]
* SuperHero: The focus of the series is largely the adventures of the various superheroes that populate the city, and the people who live with them.
* SuperheroCapitalOfTheWorld: While [[CaptainGeographic every major city has its own superheroes,]] Astro City itself attracts an unusually large number of them. Sometimes lampshaded by characters who find the heavy concentration of super-activity to be part of the city's appeal.
-->"They all think it's an ordinary city... More super-heroes than most, a little more exotic -- but a regular city for all that. They ''always'' think that, at first."
* SuperheroPackingHeat:
** Early Astro City heroes who used firearms include Air Ace and the Cloak of Night.
** From "The Dark Ages", Hollowpoint and the Blue Knight[[note]]As well as his successors, the Blue Knight'''s'''[[/note]] predominantly use firearms.
* SuperheroTrophyShelf:
** Subverted with Samaritan, who has a PhantomZone that he uses only as storage space for the many awards and souvenirs that he receives, and which merely gather the extradimensional equivalent of dust.
** Played straight with the Trophy Room in Honor Guard's flying base.
** The First Family also have a lot of odds and ends lying around, but how many are trophies (as opposed to [[SealedEvilInACan Cans O' Evil]] or "thingummies-Augustus-wants-to-tinker-with-at-some-point") is as of yet unknown.
* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Mister Manta and Mermaid can breathe underwater.
* SuperRegistrationAct: In "Confession", the city government starts a registration act to calm the public during a wave of serial killings. It does not go well. [[spoiler:It turns out the Mayor was an alien shapeshifter who was trying to contain the heroes before their invasion.]]
* SuperTeam: '''FAR''' too many to list -- Honor Guard, the First Family, the Irregulars, the Unclean, Apollo Eleven, the Crossbreed, the J-Hawks, the Omega Rangers, the Birds of Paradise, Reflex 6, Queenslaw,[[note]]They started off as a TV show but were briefly made real[[/note]] the Experimentals, the Silver Centurions, Powerchord...
* SuperVillain: It being a superhero genre series, there's scads of supervillains running around, from the reality-shattering Infidel to the ButtMonkey Glue-Gun.
* {{Swashbuckler}}:
** El Hombre is essentially Franchise/{{Zorro}} but with an electrified whip instead of a sword.
** Crackerjack combines this with a GloryHound {{Jerkass}} personality.
* TabloidMelodrama: ''Inside Scoop'' magazine '''loves''' to do this to Astra Furst, taking every innocent and mundane aspect of her life and twisting it into breathless drama. They're so relentless that they [[spoiler:pay her boyfriend to record their prom night activities, with a million-dollar bonus if he can get a sex tape out of it. When Astra breaks up with him over this, they turn it into scandal fodder within ''minutes'']].
* TakeAThirdOption: Sticks' solution to his dilemma of wanting to play music while not endangering the people around him is to [[spoiler:form a band with other musically-talented supers, allowing them to indulge their passion while stopping any troublemakers they may encounter]].
* TakeUpMySword:
** The Confessor is succeeded by Altar Boy after the Confessor [[spoiler:is revealed to be a vampire and killed in battle]].
** Jack-in-the-Box II initially took up the mantle to capture the crime boss his father died pursuing.
** Starbright is replaced [[spoiler:by his former ArchEnemy Simon Says after the original dies on a mission]].
** Done indirectly with Stormhawk -- after he dies in a HeroicSacrifice, the medallion that granted his BeastMan FusionDance powers returns to his home, where his wife enshrines it. Later, a burglar steals the medallion, then accidentally becomes G-Dog as a result.
* TalkingInYourDreams: The Blue Knight directly addresses a lawyer who's been dreaming of him in the last dream.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: All over the place, in finest comic book fashion -- characters explain gadgets and powers as they are used, speedsters and fliers talk while zipping past, banter...
* {{Technopath}}:
** The heroic Assemblyman is suggested to be one of these, and he has been shown controlling machines and reconfiguring them into various weapons.
** Magda, from "On the Sidelines," who can communicate with machines and persuade them to do her bidding. She uses her powers to [[MundaneUtility restore old cars.]]
* TerrorHero: The Confessor, a ComicBook/{{Batman}} {{Expy}} who intimidates criminals with scary deep voices and persistent rumors of supernatural origins. During Astro City's equivalent of [[MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks the Dark Age]], other AntiHero characters of this vein appeared, including the Blue Knight, the Street Angel, Hellhound, Stone Cold, and the Pale Horseman.
* TestosteronePoisoning: Karnazon, a massive, over-the-top muscle-bound LongHairedPrettyBoy WalkingShirtlessScene with a ManlyChin. A {{Foil}} to Winged Victory, his goal is to defeat her and assert the inherent superiority of men over women.
-->"Accept the inevitable, as a woman should, and surrender!"
* TemporalAbortion: One story features a man who is haunted by the memory of a woman he does not recall meeting, even though he remembers countless details about her. [[spoiler:Unable to sleep because of his dreams about her, he finally consults the supernatural being called the Hanged Man, who tells him that the mystery woman was his wife. Thanks to some time-travel shenanigans, history was altered, and she was never born in the present timeline.]]
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Infidel took his name as a badge of honor when people rose up against him as a monster and a jerk and a heretic and, yes, an infidel.[[note]]Granted, the guy really is pretty darn evil long before this.[[/note]]
* TheyJustDontGetIt: In one story about a doorman at a high class hotel, he explains that when people come to Astro City the first time, they just don't understand how different it is. This included a [[SmallNameBigEgo snobbish]] agent who was trying to contact Samaritan and [[TooDumbToLive almost got herself killed]], a normal crook who didn't understand the rules of the underworld in Astro City, and a family that was stopping there during a layover. Most of the folks left and didn't come back.
* ThinkingUpPortals: [[TheArchmage The Silver Adept]] can open portals that allow her to travel instantaneously from one point to another, even across dimensional realms. The only exceptions are when mystical phenomena interfere with her travels, which require [[GirlFriday her assistant]] to help find alternate routes.
* ThisMeansWar: Played for drama in "Serpent's Teeth", when an alternate-timeline version of Jack-in-the-Box II's son uses Jack's "Of course you realize, this means war" as motivation to become a KnightTemplar on the city's criminals... without realizing Jack was quoting WesternAnimation/BugsBunny.
* TimeCrash: Occurs in "The Nearness of You". [[spoiler:Michael Tenicek is haunted by dreams of a wife he's never met, because [[RetGone she was erased from existence]] in the aftermath of a Time Crash.]]
* TimeMaster: The Time-Keeper is a villain who uses stopwatches of his own design that can stop time. In "The Nearness of You," he fights Eterneon, the Lord and Watcher of the Timestream, and the battle results in a TimeCrash CrisisCrossover.
* TimeTravelTenseTrouble: Quarrel's first meeting with Street Angel has him encountering this, since he's already met a future version of her.
* TimeZonesDoNotExist: Averted by the Silver Adept, who frequently loses track of critical magical events because she forgets what time zone (whether on Earth or elsewhere) they're occurring in. Fortunately, her secretary keeps her on track -- usually...
-->'''Silver Adept:''' No sweat, I'll work on them this morning.\\
'''Raitha:''' This morning? You've got the Himalayan Convocation in an hour!\\
'''Silver Adept:''' No, that's not 'til tonight. It needs starlight to--\\
'''Raitha:''' It's in the Himalayas -- it's ''already'' tonight there!
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: In "Hot Time In the Old Town", an EldritchAbomination's intrusion into reality is instantly repelled by contact with Jazzbaby, an AnthropomorphicPersonification of [[ThePowerOfRock counterculture music]].
* TopHeavyGuy: Krakkaboom of the 80s Astro City Irregulars, whose bombastic proportions are evidently a side effect of his powers.
* TotalPartyKill: Most of the Jayhawks were [[HeroicSacrifice killed in battle]] against The Master; Rally survived only because he was [[BringHelpBack getting help for the others.]]
* ToTheFutureAndBeyond:
** The Silver Agent was sent to the 43rd century [[spoiler:right before his execution]], where he inspires and leads thousands of heroes against a digital tyrant. Afterwards, he is sent backwards in time, stopping at key periods along the way to help others in need and establishing himself as a beacon of hope for millenia. This is why [[spoiler:he willingly allows himself to be executed]], to avoid [[RetGone changing history and erasing the sacrifices]] of those other heroes.
** After being harassed by mere mortals in history, Infidel established his first empire in the far future, after humanity had died out and he could study the universe without being interrupted... at least, until Samaritan [[RetGone accidentally erased it.]]
* TouchOfDeath: Black Velvet can cause people to instantly disintegrate to nothingness in a sudden flash of light.
* TrackingDevice:
** In "Justice Systems", mob boss Dominic Forgione plants a tracker on attorney Vincent Oleck's car to follow him even as Vincent's family flees the city.
** The Blue Knight marks his targets with a small red crosshair that allows him to track them wherever they try to hide.
** The employee badges for Honor Guard's call center have a tracking device in them as an anti-kidnapping measure.
* TragicIntangibility: Robin Carruthers and Simon [=McCaleb=] of the Apollo Eleven are deeply in love. Unfortunately, the incident that gave them powers has turned Simon into a [[InsectoidAliens four-armed insectoid being]], while Robin is now an ''[[{{Intangibility}} intangible]] [[StarfishAliens being made of gas]]''.
* TrappedOnTheAstralPlane:
** The [[BodySurf Body Surfer]] supervillain called the Silver Brain was banished to another plane of existence years ago by Samaritan. He keeps escaping by possessing the denizens of that other realm and riding their bodies back to the physical world.
** The Jayhawks were believed to be [[TotalPartyKill killed in battle]] against The Master. In actuality, they're trapped as spirits in an intangible state, only able to watch as history passes them by.
* TransformationTrinket:
** Winged Victory's logo-shaped necklace, seen in her civilian form.
** Marguerite Li's hair scrunchies, when worn, turns her into American Star.
** In "Having a Wonderful Time", a tourist on a tour of abandoned supervillain bases finds a green gem on the ground. When she picks it up, she is transformed into Omnius Rex, a cosmic villain last seen in 1977.
** Stormhawk and G-Dog both use a magic amulet that merged them with their pet to form a BeastMan superhero.
* TranslatorMicrobes:
** The employees at Honor Guard's call center use translators that enable them to speak to clients worldwide.
** Becomes a plot point in "The Menace From Earth". The First Family use these, but because the "translation field" doesn't extend over broadcast, nobody in the Zirr Empire who watches the official news can understand what the humans are saying. This allows the Empire's leaders to falsely claim that the First Family ran away in defeat and accomplished nothing significant.
* TransTribulations: Played for drama in "Wish I May...". TeenGenius Simon Siezmanski was ostracized in high school and pushed to become the EvilNerd Simon Says, but eventually develops grudging respect for the AllLovingHero [[TheCape Starbright]]. When Starbright [[spoiler:dies on a mission and is posthumously revealed to be the school's LovableJock]], Simon finally takes [[BeYourself Starbright's advice]], acknowledges his transgenderism, and begins the transition to female.
* TrappedOnTheAstralPlane:
** The [[BodySurf Body Surfer]] supervillain called the Silver Brain was banished to another plane of existence years ago by Samaritan. He keeps escaping by possessing the denizens of that other realm and riding their bodies back to the physical world.
** Teen superteam the Jayhawks were presumed dead when caught in a massive explosion. Actually, they've been trapped in an intangible state all that time, only able to watch, and unable to get anyone's attention.
* TrickAndFollowPloy: In "Mistakes", after Marella Cowper realizes an injured man at the refugee camp is a member of the Skullcrushers, she spooks him into returning to base and follows him. Later, it is revealed that [[spoiler:Honor Guard did the same thing to Marella, deliberately leaving her badge active so they could follow ''her'' to the Skullcrushers]].
* TrickArrow:
** Prior to his DarkerAndEdgier turn, the Street Angel used to use non-lethal gimmicked throwing rings ("halos") to snare and catch his opponents. ''After'' his Darker And Edgier turn, he replaced them with halos made of high-impact ceramics with a steel core.
** Quarrel is a more straightforward example of the "archer with trick arrows" archetype; in this case, she has a pair of wrist-mounted launchers that fire a variety of bolts.
* TropaholicsAnonymous: In "Aftermaths", we see that Michael Tenicek from "The Nearness Of You" now runs "Miranda's Friends", a support group for people who have lost loved ones or suffered emotional trauma due to superpowered struggles.
* {{Troperiffic}}: Pretty much inevitable, given the vast number of characters, events, locations, and throwaway references used in the series. Just look at how extensive this page and its various sub-pages are...
* ATrueStoryInMyUniverse:
** Comic book companies publish titles based on both their own fictional characters and licensed real-life supers. The ones based on real heroes are more popular, but are also required to stay within known facts; Manny Monkton of Bulldog Comics repeatedly gets into trouble when he pushes the boundaries.
** The end of "The Dark Age" reveals that the entire story is an [[BasedOnATrueStory embellished novelization]] of what had happened in-universe, with some details changed, including the real names of the main protagonists.
** Duncan Keller writes stories based on his adventures as Starfighter, presenting them as fictional.
* TwoFistedTales: The Astro-Naut's adventures are of this nature, featuring an AcePilot waging SpaceOpera battles, fights against TheMafia, and PlanetaryRomance with the GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Xalzana, exploring a thousand worlds in a sleek silver ProtoSuperhero costume.
* UncertainDoom: Plenty of characters simply vanish between stories with no obvious cause. Given the difficult line of work they live in and the lack of ComicBookTime, it's not quite clear if they've died in battle, moved away, or simply retired.
* {{Understatement}}:
** In "Newcomers", Pete Donacek describes an attack by hundred-foot-tall ancient spirits:
-->"They make a hell of a mess."
** From "Knock Wood", after attorney Vincent Oleck questions a coroner if he was ''absolutely'' sure one of his subjects was [[DeathIsNotPermanent actually dead]]:
--->''There was something of a commotion.''\\
''(Panel shows outside of the courthouse and a shout of ORDER! ORDER!)''
** In "The Sorcerer's Assistant", as the Silver Adept has to complete three days' worth of work in six hours:
--->''She is '''busy.''' Her duties are birthed swarming.''
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Krigari Ironhand's second defeat came about because he abducted all the members of the Honor Guard save Mermaid, whom he didn't think was worth bothering with. She managed to free everyone else.
* UngratefulTownsfolk:
** Winged Victory catches this a ''lot,'' on account of her outspoken feminist views. In "Safeguards", a bystander calls out the ungrateful passengers on her bus for complaining about Winged Victory after she's just captured a super-villain.
** In "Confession", the people of the city blame the heroes for spending their time dealing with super-criminals and cosmic dangers while ignoring a recent spate of unsolved murders. It didn't help that the citizens were being riled up by [[spoiler:shape-shifting alien invaders]], and possibly an EldritchAbomination as well.
** This was part of the reason why Brian Kinney left his hometown of Buchanan Corners. His father, the county doctor, selflessly treated everyone who needed help even if they couldn't pay, leaving Brian's family impoverished as a result. When his father died penniless and Brian was orphaned, the townspeople derisively called his father an idealistic fool and said [[LoserSonOfLoserDad Brian would be no better]]. This angered Brian so much that he ran off to Astro City to make a name for himself.
** Although the Astro-Naut fought the Axis during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the people of the United States turned their backs on him, simply because [[TheWorldIsNotReady he refused to share his technologies and weapons]] with the government.
** The socio-political atmosphere of TheSeventies have left many people wary and suspicious of their heroes. When The Experimentals accidentally destroy an apartment building in the midst of stopping [[ApocalypseHow/Class0 an explosion that could level half a continent,]] the bystanders simply complain about the property damage inflicted. This angers the Experimentals to simply retreat without bothering to do ''anything'' to help the displaced citizens.
* {{Unishment}}: In "Welcome to [=HumanoGlobal=]", Marella and her colleagues are chewed out by their boss for being too quick to believe harmless activities are clues to supervillain plots. They are reassigned for two weeks handling non-emergency duties -- which enables them to attend an Honor Guard charity event and meet the heroes firsthand.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Although most people in Astro City will still stop and watch whatever super-heroics occur nearby, there are residents who have become jaded enough to not raise an eyebrow at the excitement around them.
** Taken to the extreme for the people in Shadow Hill, where the evening streets are filled with various vampires, {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, bogeymen, and The Hanged Man. The residents deal with it by simply refreshing their wards, making sure the incense is lit, and having their charms conveniently nearby.
** In "The Out-of-Towners", a hundred-foot translucent being called the Incarnate appears high above Astro City. It doesn't move or communicate, and ignores everyone's attempts to communicate, so the citizens simply nicknamed him "Big Joe" and went on with their lives.
* VengefulGhost:
** The Blue Knight is believed to be possessed by one of these, [[spoiler:the spirit of policeman Josh Stone's dead son, Damon]].
** It's said that VoidBetweenTheWorlds is a featureless realm filled with [[VengefulGhost hungry,]] [[EldritchAbomination nasty things]].
** The Pale Horseman may be one of these as well -- when Lord Sovereign was drawing power from the VoidBetweenTheWorlds, the Pale Horseman called it "my people", demanding its return.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: Given the size of the cast, many of the background characters receive little more than names and costumes. Busiek relies on the reader's knowledge of other comics to fill in the blanks, particularly with obvious {{Expy}} characters like Rex Zorus ([[ComicBook/FantasticFour The Thing]]), Samaritan (ComicBook/{{Superman}}), the N-Forcer (ComicBook/IronMan), or Winged Victory (ComicBook/WonderWoman). Such knowledge rounds out the setting considerably.
* VigilanteMan: Although ''Astro City'' is more idealistic than not, it does have its share of rough-and-tumble heroes. Examples include the Blue Knight, Hellhound, the Pale Horseman, and the Street Angel (during his DarkerAndEdgier phase).
* VillainDecay: In-universe with Karnazon, who started out robbing Fort Knox and ended up doing anything to defy Winged Victory and prove the superiority of man over woman.
* VillainEpisode: A recurring staple of the series.
** The Eisner Award-winning "Show 'Em All" focuses on the Junkman and his perfect bank robbery.
** As well as the amusing "Voice of the Turtle", which is part of a larger arc starring a small-time superpowered hood.
** One issue is devoted to a shapeshifting alien spy, who is deciding whether or not he should give a signal for his leaders to invade the Earth.
** "The Deep Dark Woods" gives this treatment to a small-time {{Mook}} who is addicted to being a member of a [[GangOfHats costumed criminal gang]].
** "Through Open Doors (Part Two)" is about a man who works in the Deacon's criminal syndicate.
** "The Eagle and the Mountain" focuses more on Samaritan's archenemy Infidel far more than [[TheCape Samaritan]] himself.
** The two-parter "The Menace From Earth"/"Enemy of the Empire" is told from the perspective of a member of the [[TheEmpire militaristic alien Zirr empire]].
* VillainExitStageLeft: At one point in "The Dark Age", while the rest of Royal's gang is fighting Jack-in-the-Box, Royal rolls under a car to avoid capture. Once the fight is over, he simply rolls out and runs away.
* VillainTeamUp: Villain teams seldom appear, and when they do, it's often as peripheral detail instead of the focus of a story. That said, a few do appear:
** The Unholy Alliance is a recurring team of villains who team up for various reasons, though the members also work on their own. The roster changes a bit from story to story, but core members tend to be Demolitia (team lead), Slamburger, Glowworm, and Flamethrower.
** Sugar and Spice are two scantily-clad women who commit various robberies with gimmick devices. Sugar wears a pink negligee with frill trim, while Spice wears a black dominatrix costume and wields a bullwhip. They have also worked with the Unholy Alliance from time to time.
** In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack has a brief flashback to when he was part of the Terrifying Three -- Cutlass, Steeljack, and the first Quarrel. It comes up again in his return arc, as Cutlass seeks him out to help clear her name.
--->'''Steeljack:''' We didn't last, and fought each other more'n' anyone else -- but we were friends, I guess.
** Team Carnivore in "Pastoral" are a group of genetically-manufactured BeastMen. They appear to have been created together.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [=TransGene=]. Not only getting away with kidnapping and fatal experiments, but getting the hero who revealed it convicted of a crime. Cammie, in "Pastoral", is initially taken in entirely.
* VoidBetweenTheWorlds: It's said that the space outside of reality is a black and featureless void, filled with [[VengefulGhost hungry,]] [[EldritchAbomination nasty things]]. The Point Man accidentally opens a tear in reality into this space.
* WalkDontSwim: Steeljack, being an 800-pound man of living steel, does this whenever he gets into water. By the time of "Things Past", he's using this ability [[MundaneUtility to do salvage runs in the river for the city]].
* WalkingTheEarth:
** Looney Leo once spent six years wandering around the United States. Being a living cartoon character, he did not need to eat or sleep or be sheltered from the elements, which made it easier.
** In the early seventeenth century, there was Silverstring, a mysterious musician who wandered from town to town and realm to realm. His magical silver-stringed guitar was said to mesmerize crowds and repel monsters, but he would always move on for new music to learn. He is rumored to have died somewhere near Romeyn Falls.
* WartsAndAll: Most of the heroes have this to some degree.
** In "Confession", Altar Boy learns that his mentor, the Confessor, [[spoiler:is a vampire]]. Worse, the Confessor refused to declare that [[spoiler:he had never killed anyone as a vampire]]. Even so, his heroism and selflessness not only won over Altar Boy, but also [[spoiler:inspired him to take up the mantle]].
** Crackerjack, who's a bombastic, money-seeking vainglorious womanizer, but still a genuine and well-respected ("reasonably respected", at any rate) hero.
** Winged Victory is revealed to be this in "Victory". She champions women's rights, but recognizes that she's not the be-all-end-all solution to society's gender divide and is just a normal woman trying to do the best she can and lead by example.
* WasItReallyWorthIt: At one point, a disillusioned Royal Williams wonders if getting revenge on his parent's killers is worth it if he loses his brother Charles along the way.
* WeirdnessMagnet:
** It's mentioned that there are superheroes in other cities and countries, but most places with heroes seem to [[CaptainGeographic only have a handful]], whereas Astro City has a highly disproportionate number. One character compares the city's abundance of super-beings as the equivalent to Los Angeles' earthquakes.
*** Flashbacks show that even thousands of years before the city existed, the land itself attracted heroes of legend, including the super-powered kind.
** Matilda "Tillie" Armstrong just seems to have a knack for being around weirdness, like her school being the center of a pickpocketing ring, or going to a museum just as a snake cult stages an attack. She's also stopped aging for some reason...
* WelcomeToTheBigCity: Happens to Brian Kinney when he first arrives in Astro City. Fortunately for him, the Crossbreed are there to ''gently persuade'' the pickpocket to return his wallet.
* WellDoneSonGuy: A variation occurs with Beautie and [[spoiler:the daughter of Dr. Gearbox]]. When Beautie tries to figure out why she periodically suffers bouts of amnesia, she eventually discovers that she was invented by [[spoiler:Elaine Girbachs, the prodigy daughter of a GadgeteerGenius. However, he denounces Beautie because he thinks engineering and mathematics are not proper fields for girls; this causes the daughter to angrily renounce Beautie, ordering her to go away and [[ExactWords "FORGET FOREVER!"]]]]
* WetwareCPU:
** Braintrust is a crime lord with a robot body and a BrainInAJar for a head. He also has telekinetic powers.
** A.T.A.C.C. is a seven-foot-tall robot bristling with firearms and powered by a BrainInAJar inside.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** The intergalactic ambassador Telseth is introduced in the Vertigo run with a subplot that runs across a half-dozen issues, but its resolution (or the fate of human ambassador Ben Pullam) is never mentioned.
** "The Dark Age" features the Innocent Gun, an ancient superweapon left on Earth to combat "the greatest trial humans would ever face". The gun was fired prematurely by The Point Man, apparently leaving humanity defenseless against the threat, but the fallout from that is never shown.
** Discussed during the "Lovers Quarrel" arc. Crackerjack wonders whatever became of the Crossbreed (from "Confession"). Apparently they broke up after Noah died.
* WhatHaveIBecome: This is the final realization for Royal and Charles Williams in "The Dark Age"; [[spoiler:caught between [[{{Determinator}} pursuing their parents' killer]] and [[HangingByTheFingers rescuing the Silver Agent from death,]] they recognize that they have [[HeWhoFightsMonsters become the same]] [[AntiHero compassionless "heroes"]] whom they've despised]].
* WhatMeasureIsAMook:
** Played for drama in "The Tarnished Angel"; the Conquistador insists on not hurting any people with his plan, but does not consider his criminal underlings as "people."
** The subject is explored when [[spoiler:Royal and Charles go undercover as mooks in Pyramid]].
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Briefly discussed in "The Eagle and the Mountain"; when Samaritan is disturbed at Infidel's use of female homunculi (non-sapient mindless apparitions) for his servants, Infidel asks him if he would've been upset if they were robots instead.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Discussed in the "Confession" arc:
--> What matters more: the burdens we bear, or the manner in which we bear them?
* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys:
** Though it's never stated outright, it is heavily implied that much of Honor Guard's infrastructure -- from their elaborate flying base to their teleporting call center -- is funded by N.R.-Gistics, the company responsible for the N-Forcer armored hero.
** During the "Confession" story arc, it is hinted that the Confessor gets his funding through judicious use of long-term investment funds. Apparently waiting a hundred years for high-yield returns isn't a problem [[spoiler:if you're a vampire]].
** Jack-in-the-Box apparently funds his crimefighting efforts by being the CEO of a toy company.
** One issue featured a flashback to the villainous Assemblyman, who built weapons and gadgets for anyone with the cash.
** The Black Lab is a group of villains who perform villainous super-science for anyone willing to pay them.
** The Junkman, true to his philosophy, builds all of his gear by scavenging discarded products.
** The Fixit Man is a small-time GadgeteerGenius who used to repair gear for supervillains; he quit due to too much planned obsolescence making everything disposable.
* WhipOfDominance: Spice is a DarkActionGirl from the Unholy Alliance that fights with a large bullwhip, which gives her a {{Dominatrix}} air when combined with her black HellbentForLeather outfit.
* WhiteAndGreyMorality: The series largely runs on this as part of its optimistic reconstruction of MediaNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks. While there are villains and monsters and evildoers, their motives are frequently due to their own [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions,]] and they are ultimately defeated by the optimistic heroes regardless. Many a villain has pulled a HeelFaceTurn after realizing how pointless and self-destructive their current paths are.
* WickedToymaker:
** The Toymaker turns children's toys into dangerous devices.
** The Junkman plays with this trope -- his gimmick is that he recycles discarded junk into the equipment he uses. While much of his gear is based on toys (such as turning a broken Etch-A-Sketch into a safecracking fluoroscope), he doesn't deal ''exclusively'' in toys.
** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] by the original Jack-in-the-Box. He was a toy designer whose designs were used for crime... but not by him. They were sold to criminal gangs by his corrupt superiors, and his primary motivation for becoming a masked crimefighter was to keep his designs ''away'' from criminals.
** Dr. Saturday builds HumongousMecha that resemble cartoon characters.
* WitchClassic: The Silver Age sidekick Kitkat quit super-heroics to study the mystic arts, and renamed herself Greymalkin. She lives in an OldDarkHouse with [[CrazyCatLady dozens of cats,]] and occasionally serves as an advisor to Honor Guard, as well as a backup when the Silver Adept is unavailable.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: "On the Sidelines" introduces the Sideliners, superpowered people who ''don't'' become heroes or villains, but instead use their powers in their work -- ''e.g.'' a heat manipulator who's a glassblower, or a super-strong guy who works in construction.
* WonderTwinPowers: The Jade Dragons are a brother/sister martial arts team who can summon a giant dragon by lining their arms together.
* {{Worldbuilding}}: ''Astro City'' is built on this trope -- Creator/KurtBusiek has mapped out the entire timeline of the 'verse and will not hesitate to include throwaway references to unexplained people, places, and events in its own history. These often appear to the reader as {{Call Back}}s, {{Cryptic Background Reference}}s, and {{Continuity Nod}}s, creating a very strong sense of a fully interconnected and consistent narrative universe.
* TheWorldIsNotReady: This is the reason that the Astro-Naut gave for not sharing his technological discoveries with the United States government -- he had battled enough PlanetLooters before that he feared ''humans'' would do the same thing to other worlds.
* WorldsSmartestMan: Infidel went from impoverished slave to reality-breaking EvilSorcerer through intense study, has challenged Samaritan countless times, ''destroyed reality'' at least once, and is only in a SelfImposedExile because [[IGaveMyWord he promised to do so.]] He once invented a machine to observe superstrings and considered it a mere trifle.
* WorthLivingFor: In "The Dark Age," Charles Williams pulls himself from the brink of death after his brother Royal tells him that he's found the person who killed their parents.
* {{WPUN}}: The major radio station in Astro City is KBAC, which is short for "Kurt Busiek's Astro City", the full title of the book.
* WrongSideOfTheTracks: Downplayed with Bakerville in Astro City. While it's more industrial-oriented and its residents are definitely lower on the social strata, it's not a lawless hellhole filled with drugs and crime, and has its own supers to keep things under control.
* XtremelyKoolLetterz: One of Vivi Victor's schemes involves robotic "Xentinels". What prompted her to call them that isn't stated, but then, she is mad.
* YouAreWhatYouHate: Done intentionally in "The Dark Age". Although Royal and Charles Williams didn't care for superheroes and supervillains, seeing them as [[SociopathicHero pretty much the same]], by the mid-'80s they have almost [[HeWhoFightsMonsters become a vigilante team of their own]] due to their [[{{Determinator}} unrelenting pursuit]] of [[YouKilledMyFather the man who killed their parents]].
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Deliciously deconstructed in "Show 'Em All" -- the Junkman pulls off a major heist without a hitch, and lives a life of luxury while everyone wonders who was the brilliant criminal who committed the robbery. However, he is soon frustrated at not getting recognition for the heist, especially since the public assumes that the heroes must have caught the mastermind somehow at another time. This eventually drives him to repeat the robbery again, but with deliberately-included minor flaws, so he can get captured. He is then thrilled to be recognized for the initial robbery and savors the high-profile trial detailing his heist in extraordinary detail, at which point [[CrazyPrepared he plans to escape the consequences anyway]].
* YouMeddlingKids: "The Cat Who Walked Through Walls" ends with the villain Popinjay muttering "...if not for that ridiculous feline!"
* YouKilledMyFather:
** Aubrey Jason, a Pyramid agent, killed Royal and Charles Williams' parents during a fight with the Silver Agent. When Royal learns his identity twenty years later, he uses that information to give his dying brother Charles the [[WorthLivingFor will to live on]].
** The Gunslinger is a murderer whose targets were all members of a squad of Vietnam War soldiers. His father was the squad sergeant, and the men had killed him to hide their heroin ring.
* YouKnowImBlackRight: A boisterous, money-grubbing comic publisher did ''not'' know that the supervillain Glowworm was black before depicting him as a white supremacist in a Jack-in-the-Box story. The results were not pretty.
* ZeroGSpot: Referenced in "The Gordian Knot". The planet Reklak-4 is part of a nexus of multiple realities that is used as a galactic cultural hub and entertainment center. Some people like to use the recreational low-gravity zones for carnal experiments...
-->"They actually have rooms for that, up near the top, where the effect is strongest. But it's messy, it's awkward, you smack into the walls a lot, and then you have to clean up and it's kinda gross... [[BlatantLies Or, uh, that's what friends have told me, anyway.]]"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes #-B]]
* TheSeventies: "The Dark Age" is largely set in the '70s, with the suspicion and cynicism in society playing a big part in the narrative. The story begins in the late '60s and ends in the early '80s. It also includes thematic elements from '70s movies such as ''Film/TheGodfather, Film/{{Serpico}},'' and assorted martial-arts films.
* ActionGirl:
** Many of the female supers fall into this trope.
** A notable subversion is Martha "Sully" Sullivan, who uses her telekinetic powers to do special effects for movies and television. Sully may not be a hero ''or'' a villain, but she's shown that she can kick someone's ass if she needs to. It helps that whenever some idiot supervillain doesn't get the hint that Sully and the rest of the Sideliners aren't interested in whatever they're offering, said villain grossly underestimates just what she and they are capable of.
* ActionPet: Kittyhawk, the stray cat adopted by Nightingale. She can [[{{Intangibility}} walk through walls and doors,]] [[PowerGivesYouWings sprout black wings for flight,]] and is smart enough to foil a kidnapping plot (almost) by herself.
* ActorRoleConfusion: Crimson Cougar had this happen to him. He's an actor who plays a superhero on TV who, by chance, happened to stop a convenience store robbery while in his costume. This inspired a number of villains to come after him, to make sure he doesn't decide to become a superhero for real.
* TheAdjectivalMan:
** The Hanged Man is a HorrifyingHero against supernatural threats.
** The Point Man is a {{Jerkass}} '90s hero.
** The Steel-Jacketed Man, who later shortened his name to Steeljack.
** The Broken Man is a FourthWallObserver.
** The Green Man is a ComicBook/SwampThing {{Expy}}.
* AdorableEvilMinions: The servants of He Who Lies Buried serve an EldritchAbomination, but some of them are surprisingly cute, as their home dimension is fashioned off of the designs for a video game.
* AffirmativeActionLegacy: The character diversity in ''Astro City'' largely follows that of RealLife comic book history, so this trope is played straight deliberately.
** As seen in flashbacks, Cleopatra started off as a blonde Caucasian woman. By the time the series begins, however, she has been replaced by a dark-skinned woman.
** The original Quarrel was a male criminal. He is succeeded by his daughter, who took his name and gear to build a heroic legacy.
** Little is known about the original Flying Fox other than he was male. The second Flying Fox is the daughter of a state Senator, and a lesbian in her private life.
** The original Goldenglove was a male super-criminal. His daughter dons the identity of Goldenglove II to be a master thief, but is eventually swayed into being a hero.
** Stray I was a male member of the Astro City Irregulars, while Stray II is a female free agent who was sometimes seen with the Confessor.
* AfterActionPatchup:
** In "Safeguards", Nick Furst brings the narrator to the field hospital so she can get patched up. This, unusually, gives her time to reflect.
** Altar Boy is injured after TheReveal at the park. [[spoiler:The Crossbreed]] get him to safety and patch up his arm, and as he rests to recover from shock, they talk about what they've learned.
** Steeljack, at the end of "The Tarnished Angel", gets some news from a policeman as the [=EMT=]s from the ambulance treat him.
* TheAgeless:
** Loony Leo, being a living cartoon, does not age.
** "My Dad" includes a passing reference to some people who never seem to get older.
* AIIsACrapshoot: Gormenghast is a digital consciousness that wants to TakeOverTheWorld. Its "body" is whatever elaborate base it chooses to occupy.
* AlienCatnip: In "Apeman Blues", Reflex 6 breaks up a speakeasy that puts kidnapped humans into a drugged stupor so aliens can get high feeding off their memories and emotions.
* AlienInvasion: True to form, ''Astro City'' has dozens of these; they tend to be split between background context in flashbacks and "live" events during the course of the main story.
** In "Confession", the city is taken over by the Enelsians after they manage to get many of the city's heroes imprisoned.
** In "Doing Battle", the alien Imperion leads an army of half-protoplasm cyborgs to conquer the world and restore his lost honor.
** "Her Dark Plastic Roots" starts with an attack from the Torori, who want to turn humans into slaves and [[ToServeMan foodstock.]]
** Madame Majestrix leads an assault on North America on the same day that the Silver Agent is scheduled for execution.
** The Mrevani attack Romeyn Falls in "The Sky's the Limit".
* AllCrimesAreEqual: Some of the {{Sociopathic Hero}}es in "The Dark Ages" take this view, dispensing major punishment for crimes as minor as littering. In one example, The Pale Horseman incinerates three teenage boys for stealing ''shopping carts.''
* AllForNothing: At the end of "Lover's Quarrel", [[spoiler:Crackerjack's attempt to get the [[MadScientist Black Lab]] to rejuvenate his body has left him crippled and near death. Worse, Gormenghast has gotten away with a sample of Black Rapier's rejuvenation formula, and Quarrel has retired to tend to Crackerjack's recovery]].
* AllMusicalsAreAdaptations: Crackerjack, in his civilian identity, mentions blowing an audition for the musical version of ''Inherit the Wind''.
* AllPartOfTheShow: [[EvilSorcerer Dr. Aegyptus]] sets up a ritual to open a dimensional rift for the [[EldritchAbomination Oubor]] under the pretext that it's an Egyptian-themed magic show.
* AllThereInTheManual: Zootsuit is only named in the solicit for Vertigo issue #41, not the issue itself. He does get named a few issues down the line, however.
* AllTrollsAreDifferent: They are in a few panels battling the Enelsians. They are mentioned to live on/under Glittertind in Norway. Visually, these ones look like the creations of Creator/JohnBauer dressed like stereotypical Norwegian farmers, and are strong enough to throw alien tanks around.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: The backbone of the series. Every character is an entirely original creation, but they all draw on archetypes from other comics. Samaritan is basically ComicBook/{{Superman}} but with a TimeTravel origin, the Silver Agent is ComicBook/CaptainAmerica as a metaphor for MediaNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, The First Family is basically [[TheFantasticFaux the Fantastic Four]] but multi-generational, Jack-in-the-Box is heavily inspired by ComicBook/SpiderMan but with [[BadassNormal a variety of gadgets instead of powers]], and so on.
** As The Gentleman is a [[MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] {{Expy}} of [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], it's rather fitting that he's drawn to resemble Alex Ross's renditions of the Big Red Cheese (especially since Ross paints almost all of the ''Astro City'' covers).
* AlternateSelf: Jack-In-the-Box II meets three alternate versions of his unborn son; two of them became ruthless vigilantes after his death, the third one became a non-vigilante college professor. This realization that he could leave his son without a father prompts him to go into retirement, training one of the Trouble Boys to [[PassingTheTorch take his place]] as [[LegacyHero the new Jack-In-the-Box]].
* AmbiguouslyGay: Nightingale and Sunbird are frequently rumored to be a lesbian couple, to their never-ending annoyance.
* AmnesiaLoop: Done in "Her Dark Plastic Roots". Beautie is unsatisfied because she doesn't know her own origins, so she begins to investigate the matter. Beautie eventually discovers [[spoiler:she was created by Elaine Girbachs, the daughter of [[GadgeteerGenius Dr. Gearbox]], who denounced Beautie because he believed engineering and math weren't fields for girls. Ashamed, Elaine tearfully ordered Beautie to leave and [[ExactWords forget forever]]. When Beautie confronts Elaine in the present day, she orders Beautie to leave again... and it turns out that this happens every few years as Beautie's directive weakens until she re-visits Elaine again and again and again]].
* AmoralAttorney: Downplayed. One issue has an attorney successfully defending a [[MafiaPrincess mobster's son]] (who had brained his date to death in the middle of a crowded bar) by applying superhero logic (mind control, evil duplicates, ComicBookDeath, etc.) to the case, not because he actually believed that was what was going on, but because he wanted to see if he could get away with it. However, it's explicitly mentioned that defending a client as best he can (and irrespective of their innocence) ''is his job'', and when the mob boss starts showering him with gifts and [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse offers him an, ahem, life-long position,]] he [[OhCrap realizes he's messed up good]]. Ultimately, he comes to realize that his mistake was in thinking of his job as a game that he was supposed to win, rather than as a ritual intended to keep society functioning (and... darker things at bay).
* AnachronicOrder: "Waltz of the Hours". Each page is set on a different hour of a single day, but not in linear order.
* AnimalMotif: The Oubor is associated with snakes.
* AnimalSuperheroes: Enough to form an entire team, Pet Patrol, whose roster includes Dr. Monkey, Rocket Dog, Kittyhawk and Ghost Ferret (G-Dog was a member, but eventually stepped down).
* AnimalTalk: Animals have a (simple) form of speech they use to communicate. Andy Merton is able to listen to them after he merges with his pet corgi to become G-Dog.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Most animal-based heroes don't appear in the comic long enough for their full power sets to be established, so most tend to be Type II (Animal Aliases) from what is shown.
** Members of Honor Guard include Hummingbird, Stormhawk, and Wolfspider.
** As expys of [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Batman and Robin]], the teams of Leopardman[=/=]Kitkat and Nightingale[=/=]Sunbird wear animal-themed costumes, but don't otherwise appear to have any abilities related to their respective animals.
** The television character Crimson Cougar has an above-average leap and claws on his costume.
** The [[CaptainGeographic Lion and the Unicorn]] from Great Britain.
** Cap'n Cookaburra and Wolfspider from Australia.
** The Mock Turtle is a villain in a PowerArmor suit.
** The Otter is a small-time crook in a wetsuit. He sometimes works with The Owl and Mister Toad.
** The original Hummingbird has the alias. Her daughter has actual hummingbird powers, [[spoiler:which proves to be a ForcedTransformation]].
** Palmetto of the Astro City Irregulars teen group resembles a giant cockroach, but hates to be called as such. Other animal-themed members include Stray, a heroic werewolf, and past member Alligator, a mutant reptile.
* {{Animesque}}: American Chibi is an overt, over-the-top example, with an oversized head, large eyes, and tiny body.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification:
** The Living Nightmare is a manifestation of human fear, and that fear shapes and sustains it. If need be, it can draw on that fear to bolster its determination. Even if its body is destroyed, it will eventually return [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil as long as fear exists.]]
** The Dancing Master is a personification of the concept of dance and romance. This is not necessarily a good thing, as his presence brings about a "plague" of romance that almost drives the entire city mad.
** One character the Broken Man introduces to the audience is Mister Cakewalk, a [[JustLikeRobinHood Robin Hood-like]] SouthernGentleman from the late 19th/early 20th century, who is eventually revealed to be the personification of counterculture music. As the genres changed, so did his identity (and [[GenderBender gender]] in some cases); Jazzbaby, Zoot Suit, the Halcyon Hippie, and so on. [[spoiler: Their final appearance reveals that an encounter with a cult that worshipped an ancient god of darkness destroyed them, leaving behind the Broken Man. The Broken Man himself isn't convinced that he can be any of those people, since A) he remembers his old life, which is something a personification of music shouldn't have, and B) if he ''was'' the personification of counterculture music, he would've changed with the dominant genre, but he's been the exact same for years.]]
* AntiClimax: Occurs at the end of "Friends and Relations". [[spoiler:The big fight between Honor Guard and several dozen massive battle robots ends when Ellie gently orders the robots to stand down, restrain the villain, and fly off.]]
* AntiHero: Plenty of them appear in "The Dark Age". Prominent examples include the Blue Knight, Black Velvet, the Point Man, and Stonecold. And that's not counting the [[SociopathicHero sociopaths...]]
** The Confessor would like to be an out-and-out hero, but he can't escape the dark side of his nature, on account of [[spoiler: being a vampire]].
** Crackerjack is a lighter version, in the sense that he fights crime and saves people primarily for [[SmugSuper his own self-aggrandizement]] and is, simply put, a bombastic {{Jerkass}}.
** The Cloak of Night was an early example, being a silent gun-wielding vigilante who went after criminals and bootleggers.
* AntiVillain: The Junkman was a brilliant inventor who was removed from his job only because of the company's mandatory retirement policy; they wanted him to relax and enjoy his twilight years, but he simply wanted to keep working. The only reason he turns to crime is to show society that discarded things can still have value, and builds his arsenal out of junk to prove his point. It's not hard to imagine that he could be a happy law-abiding citizen if someone would just give him another job.
* AntiquatedLinguistics: Cleopatra II had a tendency to speak in flowery and regal language in her early appearances. She's toned it down a few decades later.
-->"You will surrender, Demolitia. Cleopatra ''commands'' it -- and she will not be defied this day!"
* ApocalypseHow: Lots, though they typically appear as either alternate realities or close calls averted by the efforts of the heroes. A noteworthy case appears in "The Eagle and the Mountain", when Samaritan and Infidel ended up creating a Class Z event by ''[[ApocalypseHow/ClassZ destroying all of existence]]''.
* AppropriatedAppellation:
** Samaritan got his name after he first appeared on the scene and identified himself solely as "a good Samaritan." The name stuck.
** Similarly, Infidel took his name from the cries of the ignorant masses who opposed his "unnatural" research into the fundament energies of the universe, and he decided to embrace the name to mock them.
** G-Dog got his name after he rescued some folks from being mugged; when they asked his name, Hank (the corgi) immediately replied "G-Dog! I'm G-Dog!" (which was the term of endearment Hank's owner used).
* TheArchmage: Several have appeared so far in the stories.
** Simon Magus was a European magician who came to Astro City in TheSeventies because he foresaw a time of great strife centered on the city. He helped exorcise the spirit of vengeance known as the Blue Knight and warned about The Continuum's judgement of Earth. After a great spell, he was transformed into the Green Man.
** Magus' assistant, Grimoire, became a sorceress in TheEighties after Magus disappeared. She appeared during the Rise of Kerresh the Devastator, and wrote a tell-all book about her relationship with Magus.
** Currently, the Silver Adept is considered the most powerful magician of the forces of light in the Astro City cosmology. However, this means there are a lot of mystical matters that need her attention, keeping her busy enough to require a personal assistant.
** Infidel is a villainous example, being an EvilSorcerer out to rule the universe. Only his SelfImposedExile keeps him from being a frequent menace to the heroes.
* AreTheseWiresImportant: Ultimately used by Supersonic to stop the fight in "Old Times".
* ArmorPiercingQuestion:
** During his annual dinner with Samaritan, Infidel summons several women to bring in the food. Infidel assures Samaritan that they're not slaves, just [[ArtificialHuman magical homunculi]] made from organic scraps. When Samaritan still expresses his discomfort, Infidel retorts, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman "Were they mere robots created by science you understand, would you have similar unease?"]]
** Esteban Hidalgo spent years trying to act as a community organizer and philanthropist, but found his efforts stymied by the fact that he could never quite escape a reputation as an out-of-touch rich guy. However, the thing that pushed him to become a superhero was when a companion simply told him:
--->"So your message, Estaban, is simple: Work hard, stay out of trouble--then inherit two hundred million dollars and everything will be fine?"
** Winged Victory gives one of these to the Council of Nike in "Victory". When they criticize her association with Samaritan and the Confessor, she asks what she's supposed to teach -- that men and women are equal, or that women need to be ''alone'' to be strong? They have no response.
* ArtifactOfDoom:
** The Sekhmet Stone is a giant red stone mask. It has ancient mystic knowledge and power, and it rules the NebulousEvilOrganisation called Pyramid.
** The Black Opal, of which there were two. The first was acquired by Krigari Ironhand from the Non, another dimension made out of the shattered remnants of dead universes, the opal being the distilled hatred and anger from those universes, and used as the source of Ironhand's power until destroyed by Stormhawk. The second is a cheap imitation, which has long been broken, but if repaired would still be very powerful indeed.
** The Star of Lahkimpur is a bright green gem with the power to summon the EldritchAbomination known as the Oubor.
* ArtificialHuman:
** A plot point in the "Victory" story arc involved civilians secretly replaced with plant-based copies. The doppelgängers were sufficiently human-like to give false testimony as [[ClearMyName part of a frame-up]] against Winged Victory, and evaporate into mist when cornered.
** Samaritan's ArchEnemy Infidel has created dozens of non-sentient homunculi as servants and harem girls in his trans-dimensional fortress, because Samaritan tends to get testy if he tries to kidnap real women from the main universe. They look and feel exactly like real women but are basically machines.
** Gormenghast created dozens of copies of [[spoiler:Crackerjack]] to serve as {{Mooks}} and taunt the heroes when they staged a rescue.
** Boss Diode once infiltrated the members of the US Senate with robot doppelgangers.
** The Weirdies are blue-skinned synthetic creatures who were used by The Underlord to fight Jack-in-the-Box. They speak gibberish, have a simple HiveMind, and sprout additional limbs whenever they're struck.
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: In "Victory", a trio of female supervillains [[FrameUp publicly accuse Winged Victory of secretly leading them]]. Less than 24 hours later, the Justice Department has ordered her schools to be seized and shut down under the RICO Act -- all without any investigation, conclusive evidence, or judicial review.
* AscendedFanboy:
** Altar Boy starts off as a small-town child who wishes to make his name as a KidSidekick.
** American Chibi is an ascended fangirl. She squees whenever Samaritan compliments her on a job well done, and is absolutely over the moon when he names her a member of the Honor Guard.
** Wolfspider is a downplayed example -- while he grew up watching and admiring Honor Guard, he's ''really'' excited to join his childhood cartoon heroes "Queenslaw".
* TheAtoner:
** The Confessor is purposefully torturing himself [[spoiler:by using a cross as his costume theme, as a form of mortification in penance for his killings as well as his self-loathing as a vampire.]]
** Eth, the narrator of "Sorrowsday."
--->"I can live with it no longer. I surrender to your justice. What is my punishment?"
** The Street Angel becomes this after turning DarkerAndEdgier during his time with Black Velvet; in remorse, he left Astro City to do humanitarian work in Africa, before returning to the city to help inner-city youths.
** In "Mistakes", Marella Cowper becomes this after she overlooks a clue to a hidden Skullcrusher base in Ecuador, turning the area into a war zone. She leaves home and devotes herself to aiding rescue efforts in a desperate attempt to find the child who originally contacted her, getting into more and more dangerous situations as a result.
* AtrociousAlias:
** The Otter, possibly the cutest supervillain name ever. Mind you, he does run around dressed as an otter, so the name clearly doesn't bother him. Maybe he should have called himself [[Literature/TheAreasOfMyExpertise the furry old lobster]] instead.
** Then there's Glue-Gun, an {{Expy}} of Creator/MarvelComics' Paste-Pot Pete.
** One issue has The Majordomo, who clearly intends to be an impressive rule-the-world villain. As another character dryly points out, it might have come off better if he hadn't named himself after a servant.
** Before [[MundaneUtility becoming a special effects artist]], telekinetic Martha Sullivan had a very brief career as the superhero "Mind-Over-Mattie." Her only defense was "it was the sixties."
** When Brian Kinney became the sidekick for the priestly Confessor, he received the codename "Altar Boy." He doesn't care for it, but doesn't get a vote in the matter.
--->'''Confessor:''' Altar Boy or busboy. Your choice.
** Before Reflex 6 settled on their name, Tearaway kept suggesting the name "Wildrogues". Everyone else hated it.
** The AnimalSuperheroes team Pet Patrol briefly considered calling themselves "Pet Dander" and "Fauna Force".
** A newly-created supervillain called himself "Lord Sovereign"; a person nearby lampshades how redundant that is.
** Jerome Johnson, the son of the hero Jack-in-the-Box, tried at one point to fight crime under the name Jackie Justice, a career which was cut short on his first night out when he broke his leg. His father is shown to be in disbelief about many of his actions, not least of all that he went with "Jackie Justice" as a name.
* AwesomeAussie: Wolfspider, mate.
* BackFromTheDead: This is the origin and source of [[spoiler:The Gentleman. He is a fantasy-wish manifestation of Matilda "Tillie" Armstrong, a girl whose father was killed in a supervillain attack. Whenever there's danger, Tillie wishes The Gentleman -- her Dad -- back to life, so he can save the day]].
* {{Backstory}}: Just about everyone has one. Whether or not the readers ever see it is another matter.
* BadassBookworm: Roy Virgil was an engineering genius, aeronautical millionaire, and thrill-seeking adventurer known as the Astro-Naut.
* BadassNormal: Not surprisingly, many of the veteran crimefighters are regular folks coupled with a few gimmicks (Jack-In-the-Box, Crackerjack, Altar Boy, the Black Badge, El Hombre, the Flying Fox), but who have trained themselves up to bullet-dodging levels.
** Deconstructed with Quarrel; she constantly realizes that she's a BadassNormal in a world of super-powered beings, armored villains, aliens, and gods, and compensates for it with '''lots''' of training -- to the point where she cannot sustain any sort of normal relationship [[MarriedToTheJob because of the commitments required.]] She's only with Crackerjack because she doesn't care that he ReallyGetsAround, and he doesn't care if she forgets his birthday.
** Played with in the case of Sticks. In his home of Gorilla Mountain, he's just a typical -- and disinterested -- soldier in gorilla society. In Astro City, however, his strength, training, and prehensile feet makes him a dangerous opponent to anyone who tries to exploit him.
** in "The Dark Ages", Charles and Royal Williams eventually grow into this role through a combination of physical training and gear appropriated from Pyramid.
* BadGuyBar: Joey "The Platypus" Platapopulous runs the Down Under Club. The front is a legitimate nightclub with [[FanserviceWithASmile scantily-clad waitresses]], while the back is where all the scheming takes place.
* BadPowersBadPeople: Many of the [[NinetiesAntiHero new]] [[SociopathicHero "heroes"]] who appear in "The Dark Age" qualify. Special attention should be given to Black Velvet, who uses her TouchOfDeath to disintegrate criminals, and the Pale Horseman, who fries ''all'' evildoers whether they're super-criminals or shoplifting teenagers.
* BadPowersGoodPeople:
** The Confessor is [[spoiler:a vampire]] who fights crime as an [[TheCowl intimidating vigilante of the night]].
** Hellhound is a demonic ScaryBlackMan in leather and chains, but he only hurts wrongdoers and is friendly with other established heroes.
* BangingForHelp: Seeking shelter at an arms cache during a citywide riot, Royal Williams finds his brother Charles dying from a gunshot wound. Desperate to attract the police over the chaos around him, Royal fires off ''all'' of the weapons to get their attention.
* BarbieDollAnatomy: Beautie, literally.
-->"My skin is ferro-styrene over an omnitanium frame. My breasts and buttocks are rigid. And I have no genitalia."
* BarrierWarrior:
** Samaritan can manipulate an "Empyrean field", which is strong enough to repulse a tidal wave.
** Resistor is a free-floating memetic field that [[SuperEmpowering turns ordinary people into energy beings]] who casts protective barriers to shield innocents.
* BashBrothers: The Butthead Brothers are two teen {{Delinquents}} who terrorize people with elemental powers from a space meteorite.
* BayonetYa: The Old Soldier carries a bayoneted rifle as one of his weapons. Given how long bayonets have been used in warfare, he may have been carrying it for a long time.
* BeastMan:
** Daniel of the Crossbreed is a lion man.
** Ragged Tom and the Raggamuffins are a gang of cat-people who rob wayward travelers at night.
** Team Carnivore is composed of five men and women who have animal characteristics (a snake, bear, lion, wolf, and hawk).
** Stormhawk is a human with the head, wings, and clawed feet of a hawk.
** G-Dog is half-man, half-corgi.
** The Eastern European Beast-Men, whose prince is Natalie and Nick Furst's biological father.
** The evil god Jabaja has {{Mooks}} that are half-human, half-puma.
** Sasha Furst of the First Family is a humanoid wolf.
** Popinjay is a criminal with the head of a bird.
* BeeAfraid: The Beekeeper, an older supervillain who attacks folks with deadly bee swarms.
* BefriendingTheEnemy: In "Enemy of the Empire", [[TheEmpath Zo the Zirr]] finds Karl Furst after he's been injured in a battle with the Zirr Empire. Instead of turning him in, however, Zo helps Karl signal the other members of the First Family so they can rescue him.
* BeingEvilSucks: A recurring theme, especially in later stories. Many stories show that villains are driven by a combination of greed, attention-seeking behavior, and various personality disorders, and even when they ''do'' win, they don't gain any real satisfaction from it. Many could have made a ton of money with [[CutLexLuthorACheck using their talents legitimately,]] but for one reason or another aren't interested. As a result, the ones who make it to old age often have little to nothing to show for it.
* BellyMouth: The Living Nightmare's torso has a face with burning orange eyes and a sharp-toothed mouth.
* TheBermudaTriangle: Monstro City (where Rex Zorus of the First Family came from) is located on the sea floor of the Triangle.
* BerserkButton: Bugman Palmetto ''hates'' being called a roach. It's implied that this is actually because that's an ethnic slur against Latin-Americans, rather than because he's a giant roach man.
* BetterTheDevilYouKnow: In "Safeguards", Marta Dobrescu realizes that, while Shadow Hill is filled with vampires, dark creatures, and other {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, at least she knows the wards and rituals to keep them at bay since she's lived there her entire life. Downtown Astro City may be a tempting and exciting place, but her ignorance of ''their'' rituals is ultimately a liability.
* BigDamnHeroes: In "Hot Time In the Old Town", [[EvilSorcerer Dr. Aegyptus's]] EldritchAbomination summoning seance goes a little awry when ''all'' of the local heroes of 1920s Romayn Falls -- Jazzbaby, the Cloak of the Night, the Blasphemy Boys, and the Five Fists -- get in on the action.
* BlackTieInfiltration: Tom O'Bedlam's "Phoenix Party" to celebrate [[TheNthDoctor Glamorax's transformation]] is infiltrated by [[spoiler:cultists of [[EldritchAbomination the Oubor,]] who use talismans to disrupt Glamorax's rebirth]].
* BlessedWithSuck:
** Once he gets out of prison, Steeljack discovers quickly that being a ChromeChampion is not exactly helpful in most low-level jobs (that is to say, the only jobs that will hire an ex-con with no work experience). Because his fingers are coated in steel, he can't handle fragile objects without risking breaking them, which meant he couldn't even hold down a job washing dishes or use a touchscreen device. He also weighs eight hundred pounds, which provides its own problems, like not being able to drive a car. His body has also started to corrode and rust in his old age, and the metal coating over his body needs iron supplements to keep it from feeding off itself. Oh, and he CantHaveSexEver, or at least not with someone who isn't also a superhuman.
** Played with in the case of Hummingbird II -- she received her powers while still a fetus from the gods of Khpak Iqun, but the evil god Jabaja slipped in a curse to eventually turn her into a ''real'' bird. Though she had the option to save herself by losing her powers, she turned it down, resolving to remain a hero for as long as she can.
* BlindObedience: Most of the Zirr have this towards their warlord Emperor. When Zo's sister Ziriza questions why the First Family repeatedly attack the Zirr Empire even though (by the official accounts) they were previously defeated and punished, her father angrily insists that she's just confused and the [[TelepathicSpacemen Priestlords]] will straighten her out.
* BlobMonster: Gloo is a mindless monster that resembles a giant misshapen blob of green liquid. It fights crime with deadly "pranks", such as spraying litterbugs with flesh-melting acidic "seltzer".
* BloodKnight: In "The Dark Ages", there's a popular RealityTV show called "Rough Justice" that shows actual footage of {{Sociopathic Hero}}es [[DisproportionateRetribution brutally punishing]] assorted [[AllCrimesAreEqual criminals]].
* BookEnds: The episode "In Dreams" begins and ends with Samaritan dreaming about flying.
* BouncingBattler: The Bouncing Beatnik.
* BountyHunter: In the ''Astro City'' legal system, some superheroes make a living by registering as bounty hunters with the local authorities. They are sanctioned to capture criminals (super-powered and otherwise), and are paid by picking up checks made out to their real identities.
* BoyfriendBlockingDad:
** This is Duncan Keller's first reaction to learning that his daughter [[spoiler:is not only training as one of the new Starfighters with four others, but one of them is also romantically interested in her.]] His wife cools him down.
** Rex Zorus, Astra's father, gives Matt an intimidating interrogation on their Prom Night. Intimidation is ''very'' easy when you're a 500-pound bright red reptilian monster with razor teeth...
* BrainInAJar:
** A.T.T.A.C.C, who has gone a little bit bored (and mad) from being stuck in a tin can for several years, while still having human desires.
** Braintrust is an Astro City crime lord; his brain is in an oval glass jar, perched on top of a spindly robot body.
* {{Brainwashed}}: As part of their training regiment, Pyramid troops undergo brainwashing to support Pyramid and become fearless footsoldiers. This is done by a combination of mandatory pills, sleeping gas, and speakers broadcasting propaganda.
* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: The insect aliens of the Zirr Empire have The Understanding, which mentally bonds them and [[HiveMind removes all traces of individual doubt or uncertainty]].
* BrandX: "Beautie" dolls, "Beefy Bob's" burger joints, and "Astro-Mart" convenience stores.
* BrawnHilda: According to both Steeljack and Cutlass, the muscular villainess Wrestla is "built like an ox, with a face to match."
* BreakingTheBonds: In "Things Past", Steeljack breaks his super-powered restraints, then snaps Cutlass's restraints, all in the span of a few seconds.
* BriarPatching: Used by Marta Dobrescu in "Party of the Second Part" -- when [[TheArchmage the Silver Adept]] is on trial for blasphemy by the Cult of Tzammath, Marta tricks them into summoning Tzammath directly by claiming they're not capable of doing so.
* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:The Hanged Man versus what's implied to be servants of the Oubor, if not the Oubor itself. He won, but lost his host, and had to find a new one.]]
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS:
** "A" is for the All-American.
** The Silver Adept has a brooch with a stylized "A" on it.
** Beautie uses a stylized "B" for her accessories.
** Appropriately for a [[ShowWithinAShow fictional hero]], the Crimson Cougar has a prominent double-[=CC=] logo.
** "F" is for the First Family.
*** As an adult, Astra Furst has traded her "F" bodysuit... for a bodysuit with a massive "A" on it.
** In a photo, the original Goldenglove is seen wearing a championship belt with a large "G" on it.
*** "GG" is for the C-rate villain Glue Gun, though it's only visible on his back-mounted glue canisters.
** Honor Guard's logo is a large serif H with a smaller sans-serif G embedded inside.
** "N" is for N-Forcer.
** "Q" is for Quarrel.
** Roustabout has a large cowboy belt with a double-R branding design.
** Supersonic's costume has a full-torso logo that resembles a very stylized "S".
** Winged Victory's emblem[=/=]TransformationTrinket is a capital "V" with a pair of outswept wings.
* BrownNote: The roar of the Living Nightmare inflicts pain on whoever hears it.
* BulletCatch: Steeljack saves a man from being robbed by placing his steel hand in front of the barrel and catching the bullet as it's fired.
* TheBusCameBack:
** Ben Pullam first appeared in the first issue of the second series in 1996, and returned 17 years later in 2013 for the first issue of the Vertigo series.
** Steeljack returned to the series in 2016, 16 years after "The Tarnished Angel".
** An even longer bus ride is that of Marta Dobrescu, who originally appeared back in issue 4 of the original series in 1995, and returned for issues 39-40 of the Vertigo series in 2016 21 years later.
** Michael Tenicek made his first appearance in "The Nearness of You" in 1998, returning 20 years on in 2018 for issues 50-52 of the Vertigo series.
* BusFullOfInnocents: Team Carnivore exploits this, menacing a crowd to force Roustabout to reveal himself.
* ButtMonkey: Glue-Gun is a super-villain whose main purpose is to be humiliated by the protagonists.

[[folder:Tropes C-E]]
* CallBack: ''Astro City'' is just '''full''' of references and in-jokes to people, places, and events in its own history.
** The very first issue of ''Astro City'' has the Samaritan flying alone in his dreams. The twentieth anniversary issue also focuses on his dreams of flying, only this time Winged Victory is flying alongside him.
** In "Thumbtacks & Yarn", one brief story has a man dealing with a snake cult, only to have the Broken Man interrupt and [[NoFourthWall yell at the reader]] for trying to read the story prematurely. Later, in "The Sky's The Limit", Zootsuit stops two LizardFolk from trying to attack a young woman -- and on the next page, the Broken Man is on the gutters of the page, gesturing silently back to the thwarted attack.
** In "Apeman Blues", [[TakeAThirdOption Sticks' solution]] to his dilemma involves some of the characters from "On the Sidelines", published two years earlier.
** Elliot Mills, the reporter from "The Scoop", reappears from time to time. "The Dark Age" reveals that Mills is the author of Charles' and Royal's story, while the "Astro City Visitor's Guide" includes his article giving a brief history of the city.
** ''Astro City: Astra'' issue #2 is addressed to Andrew Eisenstein of Fairbanks, Alaska -- who was last seen PutOnABus in "A Little Knowledge".
** In "Resistance", the fact-checker who verifies that Louisa's news story is legally safe is Asa Martin, ''a.k.a.'' [[TheCape Samaritan.]]
* CallToAgriculture:
** Supersonic spends his golden years tending to his rose garden.
** After her robot museum is closed, Ellie Jennersen starts a bee farm, selling honey.
* TheCape:
** The leading example in ''Astro City'' is unarguably the Silver Agent. A [[AFatherToHisMen natural leader]] and AllLovingHero, he selflessly helps anyone in need regardless of the risk to himself. He ends up being an inspiring figure for over '''43 centuries''' to beings throughout the universe.
** Samaritan is the world's most famous hero and always a reassuring sight in times of danger. Despite the never-ending pressures he faces [[SamaritanSyndrome trying to help everyone,]] the harshest he'll get is a stern-voiced frown.
** The Gentleman is so [[NiceGuy nice and polite]] that he makes Creator/FredRogers look like a drunken sailor by comparison. [[SharpDressedMan Stylishly dressed]] and unerringly chivalrous, The Gentleman is a constant example of impeccable civility.
* CapeBusters: E.A.G.L.E. became this during the "Confession" story arc.
* CaptainErsatz: Most of the characters -- hero, villain, or otherwise -- are directly or indirectly based on more established comic book characters, depending on the needs of the story. Justified in that the series as a whole examines, deconstructs, and reconstructs longstanding superhero tropes, which are not limited to a single company's character. Some characters have multiple ''Astro City'' counterparts to represent different aspects of the character: Batman has analogues in the Confessor (brooding night vigilante with a young sidekick), Leopardman (animal theme, and rumored to be a millionaire with a butler), and Black Rapier (the world's greatest detective and black-clad BadassNormal).
** Astro City itself has one in Earth-34 of the main DC [[TheMultiverse multiverse]], which has a city called Cosmoville and characters such as Savior (Samaritan), Herculina (Winged Victory), Cutie (Beautie), etc. Yes, that does make Earth-34 an expy of an already expy-heavy setting. Thank Creator/GrantMorrison.
* CaptainEthnic / CaptainGeographic: The further away a hero is from Astro City proper, the more likely they are to be one of these. This is quite deliberate, to allow for a strong sense of place when outside of the boundaries of [[CityOfAdventure Astro City]].
** Las Vegas' big hero is the neon-themed Mirage.
** New York is defended by Skyscraper.
** Boston has the Silversmith (after Bostonian silversmith Paul Revere) and The Brahmin.
** Chicago has The Untouchable.
** Austin, Texas has Lonestar.
** Atlanta, Georgia (home of Coca-Cola) has The Real Thing.
** Detroit, the Motor City, has MPH.
** Los Angeles has Starpower, a ChromeChampion wearing an oversized film strip.
** The All-American and Slugger can be seen as representing the United States as a whole, whose tactics and abilities all come from sports.
** Australia's most notable heroes include Kookaburra, Barrier, Bullroarer, and the Colonial.
*** Later issues introduced another hero called Wolfspider, and the villains Coolangatta Pete, the Exo-Skells, and Jack Panzer.
*** There's also a popular kids' cartoon called "Queenslaw", about a team of (fictional) Australian superheroes -- Cap'n Cookaburra, Banana Bender, Goldrush, Krokolite, Seadragon, the Territorian, and Numbat.
** British crime lords include The Red Queen, Clever Dick, the Toff and the Headmaster of Crime, while its heroes include The Lion and the Unicorn, Larkspur, and Popstar.
** Germany has Iron Cross.
** Kenya has Anansi, who creates illusions.
** India has a team of super-powered street urchins called The Unclean.
** Brazilian heroes mentioned are the Birds of Paradise, a trio of flying, scantily-clad women.
* CassandraTruth: Steeljack tries to warn the Honor Guard about the Conquistador's plan, but they don't believe him. At least, at first.
* CatsAreMean: Downplayed with Kittyhawk -- while she's nice enough to be a pet hero, she also casually ignores Nightingale's instructions, has a quick temper, and randomly breaks things out of spite.
* CatUpATree: The first story has Samaritan rescuing a cat from a tree on his way to another emergency, and castigating himself because the thirty seconds he spent comforting the kid almost cost someone's life.
* TheCavalryArrivesLate: in "The Tarnished Angel", the Honor Guard gets to cart off the villain and get medical attention for Steeljack.
* CensorSteam: A variant involving speed lines is used when Samaritan has his dreams of flying naked.
* CentralTheme: Very prevalent in multi-issue arcs.
** "Confession" is about doing the right thing regardless of the cost. Central character Altar Boy's late father treated anyone who needed help, even when the community and his own son scorned him for letting himself be financially taken advantage of. The Crossbreed proselytize despite being mocked, and they and the Astro City superheroes in general keep fighting the good fight after public opinion and the city government has turned against them. [[spoiler: The secretly-vampiric Confessor wears a cross as a form of mortification, and performs a HeroicSacrifice to expose the villains.]]
** "The Tarnished Angel" is about shame and the hold of the past. Main character Steeljack is haunted by regret for his supervillain past and for killing another kid in a gang fight. His criminal history and the steel skin he got during it also prevent him from getting an honest job. Kiefer Square, his home neighborhood, is trapped in a seemingly-inescapable rut of criminality, personified by a teenage aspiring second-generation supervillain. [[spoiler:The villain is a disgraced superhero whose attempt to create a crisis he could publicly overcome failed miserably. Having obsessed over it for years, he's decided to try again, this time killing off the supervillains he involves so they can't expose him. Side character Donnelly knows about the previous but won't reveal it, because that would also reveal that he was fool enough that he hooked a great many people up with an employer who intended to kill them.]]
** "Lovers Quarrel" is about coping with and accepting the issues of old age, which is an especially debilitating problem for {{Badass Normal}}s in Astro City. Crackerjack and Quarrel try different approaches to cope, such as semi-automated body armor and an assortment of liniments and salves. [[spoiler:Their attempts end poorly, and at the end they have no other choice but to accept their condition and try to find new things in life to focus on.]]
* ChangingOfTheGuard: Given the long line of legacy heroes in the 'verse, this happens fairly often.
** The first Jack-in-the-Box was killed in action, although his family knew only that he vanished without a trace. It wasn't until years later that his son discovered a hidden cache of his costumes and equipment, and decided to become the second Jack-In-The-Box and avenge his father's death.
** Jack-In-The-Box II had a two-issue story arc on ''his'' succession. Jack is confronted by [[EnfanteTerrible nightmarish futuristic versions of his son,]] who blame Jack for their fate -- in their AlternateHistory, Jack died before they were born, and was therefore [[ParentalAbandonment unable to be a father figure in their lives]]. When Jack later discovers his wife is pregnant, he [[SadisticChoice has to decide]] between giving up his super-hero identity or risk leaving behind a [[FetusTerrible twisted offspring.]] The problem is resolved when [[spoiler:Jack passes his super-hero identity to an acrobatic [[StreetUrchin gang member,]] whom he aids from [[MissionControl his home basement]] with remote-control spy cameras and microphones.]]
** The mantle of The Confessor is passed on when [[spoiler:the original Confessor is killed and his sidekick chooses to take over the role]].
** Played with in the case of Quarrel, a male villain whose daughter inherits his title and equipment, but ends up becoming a hero instead -- just as he wanted.
** Comes up in the story of Starfighter as well, in a different way. [[spoiler:As his powers begin to fade, he wonders what he's done wrong... only for the entity that grants said powers to explain it just wants him to have a peaceful retirement. It then presents him with a list of several worthy candidates to take on the mantle, one of whom is his daughter.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: Vivi Vector, mentioned as being one of the earliest villains to use robot minions, turns out to be very important to the story of Ellie Jennersen.
* ChessMotifs: The Red Queen is a crime lord who had chess-themed minions as part of her ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' motif. That said, they were based on designs stolen from the Chessmen of Astro City.
** The Chessmen themselves are, of course, a good example, as super-criminals wearing PoweredArmor designed to resemble chess pieces. However, the set of armor has swapped hands, been broken up, been reassembled, been rebuilt, been copied, and so on so many times that any relation between the Chessmen and chess is tentative at best.
* ChickMagnet: Briefly discussed; when Reflex 6 tries to recruit Sticks to join them, Tearaway notes that it's a great way to meet girls.
* ChromeChampion: Several.
** El Robo of the Irregulars is a muscular young man made of steel.
** Steeljack is a former super-villain whose entire body is covered in living metal. [[BlessedWithSuck It cuts down on his sense of touch,]] but he's completely human underneath. Worse, he's tarnishing with age, suffering from rust and needing to supplement his iron intake as his body begins feeding on itself.
** In Los Angeles, the superhero Starpower is a silver man wrapped in a film strip, while the Platinum Blonde was a robotic villain who fought El Hombre.
* CityMouse: Camille in "Pastoral" is a teen girl from Astro City who's spending the summer with her family in [[EverytownAmerica small-town Caplinville]]. She's initially bored and frustrated by their folksy ways, but is soon piqued by local superhero Roustabout and butts heads with the locals as a result.
* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: In one story, the [[MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] villain Professor Borzoi uses a [[AppliedPhlebotinum Belief Ray]] to make a [[Film/KingKong giant]] gorilla attack the crowd at a movie theater. A side effect of the ray brings the cartoon character Loony Leo to life. When Leo smashes the ray, he and the gorilla start to fade away, but The Gentleman convinces the crowd to believe in Leo and saves him. That's how Leo's troubles began...
* ClearMyName: "Victory" centers on Winged Victory being falsely accused of masterminding villainous activities to promote a pro-feminism agenda.
* CListFodder: "The Tarnished Angel" has an in-universe version. Someone is murdering the C-list supervillains of Kiefer Square, but their surviving relatives are resigned to the fact that none of them are prominent enough or important enough for the police or the heroes to care.
* CloneDegeneration: The acid-spitting, barely-intelligent pile of slime known as Gloo is apparently an imperfect clone of Jack-in-the-Box. Appropriate for a character heavily based on ComicBook/SpiderMan: he gets a [[ComicBook/TheCloneSaga malformed clone]] and a [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} murderous slime-like imitator]] combined into one!
* CloseEnoughTimeline: Played rather tragically in "The Nearness of You", where it's revealed that one of these was created at an indeterminate point. In the reconstructed timeline, a few events were delayed by a day or so, which means that some people who existed in the old timeline were never born in the current one. People who were particularly close to them have vague dreams and visions of someone they've never met, with the focal character being haunted by memories of his former wife. The Hanged Man apparently comes to them on occasion to console them.
* CloseKnitCommunity:
** In "Pastoral", the girl visiting from Astro City is freaked out by how ''everyone'' in Caplinville knows everyone else.
** Kiefer Square is a ViceCity version of this trope. The locals are all working-class folks, many of whom get by as B-grade villains or {{Mooks}}, but they still have the local GossipyHens and [[TheArtfulDodger street roughs]], and don't hesitate to come together when the neighborhood is imperiled.
* ClothesMakeTheLegend: Played straight, as most costumed super-beings in ''Astro City'' will wear the same outfit for decades, even in the case of generational {{Legacy Character}}s. If a character does change their appearance, it's typically justified, such as the N-Forcer upgrading his armored suits.
* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: American Chibi's powers come from her mystic hair scrunchies. Later, the scrunchies become a TransformationTrinket for her creator, Marguerite.
* CollectorOfTheStrange:
** The First Family seem to have a large number of weird things lying around their home, though home much of it is a collection, how much is there for safekeeping, and how much is there because Augustus and Julius want to tinker with is not established.
** Jared Everall, owner of the T.J. Scoundrel's chain of {{Kitschy Themed Restaurant}}s, collects souvenir super-gear and is a supervillian fanboy.
--->"You want to sell those Grav-Pods you arrived on, I'll give you a good deal. Those are vintage, man. First used in 1963 by Dr. Ecliptic against Supersonic. Not many originals survive, but those two look cherry."
* ComicBooksAreReal:
** "Where the Action Is" examines the common comic book subtrope of superheroes' lives being documented by comic publishers in-universe, and establishes that all real-life major publishers exist in the series' universe. Some superheroes even attend comic book conventions and sign autographs, while supervillains read their own comic books and take their displeasure out on the publisher. [[spoiler: At the end of the story, when one comic publisher switches to stories about extraterrestrial and "cosmic" characters to try to avoid further attacks from supervillains, their entire building is mysteriously annihilated. That's right, there is an EldritchAbomination out there somewhere who ''reads comic books''.]]
** In "My Dad", someone mentions that Penny Bright -- the star of an in-universe romance comic book -- is actually a real person who [[TheAgeless never grows old]].
* ComicBookTime: Averted; the ''Astro City'' characters age in real time.
** In the first issue of the second series in 1995, POV character Ben Pullam is an adult man with two young daughters moving to Astro City for the first time. In the first issue of the Vertigo series in 2013, Ben is back as an older man and his two daughters return now as grown women in their late twenties.
** Astra, the First Family's daughter, is ten years old in a 1996 story, and graduates from college in her own 2009 mini-series. In the interval, her uncle Nick has gotten married and has super-powered twin children of his own.
** The Black Rapier, a longtime leader of Honor Guard, retires in a 2014 story [[LampshadeHanging and even mentions]] his 45-year-long crime-fighting career (aided by a rejuvenation serum).
** Being {{Badass Normal}}s, Quarrel and Crackerjack are acutely aware of the effects of advancing age on their bodies and reflexes.
** Starfighter got his powers during the Vietnam War; by 2017, he's a white-haired senior writing novels and enjoying quiet time with his (alien) family.
* CompleteImmortality:
** Loony Leo discovers that, being a living cartoon, he cannot die. He spent six years WalkingTheEarth with no ill effects.
** One of Infidel's early discoveries was how to use the base energy of the universe to make himself immortal. [[note]]This suggests that Samaritan -- whose powers come from the same Empyrean Fire -- is also immortal.[[/note]]
* ComplimentBackfire: Steeljack breaks into the Honor Guard headquarters to warn them about another supervillain's plot, and is nearly immediately apprehended by a group of heroes, including Quarrel II, the daughter of one of his old accomplices, the original Quarrel. As he is dragged out, he mentions that her dad would have been proud of her. While he probably means that he would be proud that she got away from the slums and crime and became an upstanding citizen and hero, Quarrel II flies into a rage at being complimented by an accomplice of her father's and a supervillain, and given approval by proxy from said father, whom she has done everything to distance herself from.
* ConflictingLoyalty: While working undercover for E.A.G.L.E., Charles Williams has to decide between reporting a major operation to his superiors or going after the man who killed his parents.
* ContinuityNod: Frequent. By way of a particularly illustrative example, virtually ''everything'' from issue one is called back in future issues:
** [[TheCape Samaritan]] briefly mutters his flight time when he arrives to visit Steeljack in "The Tarnished Angel," and again when visiting Maddie in "On the Sidelines".
** Samaritan mentions that Honor Guard's alien detector is on the fritz. This seeming throwaway line is a critical plot point in "Confession."
** At the Honor Guard meeting Cleopatra mentions the rising threat of "Gnomes" in the mountains. A few issues later a giant, Gnome-built robot squares off with some heroes.
** Samaritan's fight with the Living Nightmare is the front-page story for the Rocket in the very next story, "The Scoop."
** And the Rocket's lead story in issue one is "Jack-in-the-Box captures Brass Monkey." Both Jack and the Monkey of course appear in future issues.
** At the office, Asa's latest work assignment is about the First Family, who of course also make frequent appearances throughout the series.
** A news story in "Confession" mentions yet another award ceremony in Samaritan's honor.
* CoolChair:
** Each employee at Honor Guard's call center gets one of these -- they automatically adjust to the weight and posture of whoever sits in them, auto-recline to a relaxing position, offer fingertip-ready touch controls, and display information on ergonomically-friendly floating screens.
--->"You'll be in it a lot, and we want you comfortable."
** The mob boss known as the Underlord ran his criminal empire from an ornate throne.
* CoolGate: Common as a form of transport. Everything from Honor Guard's PortalNetwork to the gates they have to construct in Hummingbird's and American Chibi's stories to reach other dimensions.
** The back door of the Silver Adept's mansion magically opens to a rustic countryside in the Fields of Allatar.
** Roy Virgil, ''a.k.a.'' the Astro-Naut, had one in his office that led to his SpaceBase over the Earth.
* CopCriminalFamily: The two viewpoint characters in "The Dark Age" are brothers Charles and Royal Williams. Charles is a policeman, and Royal is a petty criminal.
* CorporateSponsoredSuperhero:
** Some of Honor Guard's members qualify, as the team has a stipend available (via N.R.-Gistics) for those who need financial support to offset their time being heroes.
** Beautie is sponsored by Tip-Top Toys, the creators of the "Beautie" line of fashion dolls that she is modeled after.
** Reflex 6 has corporate sponsors, and team benefits include a stipend, branding research, and a genre-savvy marketing department.
** Jack-In-The-Box III (Roscoe James) technically counts, as he gets paid by his predecessor so he can earn his way through college without resorting to handouts.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive:
** According to Roustabout, the executives of [=TransGene=] International are these. They allegedly perform illegal genetic modifications on unwilling humans, and are rumored to be behind the creation of the villainous Team Carnivore.
** Simon Sterling of Sterling Industries is an arms dealer who provides super-tech to government agencies. He's been exposed for illegally selling weapons on the black market to criminals and hostile nations, but have avoided prosecution thanks to his vast fortune and ArmyOfLawyers.
* CovertGroupWithMundaneFront: While Honor Guard isn't a covert group, their call center is, to protect them from being targeted by supervillains. The employees are hired through shell companies that serve as their cover, with names like '''H'''umano'''G'''lobal, '''H'''ampton '''G'''enetics, '''H'''alston-'''G'''odney, '''H'''anawa '''G'''iken...
* TheCowl:
** The Confessor is ''Astro City's'' most famous example, being an {{Expy}} for ComicBook/{{Batman}} who easily surpasses him in all major skills -- he fights off crowds of thugs without effort, avoids gunfire at point-blank range, intimidates everyone with his piercing gaze, is never seen in daylight hours, and has such mastery of the StealthHiBye that he's ''never'' been caught on film or camera. [[spoiler:That's because he's a vampire.]]
** Implied with Black Rapier; he appears to be Batman [[RecycledInSpace with fencing]], or perhaps a CaptainErsatz Franchise/{{Zorro}}. Other characters have referred to him as a detective.
** During his DarkerAndEdgier phase, the Street Angel adopted this role, stalking the criminals of the night and fighting them with steel-core halos and throwing knives.
* CrazyCatLady: Tabitha Grey, former KidSidekick to Leopardman, reinvented herself as a mage named Greymalkin. In her twilight years, she lives in an OldDarkHouse with dozens of cats.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: Aubrey Jason would have been content to remain a normal human and high-ranking Pyramid leader, but was pushed into acquiring superhuman powers to protect himself from the [[{{Determinator}} relentless pursuit]] of Charles and Royal Williams and their RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* CreatorCameo: Creator/KurtBusiek, Brent Anderson, and Creator/AlexRoss appear as three bank robbers hiding in a sewer in the "Confession" story arc.
* CreepySouvenir: Jared Everall, collector of super-memorabilia, keeps a pitcher containing ''seven vengeful demons'' on his [[StupidEvil coffee table.]]
* CrisisCrossover:
** In "The Nearness of You", a man becomes increasingly obsessed about a woman who keeps appearing in his dreams. It turns out it's because a minor villain caused a TemporalParadox that threatened the universe and required all of the heroes to stop it -- and the woman is his wife who [[RetGone ceased to exist]] in the repaired timestream. Yes, the CrisisCrossover is relegated to a ''background reference.''
** Also appears in the ending of the "Confession" arc, which is basically a Crisis Crossover as seen from the sidelines.
* CrypticBackgroundReference: Used liberally. Right from the first issue we're given all sorts of names and concepts that are not given direct exposition, it is simply expected that readers will fill in the gaps with their knowledge of comic book tropes.
** In particular, the death of a hero named Silver Agent is referenced in quite a few issues, we even see a memorial at one point. Why did he die? Why does the memorial say "To Our Eternal Shame"? This would go unrevealed for a long, long time, until the "The Dark Age" revealed that [[spoiler:he was framed for murder by the Mad Maharajah, and the government executed him to show they still had control over superheroes. Using time travel, he saved the entire city mere minutes after his death, and saved the ''world'' several times years later, illustrating that he was a hero to the last.]] The kicker? [[spoiler:The Mad Maharajah wasn't even really dead.]]
* CulturalRebel: Sticks is a gorilla who grew up in an enclave of warriors and protectors. Unfortunately, he wants to be a musician.
* CurbStompBattle: Occurs in "Great Expectations," when Mitch Goodman's latest shot is interrupted by the Dark Centurion. As the Crimson Cougar, Mitch leaps into battle, but the Centurion effortlessly beats him into submission. Mitch is reduced to begging for his life, which causes the Centurion to leave in disgust and Mitch's fans to abandon him. [[spoiler:Justified, as the attack was a FakeDangerGambit staged by Mitch and his friends to lower his appeal.]]
* CuriousQualmsOfConscience: Several characters:
** An alien spy wondering whether he should tell his masters to proceed with their plans for an AlienInvasion.
** A mobster who's lived his life by always taking any opportunity available suddenly hesitates about using an alien artifact to strengthen his position.
** A girl who thinks a superhero is vastly overrated gets a chance to betray his SecretIdentity and get him arrested for being a fugitive.
* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: In "In the Spotlight", the battle between The Gentleman and Professor Borzoi has Borzoi threaten to ''crumple his carnation and mess up his hair''. Admittedly, these might actually be threatening statements to a dapper fellow like the Gentleman.
** Also note that the encounter occurred during Astro City's equivalent of MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, and Borzoi is a CardCarryingVillain of the idealistic school.
* CutLexLuthorACheck:
** Infidel is a straight example. He's an EvilSorcerer MadScientist who can rewrite reality, and could easily live a long and comfortable life of unimaginable fame and luxury without effort. But he's obsessed with [[TakeOverTheWorld conquering everyone everywhere,]] and is relegated to a pocket dimension instead.
** Deconstructed in "The Tarnished Angel". Steeljack points out that all of the villains he knows (including himself) made millions at one point or another, but he finds all of their widows living in run-down apartments. They all put their fortunes into preparing for their next job, expensive gear, or paying off debts, telling themselves that [[OneLastJob the next heist would be big enough to retire on.]] To a degree, [[TruthInTelevision this corresponds to real-life criminal psychology.]] This is even specifically pointed out when he interviews the Chain's boyfriend, who mentions that he kept pushing the Chain to sell his invention (which allows him to transfer his mind into a metal body) for space or deep sea exploration, making millions in a perfectly legit way. The Chain would always shoot down the suggestions and insist he didn't understand.
** It is also deconstructed in the Eisner Award winning "Show 'Em All". It shows that while supervillains COULD get rich from their creations or even by being more clever with their crimes, that's not why they do it, it's mostly the result of a desperate need for validation. Everyone HAS to know how clever and powerful the villain committing the crime is, they'd rather lose outright than get away with no one knowing who did it.
** Indirectly addressed in the story "On the Sidelines", a story about superpowered folks who [[MundaneUtility use their abilities for regular jobs]] such as special effects, construction, and glassblowing.
** Averted by the villainess Cutlass, who saved enough money from her supervillain heists to start a real estate business near Phoenix, AZ.
* CyanidePill: In "The Day the Music Died," the [[EldritchAbomination Oubor]] cultists magically kill themselves to avoid capture by the police.
* {{Cyborg}}: El Robo of the Astro City Irregulars is a half-human half-robot hero, though he has no visible human parts.
* CynicIdealistDuo: In the beginning, Charles and Royal Williams are this in regards to superheroes -- Charles is highly suspicious and thinks that they're unaccountable vigilantes, while Royal is a wide-eyed optimist who fervently believes that they're paragons of virtue (except for the Silver Agent). Yet at the same time, they're reversed in their views of authority, with Charles trusting the government implicitly and Royal thinking that "justice" is a bad joke.
* DarkAgeOfSupernames: Although the regular heroes avoid this trope, it was invoked (usually briefly) for characters who appeared during "The Dark Age", such as Stonecold, Broadsword, Hellhound, the Pale Horseman, and Hollowpoint.
* DarkerAndEdgier:
** Possibly justified in "The Dark Age" story arc, as an extradimensional dark energy enters people's minds as they revel in sadistic behavior. Lampshaded when some characters wonder if the energy turned people darker... or if it was simply ''attracted'' to them because of it.
*** One character specifically notes the phenomenon when he sees Street Angel beat up a bar full of bad guys and thinks about how he used to be all smiley, telling jokes all the time and using gimmicky (but non-lethal) throwing halos. When he sees that the halos he uses now are "high-impact ceramics with a steel core", he thinks it's a perfect metaphor for Astro City in the 70s.
*** Another character mentions that while he didn't appreciate the previous generation of heroes, "at least they seemed to mostly care about helping people."
** Jack-In-The-Box II's two bad-future possible sons are perfect examples of the absolute worst kind of "heroic" characters from the Dark Age of Comics - one is a Sabertooth expy, the other is a cyborg killer (with a spring-loaded ''head'' for a prosthetic arm, no less), and both are absolutely convinced that they are entitled to kill anyone they want because they are the good guys. Jack spends the rest of the story arc moving heaven and earth to make sure they never come into existence.
* DarkIsEvil: Invoked in "The Dark Age", when a dark energy from another dimension enters people's minds as they revel in DarkerAndEdgier behavior.
* DatingCatwoman: The Confessor has a thing with former costumed crook The Stray, who is cat-themed.
* DayInTheLife: The bread and butter of the series. While the book's setting is a classic superhero universe full of costumed heroes and battles between good and evil, the actual focus of many of the stories is the day-to-day, down-to-earth parts of life. Even the issues that are about a superhero often show the "boring" parts of their lives, rather than the exciting, action-packed moments.
** "In Dreams", which covers Samaritan's nonstop heroic-filled day, due to his ChronicHeroSyndrome.
** "On the Sidelines" covers a relatively typical problem for a super-powered civilian.
** "Where the Action Is" follows a woman who [[MostWritersAreWriters writes comic book stories.]]
** "Waltz of the Hours" does this with a transdimensional being.
** "The Sorcerer's Assistant" follows the Silver Adept's secretary through a normal day.
** "The Menace From Earth" shows the First Family's adventures on the planet Zirros, told from the perspective of a native.
* DeadlyDodging:
** In "Yesterday's Heroes", Wolfspider goads Krokolite into charging at him, then shrinks out of the way so Krokolite would destroy [[spoiler:the machine giving his powers]].
--->"Oi! Kroko! Didja hear? You've been elected mayor of [[PunnyName Yirrawanka]]!"
** One story in "Thumbtacks & Yarn" has Mr. Cakewalk goad Dame Progress into firing a pair of missiles at him. He knocks them off-course to hit a nearby warehouse, revealing the chained prisoners inside.
* DeathIsCheap:
** Averted far more often than played straight, but it does get a mention in "Victory" when Winged Victory mentions that one of their villains is ''dead''-dead.
** Also, in one story an attorney managed to (successfully) get his client off the hook by, among other things, citing the resurrection of one hero, and asking the coroner if he was absolutely certain the murder victim was ''actually'' dead before he started the autopsy.
* {{Deconstruction}}:
** Busiek denies the assertion that the comic is "realistic" since superheroes are inherently fantastical and he believes that {{reconstruction}} should always follow deconstruction. While the comic generally doesn't veer into the DarkerAndEdgier territory associated with deconstructions, the superheroes and villains are given convincing, human characterization and deal with the sorts of day-to-day problems and personal demons that would logically be experienced by people in their place. Meanwhile, Astro Citizens react to happenings around them as one would expect considering that heroes have been around for over seventy years.
** "On The Sidelines" takes a look at a superpower-heavy world from the viewpoint of someone who doesn't ''want'' to be a superhero ''or'' supervillain after trying her hand at both: her first vigilante action as a superhero left a carjacker severely injured and her seeing it first-hand. While he deserved it, it made her feel awful. Her bad guy attempt was to 'legally' rob a casino by using her telekinesis to get jackpots, but she felt too guilty to actually take the money, even if it wasn't a violent crime. Instead, she, and a thousand others like her, make a living by simply using it for mundane jobs, like special effects or deejaying. As she puts it, there's always someone (usually a supervillain) trying to tell what someone can do with their powers, but at the end of the day, they're just control freaks playing at trying to be bigger than they are. (She also points out typical supervillain tropes sound stupid. The villain of the day calls himself 'Majordomo', but that means a ''servant'', not a leader.)
* DecoyDamsel: The Apollo Eleven rescue a family whose boat capsized in stormy weather off the coast of South Carolina. Unfortunately, it's a ploy by [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Pyramid]] to infiltrate their base with {{Spy Bot}}s and steal their secrets.
* DeliberatelyPainfulClothing: [[spoiler:The original Confessor wears a cross on his costume, which leaves him in constant pain because he's a vampire. He does this because he's a fallen priest who acts as a superhero for penance.]]
* DentedIron: Shows up from time to time, typically after a BadassNormal superhero's had a particularly tough fight.
** This trope is used as one of the signs that Crackerjack is getting too old for super-heroics; in a routine encounter with Demonhead, he slips up at a critical moment, allowing the villain to leave some nasty gashes across his chest before escaping.
** It's particularly tragic in the case of Supersonic, who used to be a GeniusBruiser par excellence but has found that, between his age and his many blows to the head, he's no longer able to think of a tactic more complicated than crushing his opponent with pure brute strength.
* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: In the "Confession" story arc, a squad of [[spoiler:alien invaders]] is armed with holographic crucifixes, restraining cables soaked in holy water, and a two-handed stake-launching revolver. They are thus armed because [[spoiler:they know that the nocturnal Confessor is actually a vampire.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: El Hombre crosses this when the girl he loves marries someone else and he realizes that he is a vain GloryHound who needs the adulation of the public. He sets up a MonsterProtectionRacket to rejuvenate his public stature, but it backfires on him and turns him into a shameful fugitive. [[spoiler:It gets worse when he becomes the villainous Conquistador, recruiting villains in an EngineeredHeroics plot that would end with him killing them all and becoming the city's newest hero.]]
* DestructiveSavior: Played for drama in "Old Times" when Supersonic is called out of retirement to stop a rampaging robot. He's unable to think of a clever scheme to stop it due to his age; instead, he settles for simply pounding it into submission, and the ensuing brawl takes out a dozen residential blocks.
* {{Determinator}}:
** The Blue Knight, who once hunted Royal Williams over several months for the crime of ''unloading stolen merchandise'', even chasing him down while the planet was literally shaking itself apart.
** In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack becomes one when he finally figures out what's going on. An 800-pound man made of steel is pretty darned unstoppable when he wants to be.
** Krigari Ironhand. Guy just did not give up. His whole motivation was being told he'd be defeated by the Honor Guard and doing everything, including mining a broken universe, to find a way to beat them (neatly ignoring that they wouldn't have been a problem if he'd just not fought them at all).
** Infidel, ArchEnemy to Samaritan, is ''Astro City's'' hands-down winner of this trope. The man thinks nothing of waiting '''millennia''' to wear down Samaritan's heroic resolve and come around to [[HobbesWasRight Infidel's point of view.]]
* DetrimentalDetermination: This eventually happens to Charles and Royal Williams, due to their growing obsession with hunting down their parents' killer. The two pursue him across multiple hideouts all over the planet, oblivious to the collateral damage and endangered innocents in their wake.
* DeusExMachina: Used in the original, Greek, sense of the term. [[spoiler: How do you prove to a bunch of normal people that your wife really was [[RetGone erased from existence]] by changes in the timelines? You don't. [[EldritchAbomination The Hanged Man]] shows up and does it for you.]]
* DidNotGetTheGirl: Part of the reason for El Hombre's StartOfDarkness was when the love of his life married a local political activist, forcing him to admit that his heroism was [[AllForNothing a futile attempt to win her heart.]]
* DimensionLord: Krigari Ironhand, an interdimensional tyrant and emperor who's already conquered several realities before the heroes have even heard of him.
* DirectLineToTheAuthor: According to Creator/KurtBusiek, a core idea of the worldbuilding for ''Astro City'' is that the stories we read are but a fraction of the output of "Astro Comics", a comic book company that has been active since the [[MediaNotes/GoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]]. For example, a good number of the superheroes are {{Fad Super}}s who were created by "Astro Comics" at a time to capitalize on a cultural trend or popular movie, and the grittier tone of the series at various points is due to readers' changing tastes and market forces.
* DirtyCop: As a policeman, Charles Williams' partner Lannie takes weekly bribes from the criminals to overlook their activities. Charles refuses to get involved, rejecting the bribes but refusing to report Lannie to Internal Affairs. [[spoiler:He gets shot InTheBack as a result.]]
* DisappearedDad: Dr. Bertram Garneau was a neurophysiologist who abandoned his wife and child to spend more time fighting for progressive and liberal causes. Even after his wife died from cancer, he left his daughter to fend for herself, occasionally sending money to support her.
* DisownedParent: Downplayed with Jessie Taggart. She's [[BrokenPedestal deeply disappointed]] to learn that her father is the criminal Quarrel, where she holds a grudge against him for nearly 40 years and ignores his attempts at reconciliation. On the other hand, she expresses this most of the time by tersely ignoring him, and when he gets older she secretly supports the assisted living facility where he resides.
* DisposableSuperheroMaker: Appears very frequently, and usually seen in flashbacks.
** Dr. Lewis Oscar Croft is a criminal scientist implicated in the creation of dozens of super-beings.
** Dr. Ganss is a MadScientist in Kiefer Square who turns ordinary people into assorted super-villains. Later, he invents a technique to turn homeless people into superhuman {{Mooks}}.
** [=TransGene=] is a [[EvilInc corporation]] with the knowledge to create half-human BeastMen.
** Dr. Nautilus creates aquatic monsters.
** The Mock Turtle, a GadgeteerGenius who decided to keep his exploration suit for himself.
* DisproportionateRetribution:
** The villains care about what you write about them. Yes, even the cosmic ones.
** The Blue Knight kills all of the criminals he encounters, whether mob bosses or {{Mook}}s transporting goods.
** Gloo stuffs a family of litterbugs into a wastebasket (they survive), and nearly a dozen {{Mook}}s into a compact car (they don't).
** And the Pale Horseman is worse, dispatching supervillains and jaywalkers alike. He incinerates a trio of teen boys for stealing shopping carts.
* DoesNotLikeMen: This is the ''perceived'' image of Winged Victory, whose main concern is the well-being of women in modern society, to the point that she will focus on saving women in disaster zones. In reality, this has little to do with her personal opinion of men, but with the source of her powers: she's the avatar of a hive-mind made up of many great women throughout history, chosen to champion the cause of the world's women. She doesn't hate men, it's literally her job to focus on women's issues first and foremost.
* DolledUpInstallment:
** Creator/KurtBusiek wrote and submitted a sample ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' [[https://busiek.com/site/2014/10/07/the-24-hour-truce-of-lex-luthor script]] about a young Lex Luthor offering Superboy a 24-hour truce in exchange for a favor. It didn't get published, but helped get his foot in the door. He later reworked the premise (using his own characters) into "Wish I May...".
** Busiek also pitched a one-shot to Marvel of a ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' story where a {{Mook}}, completely by chance, sees Spider-Man taking his mask off, and grapples with what to do with the information. Marvel shot down the idea, because they thought leaving that loose end untied wouldn't be feasible. Naturally, he retooled it into "A Little Knowledge", using Jack-in-the-Box instead.
** "The Dark Age" started life as a proposed sequel to ''ComicBook/{{Marvels}}'' to be called ''Cops & Robbers'' (later ''Crime & Punishment'').
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: Occurs in "Where the Action Is." After publisher Manny Monkton pisses off a super-villain with his sensationalist stories, he becomes inspired to create a new line of comics dealing with CosmicEntities, beings who [[BeneathNotice "won't give a gnat's fart" about whatever he says about them]]. [[spoiler:When the first issue of their new series hits the stands, their entire publishing office vanished the very next day; onlookers claimed they smelled something at the scene that may have been a gnat's fart.]]
* DoWellButNotPerfect:
** Samaritan works as a newspaper fact-checker in his SecretIdentity. He has an advanced computer to actually do the work while he goes on his superheroic rounds, and it slips in occasional errors as part of the facade.
** Invoked in "Show 'Em All" -- the Junkman pulls off a major heist without a hitch, then lives a life of luxury while everyone wonders who was the brilliant criminal who committed the robbery. However, he becomes frustrated at not getting recognition for the heist, especially since the public assumes he must have been caught for another crime. He decides to repeat the robbery again, but with deliberately-included mistakes, so he can get captured and be recognized for the first heist.
* DownerEnding:
** "Her Dark Plastic Roots" ends on a fairly down note. [[spoiler:Beautie is no closer to learning her origins, and while she is feeling fulfilled at the moment, she ''will'' eventually begin re-questioning herself and will go through ''another'' cycle of investigation to re-learn who Elaine Girbachs is. Worse, there's no indication that Elaine has taken any of MPH's advice to heart, so she could very well dismiss Beautie once more and perpetuate their cycle of pain.]]
** The "Lover's Quarrel" story arc ends on this: [[spoiler:Crackerjack has been badly injured and probably crippled for life, the BigBad who injured him has escaped, and the whole thing was [[AllForNothing a futile effort]] for Crackerjack to rejuvenate himself. The only bright spot is that Quarrel has begun to reconcile with her father, and she's giving herself a new purpose in life by tending to Crackerjack's rehabilitation.]]
** "What I Did On My Vacation"/"The Other Side of the Story" has a bleak ending with no easy comfort. [[spoiler:The Johnson family finally learns that the original Jack-in-the-Box died in a SuicideAttack by his longtime foe Mister Drama. But it's worse for Francesca Darman, ''a.k.a.'' the Drama Queen -- she had spent decades plotting revenge on Jack-in-the-Box for the death of her grandfather, only to learn that Jack ''wasn't'' to blame and that all of her family's emotional pain and suffering was self-inflicted. She survives an attempt to [[SelfImmolation kill herself,]] but it's unclear if she will ever wake up from her coma, much less make anything close to a recovery.]]
** "The Day the Music Died" is a downer on both a narrative and a metaphorical level. The story is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin -- Glamorax, the current spirit of counterculture music, dies -- and there's ''no'' sign that it will return. The story also challenges the reader to think about the topic on a metaphysical level, asking if the RealLife spark of musical expressionism has been snuffed out by the industry's overuse of targeted markets, micro-niches, and brand management.
* DragonsUpTheYinYang: The Jade Dragons are a brother-sister martial arts team. Each sibling had a dragon tattooed along one arm; when put together, the two summoned a spiritual dragon to attack their foes.
* DramaticIrony:
** Cammie in "Pastoral", bitter about being shipped off from Astro City to spend the summer in the countryside with relatives, resentfully thinks that they would not think so highly of their local superhero Roustabout if they could compare him to a real Astro City superhero -- like ''Crackerjack'', who not only (unlike Roustabout) has no superpowers but also is an arrogant GloryHound (also unlike Roustabout).
** Similarly, when Brian longs to be a hero for the respect, he sees Crackerjack in action and thinks he gets respect in spades -- unaware that his {{Jerkass}} ways mean he gets ''less'' than even his exploits would ordinarily merit in the superhero community.
** In "Shining Armor", Irene Merriweather recalls how her dogged determination to learn Atomicus' secret identity ended up [[spoiler:driving him away forever]]. Yet, despite her [[IntrepidReporter investigative skills,]] she fails to notice that [[spoiler:her daughter is now the BadassNormal superhero called the Flying Fox]].
* DrawAggro: When the Silver Agent, Mirage, and Hellhound are fighting a crowd of mutated {{Mooks}} in Las Vegas, Mirage offers to fly off and draw their attention so the others can break into a hidden base and disrupt their power source.
* DreamPeople:
** This is the secret origin of [[spoiler:American Chibi, dreamed into existence by video game designer Marguerite Li. The Unbodied, a group of {{eldritch abomination}}s, sent Marguerite dreams of monsters, provoking her to dream up American Chibi to oppose them -- which was exactly what the Unbodied wanted. With a creature from Marguerite's dream-world in reality, the walls between the dream-world and reality would weaken, allowing the Unbodied to manifest in the material world as the monsters from Marguerite's dreams.]]
** The same is true of [[spoiler:the Gentleman]]. He is [[spoiler:created by the psychic powers of a girl from idealized memories of her real father, with his KidSidekick being her idea of an ideal older brother]].
** There's also Loony Leo, a cartoon lion brought to life by a MadScientist, whose existence was initially maintained by [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve people's belief in him.]]
* DreamSpying: In "Knock Wood", attorney Vincent Oleck has dreams of the vigilante Blue Knight's attacks on criminals as they occur. On the last night, the Blue Knight speaks to him directly with advice.
* DrillSergeantNasty:
** One appears in the Pyramid training camp that Royal infiltrates in "The Dark Age". He even sports a 'Smokey the Bear' hat.
** Sticks had one of these back on Gorilla Mountain.
* DrowningMySorrows: Irene Merriweather did this after [[spoiler:she scared Atomicus into leaving Earth forever]].
* DudeWheresMyRespect:
** Used as character development in "Confession". The Confessor's KidSidekick Altar Boy holds his father in contempt because he worked as a doctor despite being stiffed by his patients and died with no respect, and wants to be a superhero because they are respected. After watching Confessor protect the city through a period where superheroes were ''not'' getting any respect at all, he abandons his warped priorities.
** The heroic El Hombre got hit with this in both his civilian and hero identities. As community organizer Esteban Hidalgo, he never felt accepted by the Latino community no matter how much money and time he spent improving the neighborhood. As El Hombre, he was disappointed to learn that he was the least popular member of Honor Guard -- and disgusted with himself to realize that he actually ''cared'' about that.
** The Junkman is a villainous example; he pulls off a bank heist so perfect that no one has any idea who did it, then retires securely in the knowledge that he outsmarted everyone. His joy is short-lived when everyone assumes that the robber must have been caught anyway, simply because the heroes always win. This makes him realize that his victory isn't worth anything if no one ''knows'' he outsmarted the heroes.
* DumbMuscle: Jitterjack can literally tear a person apart with his bare hands, but his HulkSpeak and other mannerisms indicate serious mental difficulties.
* DysfunctionJunction: Played straight with the Williams brothers during the "Dark Age" arc. After seeing their parents gunned down during a super-hero fight, Royal becomes a [[JadeColoredGlasses jaded]] [[StickyFingers petty thief]], while Charles becomes a ByTheBookCop who gets shot InTheBack by [[DirtyCop Dirty Cops]]; the two eventually become vigilantes in a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against [[YouKilledMyFather their parents' killer.]] [[spoiler:They abandon their quest after realizing [[HeWhoFightsMonsters what they've become,]] and retire to run a chartered fishing business instead.]]
* EasilyForgiven:
** Done ''twice'' by Ellie Jennersen in "Friends and Relations":
*** Ellie's quiet life was upended by her nephew Fred, who used the excuse of renovating her robot museum as a cover for [[spoiler:renting out her robots to commit crimes]]. He ended up framing her for robbery, assault, and terrorism, and almost had her sent to prison. But after everything was straightened out, she simply wished him well in his new life and encouraged him to be an upstanding citizen.
*** Ellie also forgave her former college roommate, [[spoiler:the villainous Vivi Viktor,]] who {{Mind Rape}}d Ellie, stole her designs, and left her with memory problems for ''decades''. Yet in the end, Ellie forgives [[spoiler:Vivi]] without so much as a sharp word, and is content to let the criminal justice system resolve the matter.
** In "Dog Days", Andy Merton visits Stormhawk's wife to apologize for burglarizing their home four years ago. She immediately forgives him, being happy to see that he's been carrying on Stormhawk's heroic legacy as G-Dog.
* EldritchAbomination:
** The Hanged Man is seen fighting one at the end of the "Confession" arc, which is revealed to have been the true source of the serial killings in the area that had caused a serious case of social unrest. It's implied that Shadow Hill may house or imprison more.
** The Hanged Man himself may be an unsettling figure, but he ''is'' a hero, albeit a TerrorHero with power akin to the likes of ComicBook/TheSpectre.
** "Where the Action Is" deals with a comic book publisher deciding -- after a bad run in with several superbeings angry about what his comics have been saying about them -- that maybe it's time to switch to cosmic based stories, because nobody of that nature would care about some little comic book, right? This assertion is proven [[DoNotTauntCthulhu very, very, wrong...]]
** Eldritch Abominations are just a part of the neighborhood for the Shadow Hill district. The residents' daily routines includes refreshing the wards protecting their homes while ignoring the tentacled horrors retreating from daylight. The people who live there get by because they've gotten used to the vampires, the things that terrify the vampires, the Hanged Man hanging about, and all of the other unsettling weirdness that comes with the place.
** The story "Thumbtacks & Yarn" introduces the Blasphemy Boys, a government agency out to contain such horrors, such as the Batrachi. It goes badly for them.
*** Later on in the same issue we see a glimpse of what looks like one that's been imprisoned. [[spoiler:It's a fragment of the Oubor, locked up but still capable of influencing the world outside.]]
** Whatever the "Oubor" is that the Broken Man is so afraid of sounds like one. It's eventually confirmed that it is. [[spoiler:It turns out to be a primordial darkness which has been around since the early days of man, and takes their existence personally. It's been manipulating and infecting heroes, erasing any and all knowledge of itself, and has been battling the living incarnations of counterculture music.]]
** The Unbodied, myths who were once worshipped, and would like very much to be so again, trying to get back into the world by any means they can. One of them, He Who Lies Buried, is tied to the origin of American Chibi.
** It's said that the VoidBetweenTheWorlds is a black and featureless place, filled with hungry, nasty, [[VengefulGhost vengeful]] ''things'' trying to break through. It's also believed that the Pale Horseman is one of those horrors given human form.
* ElectricBlackGuy: Rachel "Electric" Brown is an Electric Black Gal.
* TheEmpath: Zo the Zirr is a Binder who can touch other beings and make them share their thoughts and feelings.
* EmpathicEnvironment: The climax of "The Dark Age" has Astro City -- the source of the dark energy gripping the populace -- drenched in a sudden rainstorm, culminating with a BattleInTheRain between Charles, Royal, the Silver Agent, Lord Sovereign, and the Pale Horseman. Once the villains are vanquished, the rain suddenly stops.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal:
** The Silver Agent was created after a postman named Alan Craig touched a mysterious floating glob of silver in a cave. It gave him a perfect body with enhanced strength, speed, senses, and reflexes.
** The second Confessor uses magic to supplement his BadassNormal training, as he lacks the [[spoiler:vampiric abilities]] that his predecessor used.
** The Black Rapier is a BadassNormal who used a rejuvenation serum to prolong his crimefighting career. Even so, [[OldSuperhero time catches up with him]] eventually.
** While most of the First Family are various forms of HalfHumanHybrids, Julius and Augustus Furst are normal humans augmented by "vitalons" they've absorbed in their adventures.
* EndOfAnAge: "The Dark Age" explores how the optimism of the TheFifties and TheSixties transformed into an era of public skepticism in their leaders, the rise of [[SociopathicHero violent and reckless "heroes",]] and more. At the end, it is agreed that this age ended when Samaritan averted the ''Challenger'' disaster[[note]]In the very first issue of ''Astro City''[[/note]] and ushered in a new, brighter era of inspirational heroism.
* EnemyMine: Occurs in "Wish I May...", when EvilNerd Simon Says helps [[TheCape Starbright]] fight crime for 24 hours to prove his sincerity in asking for Starbright's help [[spoiler:to organize Simon's birthday party]].
* EnsembleCast: Even excluding one-shots and background cameos, the lack of a single main character/team (along with the {{Cryptic Background Reference}}s and {{Continuity Nod}}s) causes ''Astro City'' to have several dozen characters with regular appearances scattered throughout the series' run. This is especially true in extended story arcs like "The Tarnished Angel" and "The Dark Age", which often star characters who only get a brief appearance in other stories.
* EpicHail: During his heroic career, the Astro-Naut gave his friend, Councilman Joe Greenwald, a desk lamp that can send a radio signal to contact him in case of emergencies.[[note]]or when Joe needs an election campaign boost[[/note]] In the modern day, the Astro City Bank Tower is topped with a giant replica of the beacon; when activated, it sends a radio signal that summons all of the local heroes.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas:
** Glowworm (who is African-American, though his skin color is obscured by his constant PowerGlow) is specifically incensed that his mother saw a comic book that [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain depicted him as a white supremacist]]. Publisher Manny Monkton tries to appeal to reason somewhat by asking how she feels about him robbing banks, and that probably didn't help.
** Steeljack's efforts to reform are partly an effort to live up to the standards his mother set, and he visits her grave repeatedly.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: "Through Open Doors (Part Two)" features Thatcher Jerome, a high-ranking member of the Deacon's mob who makes money through various shakedowns. He's also HappilyMarried to his wife Rachel and frets over their two kids.
* EveryEpisodeEnding: Most stories end with a street sign reading "You are now leaving Astro City. Please drive carefully." Issues that are part of a larger arc end with "Astro City Department of Public Works - Under Construction."
** Except for "Pastoral", which ends with "Caplinville City Limits - Come Back Soon!"
* EverythingsCuterWithKittens: The one thing Cammie's willing to admit about the farm: the kittens are cute.
* EverytownAmerica: Caplinville in "Pastoral" feels very much like this.
* EvilDoppelganger: Starfighter once had to fight his alternate-dimension evil counterpart.
* EvilGenius: Naturally, ''Astro City'' is full of these. See the individual tropes for examples.
* EvilInc:
** [=TransGene=] genetically engineers half-human BeastMen.
** The Black Lab performs underground science for anyone willing to pay.
* EvilIsNotAToy: Dr. Aegyptus tried summoning the Oubor in exchange for eternal life. He didn't get what he was after.
* EvilNerd:
** Simon Says is a TeenGenius who turned to crime after being relentlessly bullied in school.
** The Mecha-Nerds are a group of high school science fair winners who were turned into robots, then decided to go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* EvilParentsWantGoodKids:
** The original Quarrel was a small-time crook with a gimmicky bolt-blaster. When his first child was born, he cheerfully hands out cigars to his villainous colleagues and declares that she won't be a criminal like himself. In his later years, he's thrilled that she's become a world-renowned superhero.
** Thatcher Jerome may be a racketeer in the Deacon's mob, but he frets over his adult children and almost loses his cool when his college son's grades start to dip.
** The original Goldenglove was a criminal who'd always tell his kids to go to school and not follow in his shoes.
* EvilSorcerer: Infidel, the ArchEnemy of Samaritan, is fully capable of using magic to create {{Artificial Human}}s, conquer time and space, and create his own realities. He is equally comfortable with both magic and technology, but prefers spells when given a choice.
* EvilTwin: Brief mention is made of the Worst Family, evil versions of the First Family from another dimension. The simple fact that these situations can happen motivates a defense attorney to turn a hopeless case on its head by bringing up the incontestable idea that maybe it was his client's evil twin who killed that woman in front of 59 eyewitnesses.
* ExactWords: The spells empowered by Tzammath take the form of contracts -- essentially: "take this power, and serve Tzammath". Her cult cuts off access to her (extremely powerful and useful) spells in an effort to forcibly conscript all the magic-users who've been using them without serving her in exchange. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Tzammath happens to be a raging egotist who LOVES showing off -- having mages use her power ''is'' doing her will. And she's ''not'' happy with her cult for stopping that.]]
* ExposedExtraterrestrials: The Jarranathans are pink-skinned humanoid aliens whose only "clothing" are leafy vines that [[SceneryCensor strategically cover]] any awkward bits.
* ExtradimensionalPowerSource: Both Lord Sovereign and The Pale Rider derive their powers from the dark energy in the VoidBetweenTheWorlds. The more one uses their powers, the weaker the other becomes; this leads them to try and kill each other.
* ExtraStrengthMasquerade: In "Pastoral", the CloseKnitCommunity's means of acting as a collective SecretKeeper is by using ObfuscatingStupidity. They do it so well that Cammie feels like they are in a Masquerade that only she can see through.

[[folder:Tropes F-H]]
* FaceFramedInShadow: In "Game Over", the King-In-Chains' face is obscured due to the lighting of his cell, but there's a certain spider-y hint to his features.
* FaceOnAMilkCarton: The cover of ''Astro City'' #3 has Astra pictured on a milk carton when she goes missing.
* FadSuper: Occasionally employed in a self-aware manner.
** Flashbacks to The Fifties might feature an appearance by the Bouncing Beatnik, who actually changes identities to social trends of the time. There've been [[TheNthDoctor six known incarnations]] in-universe: [[spoiler:Mister Cakewalk, Jazzbaby, Zootsuit, the Bouncing Beatnik, the Halcyon Hippie, and Glamorax]]. The Beatnik's story began in the mid-19th century, before the founding of Astro City, with the murder of the mystic troubadour Silverstring and the immolation of his silver-stringed guitar.
** "The Dark Age" references the RealLife kung fu fad of TheSeventies with the Jade Dragons, and the space race with the Apollo Eleven.
** Older stories have featured brief glimpses of [[ThePioneer the Frontiersman]], complete with coonskin cap.
** In a flashback, Martha Sullivan reveals that as a teenager, she briefly considered becoming a super-heroine, "Mind-Over-Mattie". Her costume consisted of a tie-dyed shirt with a domino mask and a brown vest.
--->"It was TheSixties. I also wanted to be one of Music/TheDoors."
** A story set in the early 20th century featured {{Steampunk}} heroine Dame Progress.
* FagHag: Beautie, a human-sized robotic fashion doll, has an apartment above a gay bar and is friends to the local gay community because they understand what it's like to feel separate from the norm (if in a different way). It also helps that they don't try to proposition her.
* FakeDangerGambit: Inverted in "Great Expectations" to make the protagonist look ''less'' heroic. After Mitch Goodman is [[ActorRoleConfusion mistaken for a real superhero]] and endangered as a result, [[spoiler:his friends stage an "attack" where [[CurbStompBattle he is badly humiliated]]]]. The public quickly loses interest, allowing Mitch to return to a life of peace and safety.
* FakeUltimateHero: [[spoiler:Queenslaw]] pretended to be selfless superheroes so they could steal from the criminals they captured.
* FancyDinner: As part of their truce, Samaritan and Infidel meet for dinner once a year to converse and take measure of each other. Infidel, being a ManOfWealthAndTaste, invariably prepares a lavish spread whenever he hosts. Samaritan's efforts... [[FastFoodNation vary.]]
* TheFantasticFaux: The First Family are analogous to the Four, being a SuperFamilyTeam of space-age-inspired explorers and adventurers. Note that "First Family" is a moniker occasionally used for the team within the Marvel universe, making this a not-too-subtle ShoutOut.
* FantasticRacism: Earthpride is an anti-alien hate group that violently attacks aliens and their human supporters.
* FantasyKitchenSink: The series definitely qualifies -- pretty much anything fantastical will exist in some form, somewhere, in this 'verse.
* FantasticLegalWeirdness:
** In one storyline, attorney Vincent Oleck is defending a mobster who had murdered someone in front of dozens of witnesses used a "superhero defense", pointing out known cases of crimes actually committed the accused's {{evil twin}} from [[AlternateUniverse another dimension]], supposedly dead people [[UnexplainedRecovery getting up and walking away]] none the worse for wear, etc. Between the [[RefugeInAudacity sheer audacity]] of the argument and a mood of public guilt over [[spoiler: the recent [[MiscarriageOfJustice wrongful execution]] of the Silver Agent]], it worked. The case also became a landmark in American legal praxis, and led to changes in how cases with metahuman involvement were handled. Lampshaded later when an older Oleck states that there is no way that defense would fly in the comic's present day.
** Another story looks at legal services in Shadow Hill, the city's supernatural district. Ghosts can be called up to settle their disputed wills; when a magician discovers their spells are contracts with higher powers, they can get a lawyer to figure out the terms; and vampires and other quasi-immortals can hire professional Renfields to help with their financial holdings, transferring the holdings to the Renfield when they die (or appear to), and the Renfield transferring the holdings back to them (minus a commission for the service) when they show up with a new identity.
** In "Where the Action Is", super-heroine Nightingale angrily confronts publisher Manny Monkton for insinuating that she is in a lesbian relationship with her sidekick Sunbird. He blows off the complaint, noting that she can't sue him without revealing her SecretIdentity.
* FateWorseThanDeath: One of the Blasphemy Boys gets controlled by ''something'', and one of the others shoots him through the head. Immediately thereafter, his ghost rises up and says he hadn't been doing any of it. Before he can get further the thing grabs his soul. The last survivor of the team even wonders if the thing had actually killed him, or whether he was still alive.
* FightingYourFriend: One story in "Thumbtacks & Yarn" has a malevolent force possess one of the Blasphemy Boys, then shoots two members of the team. In retaliation, Cal Tarrant shoots him in the head.
* FightOffTheKryptonite
** [[spoiler:The Confessor]]'s HeroicSacrifice involves taking on men armed with [[spoiler:hologram cross-generators, guns that shoot giant wooden stakes, holy water, etc.]] and succeeding in revealing the AlienInvasion despite all this.
*** And don't forget he wears a shirt [[spoiler:with a big, shiny cross on it]] because the constant pain this causes [[spoiler:helps him overcome the vampiric bloodlust]].
** In "The Tarnished Angel" arc, once the conflicted Steeljack finally realizes what he's fighting for and that he's the only one who can save everyone, he's able to overcome the special "vibro-magnetic" weapons that were used to take him down before.
* FilmNoir: "The Tarnished Angel" and its sequel, "Things Past", are noir stories about broken, cynical people trying to get by in a heartless world.
* TheFirstSuperheroes: The first superhero depends on who you ask, as [[RashomonStyle all of its history is related firsthand by either bystanders or modern heroes, with all the inaccuracies and biases that entails]] (that the timeline has been repeatedly warped because of Infidel's multiple attempts to erase his nemesis Samaritan from existence does not help.) It's generally held that the first supers emerged in the late nineteenth century, and that, for whatever reason, many of them came to Romeyn Falls, a bustling Midwestern city that became a WeirdnessMagnet. These heroes would eventually inspire other heroes, ultimately transforming Romeyn Falls into the modern Astro City.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater:
** Samaritan is a time-traveler who averted the ''Challenger'' disaster, but rewrote his history so that [[RetGone he has no place in the future]].
** Also Infidel, Samaritan's arch nemesis, is a time-lost villain whose own timeline was inadvertently destroyed by Samaritan's actions. Interestingly, neither of them has much trouble adjusting. [[note]]Samaritan had to study our era extensively, while Infidel despises his home time period as being full of ignorant plebes, so it was easier than you might think.[[/note]]
* FiveManBandConcert: "Powerchord" is a literal example -- they're a musical band composed of five super-powered beings.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: While visiting The Fixit Man, Steeljack puts on a pair of mystic glasses that allegedly revealed who would die soon -- and sees the GrimReaper looming behind Fixit and Cutlass. They are under attack by the Iron Guard seconds later.
* FlashbackCut: "Her Dark Plastic Roots" has moments where [[RobotSuperhero Beautie's]] speculations on her origin are interrupted by quick flashbacks to a happy voice excited over her creation.
* FlyingBrick: Many characters have this as a default power set, most notably Samaritan, Beautie, and The Gentleman. The generic nature of these powers is {{lampshaded}} when a character describes another superhero, Roustabout, as having "real vanilla powers".
* FollowTheWhiteRabbit: Done with a kitten in "Pastoral", which leads Camilla to a discovery that solidifies her summer plans.
* ForcedTransformation:
** In "Through Open Doors (Part Two)", metallurgist Andrew Wilson was studying an alien artifact when he accidentally released the gas within. A moment later, he is transformed into the self-proclaimed Ore-Master, a ten-foot-tall monster made of earth metals and burning with internal fire.
** When the heroic Hellhound is infected with Black Velvet's HatePlague, he involuntarily changes into his gigantic OneWingedAngel form.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** In the very first appearance of the Gentleman in "Welcome to Astro City" (published in 1996), there is a crowd of people, including a girl with pigtails in a green sweater. [[spoiler:She's the reason he exists.]] This doesn't get explained until issue #43 of the Vertigo series (published in 2017), making this over ''20 years'' of foreshadowing.
** In "Justice Systems", Vincent Oleck gets flashes of a [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds black featureless void beyond reality,]] filled with [[VengefulGhost hungry and vengeful]] {{Eldritch Abomination}}s. This is explored later in "The Dark Age" story arc.
** A subplot in the "Confession" story arc revolves around a series of murders in Shadow Hill; the only clue to the cause was a glimpse of an EldritchAbomination fighting the [[HorrifyingHero Hanged Man]] one evening. Sixteen years later, the abomination is finally revealed as [[spoiler:The Oubor, foe of the Broken Man]].
** The end of "Thumbtacks & Yarn" has the Broken Man holding some newspaper clippings about the Menagerie Gang, the Ore-Master and the Silver Adept, all of whom are mentioned or featured in following issues.
** "The Sorcerer's Assistant" makes mention that there was a "silver harmony" about Astro City that drew the Silver Adept to it, or possibly an absence. [[spoiler:Something that takes on a different light after the stories about Silverstring and Glamorax.]]
** During "The Sky's the Limit", the narrator mentions the Gentleman first appeared fighting the Bund-O-Teurs, but despite this there was damage and death, including children being orphaned, and one specific man in a green sweater. These details prove to be very important a few issues later.
* FountainOfYouth: Crackerjack looks for ''something'' to restore his youthful physique once he starts becoming incapacitated due to his advancing age.
* FourthWallObserver:
** There's the Broken Man, who is fully aware of his status as a fictional character and spends most of his time commenting on the same. [[spoiler:This is actually his superpower - he's in an institution, but can "sidestep" out of his body, putting him on a metafictional level outside of standard reality.]] He ran into a surprise when, while trying to tell a story about the Bouncing Beatnik, he introduced another character who promptly ''hijacked'' the story to tell their own.
** Tillie Armstrong is another example; she doesn't quite get that she's fictional, but is well aware there's an outside audience.
* FrameUp:
** In "Confession", there is a spate of robberies seemingly performed by Crackerjack.
** "Victory" begins with several female villains accusing Winged Victory of secretly being their leader, using her heroic persona as an act.
* FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire: [[spoiler:The Confessor.]]
** It is also implied that the vampires who live in Shadow Hill all behave -- ''or else.''
* FromNobodyToNightmare: "The Eagle and the Mountain" gives us the story of a lowly slave named Kiyu, and how he eventually becomes Infidel, the reality-shattering EvilSorcerer ArchEnemy of Samaritan.
* FunctionalMagic: In the Astro City cosmos, magic runs on theurgy, with the god-like Entities commanding the fundamental forces of sorcery. Magicians call on the Entities' power to fuel their spells, offering rituals, prayers, sacrifice, etc. in return. Some of the Entities are selective, only allowing their power to be used for goals they're sympathetic to. The 'big seven', however, the seven eldest and most powerful Entities, will allow anyone who calls on them to use their power. In at least one Entity's case, spells calling on their power are to all intents and purposes contracts.
* FusionDance:
** Jitterjack is a villainous composite example; he appears as two bisected men joined together lengthwise, with more than double the speed, reflexes, and agility of a normal person.
** After Andy Merton steals an amulet once possessed by [[PosthumousCharacter Stormhawk]], it accidentally triggers a fusion of Andy with his corgi Hank, creating G-Dog. The dog's loyalty and herd instinct [[PsychicLink influence him]], causing him to give up crime and become a hero.
** The Ubersaurus, the finest weapon of the Ziri Empire, a beast made of ten thousand of their loyalest (and [[HiveMind mind-merged]]) troops mushed into one. The First Family manage to figure out how to disrupt the link holding it together and it collapses.
* GadgeteerGenius:
** The first Assemblyman was a villain who built dangerous devices and rampaging robots for whoever could pay.
** The Junkman's gimmick is that he uses stuff that's been thrown out to create his devices, as he considers himself cast off by society because of his age.
** Similarly, the Toymaker repurposes children's toys into dangerous devices.
** Then there's Jack-In-The-Box II, who is the CEO and lead inventor at a toy company, and whose weapons are enhanced versions of his various products. He's also smart enough to cobble together a quick-freeze spray from leftover car parts in a junkyard.
*** It runs in the family -- ''his'' father became the first Jack-In-The-Box while working for a toy company and discovering his designs were secretly sold to the mob as ''weapons''.
** The Mock Turtle is a naive scientist who built an all-environment exploration suit, but stole it when his company wanted someone else to actually pilot it.
** Dr. Gearbox builds a variety of devices, vehicles, and MechaMooks with his expertise. [[spoiler:His daughter, Elaine Girbachs, also qualifies, as her expertise surpassed her father's.]]
** The Astro-Naut was [[TheSparkOfGenius so smart]] that he could recreate alien technologies after just seeing it being used.
** Demolitia, leader of the Unholy Alliance, once escaped from prison by building a jackhammer out of a toilet.
** The great-grandson of the late Radio Raider fixes super-gear as a hobby.
* GangOfHats: Astro City has lots of these, usually serving as {{Mooks}} and background color. There are even criminal cliques who've become addicted to being sharp-dressed coordinated crooks.
** The Sweet Adelines are a gang who dress like members of a barbershop quartet.
** The [[{{Pun}} Dopple Gang]] are shapeshifters who commit crimes as celebrities.
** The Menagerie Gang are bank robbers who wear animal-head masks.
** The Dominos are mob enforcers who wear black full-body suits adorned with dots.
** The Robber Barons commit crimes while dressed in black robes and Victorian powder wigs.
** Ace High and the Gambling Men are robbers dressed in western gambler outfits.
** The Mount Rushmore Four are four criminals disguised as US Presidents.
** The Skullcrushers are a high-tech group of mercenaries in skull-shaped PoweredArmor.
** The Mime Gangs are mimes who commit robberies.
** The Screampunks are basically a gang of horror movie monsters with supertech (although it's ambiguous whether they're actually monsters).
** The Chessmen, who all dress like chess-pieces. By the time of the Vertigo series however, due to turnaround and the odd spot of usurpation, they've undergone serious MotiveDecay, and no longer have anything to do with chess outside the costumes.
* DealWithTheDevil: In order to complete his work, Dr. Bertram Garneau -- [[StrawCharacter a fervent progressive idealist]] -- makes an agreement with an amoral arms dealer to sponsor his research.
* GenreDeconstruction: ''Astro City'' is a deconstruction ''and'' a reconstruction; it focuses on the impact of superheroes on regular people, but also on the inner thoughts of heroes and villains. Even more so, it deals with those issues in ways that are not just negative or cynical as deconstructions often are. For example, one story deals with a parent bringing his children to Astro City, only to be greeted with a chaotic night full of angry weather elementals; yet despite the danger, he decides they should stay, as the strength and idealistic community of the city were values he wanted his children to have. Other stories deal with a hero trying to balance the needs of his neighborhood and the needs of his unborn child, or a lawyer leveraging superhero tropes to benefit his client but subsequently endangering his family. Kurt likes to keep his fans guessing.
* GenreShift: A meta-example -- Creator/KurtBusiek has noted that Max O'Millions, an Honor Guard member in TheFifties and TheSixties, started life as an "Astro Comics"[[note]]see DirectLineToTheAuthor, above[[/note]] non-superhero character similar to ComicBook/RichieRich. He was retooled into a superhero when they came back into vogue, in homage to a similar retooling for characters like ComicBook/MartianManhunter.
* GenreThrowback: The heroes of the 20s and 30s such as the Cloak of Night and the Five Fists are homages to old pulp stories, such as Radio/TheShadow.
* GentlemanThief: Ned of "Deep Dark Woods" originally started off as a dapper criminal called the Gentleman Bandit.
* TheGhost: The occult serial killer in the Confessor arc is never seen or even named. [[spoiler:Except for a brief glimpse at the end, as a gigantic EldritchAbomination fighting the Hanged Man.]]
* GirlishPigtails: Several -- American Chibi, Matilda "Tillie" Armstrong, and Cammie's nine-year-old cousin Holly in "Pastoral."
* GirlFriday: Raitha [=McCann=], the Silver Adept's personal secretary, fits this trope to a tee -- a typical day's work includes rescheduling the Adept's appointments, plotting the most expedient interdimensional travel routes, and placating angry gods while the boss is out.
* GirlNextDoor: Silver Agent explicitly describes his first girlfriend this way.
* GiveHimANormalLife: Inverted in "Serpent's Teeth", after Jack-In-The-Box II is attacked by evil future versions of his unborn son (they turned evil because he died and wasn't available as a father). Jack eventually decides to semi-retire from super-heroics to raise the child; he recruits a replacement and relegates himself to MissionControl support.
* GivingThemTheStrip: In "A Little Knowledge", low-level {{Mook}} "Eyes" Eisenstein gets tied up to a fence by Jack-In-The-Box's entangling confetti. He manages to escape by twisting out of his jacket, leaving it still tied to the fence.
* GloryDays:
** In "Lovers Quarrel", Crackerjack and Quarrel are haunted by the growing realization that this might be happening to them, as their age makes it more and more difficult to keep up with their superheroics.
** Played with in "Old Times"; retired hero Supersonic is abruptly dragged into action by his civilian partner Ed Robbins [[spoiler:because ''Ed'' is having a hard time admitting that he is past his prime. Ed is hoping that the two of them can continue their adventures together]].
* GloryHound:
** The Conquistador in "The Tarnished Angel",[[spoiler: who is actually the disgraced superhero El Hombre, who misses being famous so much that he stages a supervillain attack so that he can stop it and become famous again]].
** Crackerjack, a boastful, wisecracking, attention-stealing, self-promoting vainglorious flamboyant showboat who ''loves'' signing autographs, merchandising his likeness, and upstaging everyone else nearby, is undoubtedly Astro City's premiere example of this trope.
* GlorySeeker: In "Confession", this is what motivates Altar Boy to go to Astro City, as he dreams of being a KidSidekick to get the respect his family never received. He snaps out of this mindset after [[spoiler:the Confessor's death]].
* GodivaHair:
** Infidel's [[ArtificialHuman homunculi]] appear as naked women with flowing hair.
** In "The Gordian Knot", Astra's former boyfriend Gavrad is dating Carissa, an orange humanoid alien with floor-length hair and wearing only a bikini bottom.
* GoKartingWithBowser: In "The Eagle and the Mountain", Samaritan and Infidel eventually realized the futility in continuing their feud when it became clear that there was no way either of them would ever be able to win, and thus set up a yearly meeting along these lines just to compare notes and talk instead. It's interesting to note that at this point they don't even seem to regard one another as enemies. There's a lot of mutual respect in that arrangement. [[spoiler: Though it should be noted they're still indulging in stratagems to wear the other down, psychologically and emotionally. And Infidel himself admits he isn't sure who will be the victor of ''that'' battle.]]
* GoldDigger: Charles Williams' ex-wife Darnice. She flirts with anyone who has money, spends his earnings on personal luxuries, even encourages him to ''take bribes'' as a way to supplement their income, then leaves him when he refuses to be a DirtyCop.
* GoodGuyBar: Within Astro City are two prominent examples.
** Bruiser's Bar is a rough-and-tumble dive, complete with popcorn, longnecks, and arm-wrestling.
** On the opposite end of the spectrum is Butlers, a ''very'' discreet private club with formal eveningwear and elegantly catered meals, suitable for special events.
* GoodFeelsGood: A major reason why G-Dog fights crime is because performing heroic acts gives him an overwhelming sense of joy and pride, thanks to his dog half.
* GoodIsNotDumb: Many of the heroes are reasonably nice even as they foil the villains' plans, but the Gentleman is arguably the quintessential example -- he is unerringly polite, and was still smart enough to avoid capture by alien invaders who had imprisoned almost all of the other heroes.
* GoThroughMe: At one point, Royal Williams is trapped on a rooftop as [[NinetiesAntiHero the Blue Knight]] prepares to shoot him. Suddenly, his brother Charles appears, standing in front of Royal and insisting that the Knight will have to shoot him first if he wants to get his brother.
* GotVolunteered: Done narratively in "Through Open Doors (Part One)". Ben Pullam volunteers himself to be humanity's ambassador to the Kvurri after ''the reader'' concentrates on him at a key moment (as urged on by The Broken Man).
* GovernmentExploitedCrisis: Occurs during the "Confession" story arc. In the midst of growing public skepticism over superheroes, the neighborhood of Shadow Hill is rocked by a series of brutal murders. The mayor begins pushing for [[SuperRegistrationAct heroes to be registered]]; when they refuse and the murders continue, the Mayor becomes increasingly hostile, culminating in a citywide ban on all heroes and the capture of all violators. Ultimately justified [[spoiler:as the mayor is a member of a race of shapeshifting aliens, who are neutralizing superheroes worldwide prior to invading the planet]].
* GratuitousNinja: One issue of "The Dark Age" starts off with a martial arts fight between two kung-fu superheroes and a team of ''[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot flying jetpack ninjas]]''.
* HalfHumanHybrid: Most members of the First Family are this to every degree imaginable. While Dr. Augustus Furst and his brother Julius are fully human, Augustus' adopted twins Nick and Natalie are half-human, half-BeastMan hybrids. Then Natalie marries the monster prince of an underground city and have a daughter Astra, while Nick marries a human woman and have twins Karl and Sasha with their ''own'' powers...
* HandBlast:
** The villain [=HandGun=] had an arsenal of specialized gauntlets which fire different types of energy beams. When he's [[HeKnowsTooMuch mysteriously murdered]], his widow is stuck wondering what she's going to do with a basement cybernetics lab and about twenty different Hand Blast-producing gauntlets.
** Glowworm fires blasts of radioactive green energy from his hands.
** Nick Furst uses his hands to manipulate and control the energies inside his body.
* HandOrObjectUnderwear: G-Dog defeats the Lichen-Thrope by pulling its [[CagedInsideAMonster human master out of its torso]]. The guy is stranded in the street in nothing but red boxers, desperately covering his crotch with his hands.
* HappilyMarried:
** From the First Family, there's Natalie Furst to Rex Zorus, the monster prince of an undersea kingdom. Rex defied his own mother to marry Natalie, and the entire family has remained fairly cordial for over twenty years.
** Zachary Johnson, the second Jack-In-The-Box, has been married to local television news anchor Tamra Dixon for decades. He gave up super-heroics after finding out she was pregnant, and they have been nothing but supportive of each other over the years.
** Michael Hendrie ([[SuperSpeed M.P.H.]]) is briefly mentioned as being happily married to a woman named Sally. Their relationship is not shown, but given how M.P.H. has been seen [[NiceGuy treating his girlfriends,]] it's hard to imagine them having any sort of drama.
** Duncan Keller, ''a.k.a.'' Starfighter, is married to Illula, [[InterspeciesRomance Seven-Fold Empress of Jarranatha]]. They have a son and daughter, have been together for nearly fifty years, and ''still'' shamelessly flirt with each other.
** Thatcher Jerome, a high-ranking member of the Deacon's mob, is devoted to his wife Rachel, even into their senior years. Thatcher turned down a chance to give himself super powers because he didn't want to disrupt Rachel's contented life.
* HardDrinkingPartyGirl:
** Astra Furst becomes this in her late teens, at least if ''Inside Scoop'' magazine is to be believed.
--->"A hard-partying bad girl since her teen years, she's been linked to everyone from Shia [=LaBeouf=] to Prince Harry!"
** WordOfGod is that the Silver Adept is this, to put a twist on the usual "stodgy old mage" archetype. She sleeps in late, dresses in tank tops and form-fitting pants, and even sports a mystical [[EmbarrassingTattoo tramp stamp.]] Presumably she uses her powers to sober up when needed.
* HatePlague: When Black Velvet is mortally wounded by Jitterjack, her body releases black energy that infects the populace and starts a riot.
* HaveWeMetYet: Happens to Quarrel II when she first arrives in Astro City -- instead of the fearful or suspicious reception she was expecting to get, she's greeted by people who are ''happy'' to see her again. Turns out that she will eventually use time travel to arrive three weeks earlier and establish a heroic reputation.
* HeartbreakAndIceCream: When Hummingbird II is crying over being rejected by her boyfriend, Cleopatra suggests a "sacred ritual" to help her get over it. SmashCut to Quarrel, Beautie, Cleopatra, and Hummingbird gleefully sharing relationship stories over pints of ice cream.
* HeelFaceTurn:
** Simon Says was a TeenGenius MadScientist outcast who became a supervillain due to being bullied by the jocks at school. However, [[spoiler: the death of local superhero Starbright, which revealed that he had been a jock that had tried to help Simon when they were younger, causes Simon to reassess things, use Starbright's technology to transition into being a woman (the cause for the bullying against her), and eventually take up Starbright's mantle as a superhero]].
** Steeljack was a small-time villain who eventually realized that his career was essentially pointless. Even when he ''did'' make the big score, it never made any difference. After making parole for the final time, he decides to try and improve things in the slum he grew up in, where he becomes an all-around go-to guy if you're having problems, and the caretaker for the local cemetery where his mother was buried. He also ends up inspiring the second Goldengloves to become a hero rather than a criminal like her father. He doesn't consider himself a "hero," exactly, but his actions show him to be a good and decent man.
** In "Nightmare Life", [[spoiler:the Living Nightmare]] develops a sense of self, overcoming the pain that its various masters used to control it and deciding to become a hero.
** Andy Merton was a petty criminal who happened to steal the magic amulet that had belonged to Stormhawk. He accidentally triggered it, [[FusionDance merging with his corgi]] and gaining superpowers. He also gained a strong empathic link to the dog, whose sense of loyalty and herd instinct steered him away from crime and toward using his new powers to help people as a hero.
* HermeticMagic: Simon Magus was specifically designed to look more "European hermetic" than "carnival prestidigitator".
* TheHermit: Mister Manta becomes this in "The Deep Blue Sea". After decades marooned on a deserted island, he finds his way back to civilization, only to become rattled because he's so accustomed to being alone. He returns to his island and begins planning his memoirs instead.
* HeroicBSOD: Street Angel has one after Black Velvet confronts him with the FridgeLogic of ThouShaltNotKill. Specifically, she pointed out that for all of his nonlethal combat tactics, it's not like he ensured medical attention for every internal injury he caused and that [[RecklessPacifist many thugs likely died in cold alleys because of Street Angel's beatings]].
-->"How many have you left lying in alleyways these past two years, skull fractured, lung punctured? How many internal injuries? Did they all get medical attention? Did they all ''live?'' DID THEY?"
* HeroicBystander: This is a recurring element in ''Astro City'', where ordinary people selflessly take risks to save others in need.
** In "Newcomers", hotel doorman Pete Donacek does a diving catch to save a four-year-old girl from being crushed by a falling car during a giant robot attack. He sees her every day and doesn't even know her name, but is satisfied knowing that he did the right thing for someone.
--->"My name is Pete Donacek. I live in Astro City. I wear a uniform too."
** In "Pastoral", a team of supervillains take down Roustabout in the middle of a carnival attack. An entire crowd of bystanders piles on with farm tools and two-by-fours, winning him enough time to regroup and turn the tide.
** In "Victory", an injured teenager named Joey Lacroix discovers the secret base of the mastermind destroying Winged Victory's reputation. Despite feeling helpless and alone and scared, he manages to pass the information along, all to help people he had never met.
** "And, In the End..." shows that there is a citywide network of civilian volunteers who support emergency services personnel after super-conflicts.
* HeroicSacrifice: Occurs fairly frequently in stories, given the overall idealistic tone of ''Astro City'' -- heroes won't hesitate to put themselves at risk to save their teammates, their friends, or even total strangers.
** The Confessor sacrificed his life and reputation to stop an alien invasion -- the reputation because the sacrifice revealed that [[spoiler:he was a vampire]], and made him appear to be a serial killer.
** Despite possessing immense power, the [[TheCape Silver Agent]] goes to his execution by the city without any resistance, to avoid possibly altering the future and undoing the valiant efforts of all of the other heroes who will come after him.
** "Sorrowsday" is about Stormhawk's Heroic Sacrifice, and the shame of the farmer that caused it.
* HeroicPetStory: "The Cat Who Walked Through Walls" is focused on Kittyhawk, the pet of Sunshrike and Nightingale.
* HeroicVow: Appears in flashback in "Old Times"; in his heyday, Supersonic pledged to himself to always use an original method against each of his opponents. [[spoiler:When he's called out of retirement to stop a rampaging robot, he feels shamed because his impending senility has reduced him to simply hitting it until it stops.]]
* HeroicWillpower: Ben Naparski, ''a.k.a.'' Lord Saampa, has been fighting against the corrupting influence of the [[EldritchAbomination Oubor]]. He tries to steal the [[ArtifactOfDoom Diadem of the Serpent's Eye]] to control it, but realizes at the last second that wearing it will actually unleash the Oubor. As he struggles to resist, [[BewareTheNiceOnes a little girl]] nearby urges him [[BeYourself to remember who he is,]] which gives him the strength to throw away the Diadem.
* HeroismWontPayTheBills:
** Averted for the superheroes. Not only can heroes register as {{Bounty Hunter}}s with local law enforcement agencies, but some teams like Honor Guard and Reflex 6 offer a stipend for members who need financial support.
** In "Aftermaths", Michael Tenicek is able to devote himself to running a support group for victims of super-battles because [[spoiler:Honor Guard]] has been paying his bills and depositing a modest fund into his bank account.
* HeroKiller:
** The insane Pyramid assasin Jitterjack is one, as he mortally wounds [[spoiler:the AntiHero Black Velvet.]]
** Subverted in the case of the first Jack-in-the-Box (Jack Johnson). For decades, it was believed that he was killed in an exploding underground base on Torres Island engineered by the Underlord. However, when his son Zach Johnson led an expedition on the island, they found footage revealing [[spoiler:that the real mastermind was Mister Drama, who was dying of cancer and decided to [[SuicideAttack kill himself and Jack-in-the-Box]] in a [[DramaQueen dramatic showdown]]]].
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Happens to just about every super-being at one time or another, since the stories in ''Astro City'' typically take the big, planet-shaking battles of traditional superhero comics and reduce them to background color. Instead, the focus is usually on the ordinary citizens and peripheral characters of those events as they try to handle their own, comparatively minor issues.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Lampshaded in "The Dark Age" as Charles Williams gets to wondering exactly how much difference there is between the current generation of DarkerAndEdgier [[AntiHero "heroes"]] and the criminals they fight. Later played straight as [[spoiler:Charles and his brother Royal grow obsessed with killing their parents' killer that they become the same [[NinetiesAntiHero callous "heroes"]] that they despised]].
* HighSchoolSweethearts: In "That Was Then...", Bugleboy and Majorette are teenagers trying to decide what to do with their lives. Bugleboy wants to continue being a superhero, but Majorette wants to retire and go to law school, and are unsure if their relationship can hold.
* HiveCasteSystem: The Zirr are insectoid aliens whose society has assigned roles for all adult members. Though they are a war-oriented society, not all roles are related to fighting -- non-combat roles like healers, religious leaders, engineers, and empaths are mentioned.
* HiveMind: The Gorilla Swarm is an army of insect-headed primates with a hive mind. The story "Everyday Life" has them being controlled by a villain (The Silver Brain), making this a double instantiation of the trope.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
** In "Confession", as part of their effort to register or detain all of the heroes in the city, the Mayor and his supporters threaten to expose the Confessor's secret unless he leaves town or goes into hiding. With this threat, the Confessor deduces that they [[spoiler:are actually an alien invasion force]] and proceeds to thwart them.
** In "Friends and Relations", the villain Vivi Viktor discovers that her robot {{Mooks}} [[spoiler:would rather obey Ellie Jennersen instead, because Vivi has been building them with Ellie's designs and mental patterns for decades, allowing them to recognize her as a "friend"]].
** Dr. Gearbox died in battle against Honor Guard in 1971. His death was due to a flaw in his Robosaur that his daughter had found and fixed separately... but he didn't know about because he believed that only ''men'' could be engineers.
* HoldingBothSidesOfTheConversation: Atomicus uses his self-duplicating power to conceal his secret identity.
* HoldYourHippogriffs:
** A straight example from "The Gordian Knot":
--->"You look hot enough to power a transwarp liner and sleek enough to out-slink an Aristucian Pillilynx. But then, you always did."
** "The Menace From Earth" features the First Family's adventures on the planet Zirros, told from the perspective of a native, and features a ''lot'' of this as a result.
* HollywoodLaw: In "Things Past", Steeljack's trial is hijacked when Cutlass' high-priced private attorney shows up, takes over his case, presents a litany of evidence and witnesses proving Steeljack's innocence, and moves to have the case dismissed... all in the span of a few hours.
* HomemadeInventions: This is The Junkman's gimmick; after being forced to retire, he decided to show the world the foolishness of throwing things away. He robs a bank with toy soldiers made into miniature robots, an Etch-a-Sketch repurposed as a fluoroscope, and other equally recycled equipment.
* HonoraryAunt:
** After Quarrel broke up with MPH, he found a wife who was a better match for him, and Quarrel became "Aunt Jess" to their kids.
** The female superheroines of Honor Guard are this to Hummingbird II, as they are friends of her mother. They offer her support, training, and advice, especially in matters that she doesn't want to talk to her mom about.
* HorrifyingHero: The Hanged Man, who wears a black bodysuit, a burlap sack over his head, and a hangman's noose around his neck. He also just... floats around listlessly, adding to the unsettling aspect.
* HotBlooded: The Point Man jumps into action now and thinks about the consequences next month, if at all.
-->"What is this? All the time, you don't dare this, you don't dare that. Sister -- I DARE PLENTY!"
* HoverTank: A variation -- during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the Germans attacked Romeyn Falls with the Bund-O-Teurs, a Nazi squad using propeller-driven one-man flying ''turrets''.
* HowardHughesHomage: The Astro-Naut is an overt copy of Howard Hughes, being the BadassBookworm [[RichGenius millionaire owner]] of an aerospace company who goes on epic adventures. The only reason he won't share [[GadgeteerGenius his inventions]] with the US military is the fear that TheWorldIsNotReady.
* HowWeGotHere: Used at times.
** Issue 32 of the Vertigo series begins with a battered Steeljack being arrested by the police. The next two issues go back to how he got there, [[spoiler:revealing Steeljack was actually defending himself]].
** "Yesterday's Heroes" begins with Wolfspider falling into water while being attacked by unseen enemies. The bulk of the story is a flashback from his childhood to the present situation.
* HulkSpeak: Several characters -- typically the more monstrous ones -- talk this way. Examples include Jitterjack, Gloo, and the Living Nightmare.
* HumanityOnTrial: This is the purpose of the Incarnate, to determine if humans are fit to join the Continuum, and to destroy the planet if not.
* HumanoidAbomination: The Hanged Man is a spectral presence who (normally) operates out of the Shadow Hill district of Astro City. It is a silent, foreboding black silhouette, who has its own agenda, but can usually be seen when supernatural dangers threaten its neighborhood.
* HumanSacrifice: Done in "Hot Time In the Old Town". [[AllPartOfTheShow Under the pretense of a magic show,]] Dr. Aegyptus and the Jaguar Cult kills two members of the audience as part of a ritual to open a dimensional rift and allow the [[EldritchAbomination Oubor]] to enter reality.
* HumansAreSpecial: An alien infiltrator evaluating Earth for possible conquest decides to observe Crackerjack as his "make or break" example of humanity, and moves from personal contempt of Crackerjack to a grudging admiration - that in spite of Crackerjack's egotistical and half-assed approach to heroism, he's still genuinely trying to do good. And then [[spoiler:Crackerjack's identity is revealed and the self-righteous old bags in the same apartment building who had looked down on his civilian identity suddenly started talking about how much they loved him and how proud they were]]... and [[HumansAreBastards enraged at this sudden hypocrisy, the infiltrator sends the invasion command.]]
* HumbleGoal: In "Things Past", the mastermind who's been committing crimes using the gear from retired supervillains did so simply because he wanted to play with his nifty toys.
* HumongousMecha:
* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': This is a popular staple of villainous {{Robot Master}}s.
** The original Assemblyman would create rampaging robots for anyone.
** Vivi Vector has spent decades using giant robots to attack her enemies.
** Doc Robotnik builds humongous mecha with a team of human operators inside.
** Dr. Saturday is a MadScientist who builds giant robots resembling cartoon characters.
* HunterOfMonsters: Mordecai Chalk. A cyborg monster hunter whose missing body parts were destroyed by occult creatures, Chalk makes quite an impression for a character who was only 'on screen' for a handful of panels.
* HyperDestructiveBouncingBall: The Junkman has trick marbles that are attracted to a target and adhere to him. The more the target tries to dislodge, the faster he attracts them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes I-M]]
* IChooseToStay: American Chibi [[spoiler:chooses to [[SealedEvilInADuel stay trapped in her game world with the Unbodied]] after realizing that ''she'' is the reason why it is able to attack Earth. Honor Guard promises to work on a transdimensional communicator so she can contact them, while her game creator adds new elements to the game to give Chibi friends, allies, and advantages]].
* IdiotHero: Crackerjack is a BadassNormal and skilled acrobat. He's also a bombastic, egotistical, shallow, showboating glory-stealing {{Jerkass}} who irritates friends and foes alike. How much of it is real and how much is an act is anyone's guess.
* IGaveMyWord: Infidel has withdrawn into his own pocket dimension and refrained from interfering in human affairs merely because he had promised Samaritan he'd do so.
* IHaveManyNames:
** In "Waltz of the Hours", it is said the Dancing Master has "a thousand thousand" names, including Al-la-lil-il, the Morning Brother, Xitu of the Evening Light, The Nurturer, The Spark Blower, The Robed God, Pendifisiarni, and the Fisher of Hearts.
** Likewise, the Hanged Man has hundreds of names, including The Dark One, Tereth-Il, and Kerem the Wise.
** A low-key example is Rex of the First Family; since the naming convention of Western civilization differs from that in Monstro City, he has alternately been called Rex Zorus, Tyranos Rex, and Rex Majestros at various times.
** The Master had multiple names, including The Overlord, The Judge, and the White King.
* IHaveNoDaughter: In "Enemy of the Empire", Ziriza the Zirr is shunned by her parents after she failed to defeat the First Family in combat and is ReassignedToAntarctica by the Zirr Empire.
* IJustWantToBeNormal:
** Astra Furst knows she's a super-powered EnergyBeing, and a member of a superhero family, and has absolutely no problem with joining in to save the world when needed. It's what happens between world-saving that gets to her, like being home-schooled and never meeting anyone her age, having to keep a special diet which usually tastes like crap (manganese-flavoured breakfast cereal, anyone?), being restricted in her romantic life and not really having any career choices other than the FamilyBusiness...
** Further explored with the Sideliners, people who have powers that would be useful if they chose to be heroes (or villains), but who for various reasons prefer to lead ordinary lives. Occasionally some villain will get it into their head to capture one of these people and try to force them into service (sometimes after trying and failing to coax them with the promise of money), but such villains are typically in for a rude awakening; Sideliners tend to keep in contact with each other for just such an occasion, and while they don't like to fight, [[BigDamnHeroes many of them can and will when necessary]].
** Then there's Sticks, who wants nothing more than to be the drummer in a rock 'n roll band. Unfortunately, he's constantly being pursued by super-villains who want to recruit (or enslave) a hyper-intelligent six-foot-plus ''silverback gorilla'' into their ranks...
* IJustWantToBeSpecial:
** Mitch Goodman, the former stuntman who plays The Crimson Cougar on the soap opera "Tomorrow's Dawn", seizes any opportunity he can to become a famous star. When his popularity soars after he stops a robbery, he doesn't hesitate to milk the ActorRoleConfusion for his benefit.
** The villain Mock Turtle spent his childhood trying to find his way into a magical world like Oz or Narnia or Wonderland. He grew up to become an engineer, but became a supervillain after being denied a chance to use the exploration suit he had invented.
** "The Tarnished Angel" indicates that most B-grade supervillains suffer from this. They're often ordinary folks who happen to come across some sort of AppliedPhlebotinum, then try to leverage it into riches and power.
** Matt Zimmer, Astra's boyfriend, uses this to excuse [[spoiler:why he was secretly selling recordings of their dates to gossip media]].
* IJustWantToHaveFriends:
** In Astra's first appearance, she loves her parents and the rest of the First Family, but despite her powers and super-adventures she's still a child and desperately yearns for the friendship of other kids her age. She then runs off to have an "adventure", leaving her superpowered family going out of their minds with worry about which of their enemies have taken her while she's [[spoiler:attending elementary school and mastering hopscotch]].
** In "Wish I May...", TeenGenius EvilNerd Simon Says works with his ArchEnemy Starbright to bring Simon's old school friends to his lair so they can celebrate Simon's sixteenth birthday party together.
* IKnowMaddenKombat: The Golden Age heroes included the football-themed All-American and his sidekick, the baseball-styled Slugger.
* IMeantToDoThat: In "The Menace From Earth", the First Family routed the Zirr Empire by destroying their mighty Ubersaurus, humiliated the leaders, and smashed their communications array before leaving. Afterwards, the Zirr Empire tells its citizens that their emperor ''mercifully allowed'' the humans to live, exiling them after their deeds, and dismissed the communications array as merely an art piece. Zo the Zirr, who witnessed these events, realizes the official account is a massive pile of BlatantLies.
* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: the full title of the comic is ''Creator/KurtBusiek's Astro City''. Lampshaded by the callsign of the town's main television station, KBAC.
* TheInfiltration: Royal and Charles Williams end up joining the villainous organization Pyramid (on separate occasions) to get the man who killed their parents.
* InfractionDistraction: Downplayed; when Marella Cowper is helping deliver emergency supplies from the United States to Ecuador, the locals think she has black market connections. In actuality, she's using Honor Guard's teleportation gate system, but lets them perpetuate the myth to avoid more questions.
* InnocentBystander: The villains in "Pastoral" menace the people attending a carnival in an attempt to draw out local hero Roustabout.
* InnocentBystanderSeries: Many of the stories ''Astro City'' are about what it is like being an ordinary person in a world of super-beings, alien invaders, otherdimensional horrors, and [[OddNameOut walking cartoon lions]].
* InterruptedIntimacy:
** At one point in "The Dark Age", two members of the Apollo Eleven are snuggling outdoors at a picnic, only to be interrupted by two of their teammates playing lawn darts ''very'' poorly.
--->'''Strangeling:''' "So, it... the game is to try to hit our teammates?"
** In "Things Past", Steeljack has a fit when he catches his two teenage groundskeepers making out at the Kiefer Square cemetery... behind his mother's gravesite.
* IntrepidReporter: Samaritan's civilian identity is a fact checker at the ''Current'' weekly magazine. Subverted as he doesn't do any actual investigation -- he only uses their internet connection so his organic computer can monitor news worldwide and alert him to dangerous events.
* IResembleThatRemark: Crackerjack laments that his on-and-off ladyfriend Quarrel is mad at him for flirting with other women, ''even as he's flirting with Nightingale''.
* IsThisThingOn: In "Through Open Doors (Part One)", the intergalactic ambassador Telseth's BigEntrance gets messed up this way.
* ItIsDehumanizing: The Zirr Empire refer to the captured Darcy Conroy-Furst as "it" in their broadcasts.
* ItOnlyWorksOnce: The Innocent Gun was a powerful mystic superweapon that was left behind by alien {{Precursors}} to be used to protect humanity from a vaguely unspecified future threat, and was crafted so that it could only be used once. Unfortunately, the Point Man ended up using it against another menace, [[ThreadOfProphecySevered leaving the gun unavailable for the original threat]].
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies:
** This is the reason the Silver Agent gave his first girlfriend for breaking off their relationship. In reality, he had learned that he was sterile, but didn't want to tell her the truth so she could move on.
** Sticks, a sentient gorilla trained in combat, is unable to join a band because of his constant fear that that super-villains trying to exploit him would endanger his fellow band members.
* ItTastesLikeFeet: EnergyBeing Astra Furst says her specially-prepared synthetic breakfast tastes "manganese-flavor," after her mother tells her it is supposed to be grape-flavor. Still, if anyone is going to know what manganese tastes like, it's probably Astra.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: The Silver Agent breaks up with his girlfriend because he was sterile, while she wanted to start a family.
* IWasBeatenByAGirl: When Steeljack was being pummeled by Goldenglove's daughter, his only fear was if Samaritan was using his super-senses to see him get beaten up by a 15-year-old girl.
* IWishItWereReal: An element in several stories.
** Loony Leo was a cartoon character brought to life because of a mishap with the Golden Age villain Professor Borzoi's Belief Ray. Leo stopped the villain and started to fade away, but The Gentleman convinces the crowd to save him by believing Leo was real.
** Beautie is an adult-sized manifestation of the popular Beautie doll for girls. [[spoiler:She is actually a robot invented by the [[ChildProdigy genius daughter]] of a GadgeteerGenius, who used the doll as a model.]]
** One day, the heroes of the popular Australian kids' TV show "Queenslaw" manifested in the real world, fighting crime to the delight of kids and adults nationwide. [[spoiler:They're actually a gang of criminals who used Professor Borzoi's Belief technology to commit robberies while impersonating the heroes.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: The Point Man, the obnoxious Guy Gardner-like 1980s anti-hero.
* JewishMother: Played for laughs with Marta Dobrescu, whose mother continues to nag her to get married ([[IWantGrandkids and have grandkids]]), manipulates her to visit more often, and asks about baseball -- as a ghost. That's one of the drawbacks of living in Shadow Hill...
* JigsawPuzzlePlot: The Broken Man story arc. [[NoFourthWall He first introduces himself]] in issue #1 of the Vertigo series, gives some intriguing and frustratingly bizarre story fragments in issue #5, pops up briefly in a few issues afterwards, then suddenly wraps everything up in issue #37.
* JumpScare: In "Graduation Day", Astra and Matt are surprised when a dozen monsters leap out of a nearby creek... to deliver a graduation present from her grandmother.
* JustAKid: In "That Was Then...", the teen superheroes are annoyed when they discover that the adult superheroes have been secretly monitoring them during their road trip.
* JustLikeRobinHood:
** The Mock Turtle gives all of the money he steals, apart from that which he spends on his own maintenance, to help with the "charitable works" of his childhood love Lucia. Too bad she's actually a ManipulativeBitch who uses his naivete and [[GadgeteerGenius intellect]] to build her own criminal empire.
** Mister Cakewalk, the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personification of counterculture music,]] first manifests at the start of the twentieth century as a defender of local African-Americans. He stole from the rich and redistributes their wealth to the exploited, protected striking rail workers, and once redirected a parade of {{Rich Bitch}}es through the slums of the city.
* KidnappedByTheCall: Sarah Brandeis was an ordinary lab technician when she was kidnapped by the sinister Hellsignor during his attack on Earth. To foil his plans, the Point Man stole the Gem of Thebis from him, then tossed it around Sarah's neck. She instantly became the new Cleopatra and banished Hellsignor to another dimension.
* KidSidekick:
** The original Honor Guard member Leopardman had Kitkat.
** Altar Boy is this for the Confessor.
*** The second Confessor has the Choirboys, a small group of teens who do surveillance for the Confessor.
** The All-American had Slugger.
** The Hispanic-themed El Hombre had his trusty partner Bravo.
** In the 50s, the Gentleman often worked with the Young Gentleman.
** The unnamed MasterApprenticeChain of bird heroines adopt a new Kid Sidekick when the eldest retires. Known members have included Nightflyer, Sunshrike, Nightingale, and Sunbird.
** For a while Starfight had Quark, until [[RefusedByTheCall he proved unsuitable]] for the power.
** The Jayhawks were a team composed entirely of Kid Sidekicks -- Kid Corsair, Buster, Teen Genie, Beachboy, and Rally.
** Bugleboy and Majorette were male- and female-sidekicks to Music Man.
* KillerSpaceMonkey: The Gorilla Swarm, a pack of gorilla monsters with insect heads and a HiveMind.
* KillHimAlready: Gender-flipped. Mortally wounded and unleashing a HatePlague across the city, Black Velvet begs the Silver Agent to stop it by killing her.
-->'''Silver Agent:''' I can ease your pain. Take it away. Do you want me to do that?\\
'''Black Velvet:''' W-will I... live through it?\\
'''Silver Agent:''' I'm sorry. That, I can't do.\\
'''Black Velvet:''' G-good... Do it. Please. ''Now.''
* KitschyThemedRestaurant: Not surprisingly, there are superbeing-themed restaurants like [=SuperBistro=], Hero Cafe, and T.J. Scoundrels. They feature salvaged super-gear as decor, though the customers can't tell if they're real or shoddy knockoffs from Hong Kong.
* KnightTemplar: The Pale Horseman, a vengeful spirit [[AllCrimesAreEqual who incinerated hardened killers and jaywalkers equally]].
* KnowledgeBroker: In "The Tarnished Angel," Donnelly Ferguson uses his knowledge of the city's underworld to find jobs for the B-rate villains of Kiefer Square. Steeljack didn't like associating with him, but because Ferguson didn't have a record he was one of the very few people Steeljack could visit without violating his parole. [[spoiler:Ferguson arranges for most of the villains to be hired for a city-wide crime spree planned by The Conquistador, who plans to kill them all afterwards.]]
* LaserGuidedAmnesia:
** Part of the reason the Broken Man has no allies against the Oubor; it erases any and all evidence it was around, including visual records.
** This is why Beautie cannot remember her origins, because [[spoiler:Beautie was ''ordered'' to forget, after her creator was shamed for her creation]]. Worse, if Beautie ''tries'' to remember or uncover her origins, she soon forgets her quest.
* LawOfConservationOfNormality:
** ''Astro City'' refines this to a fine art. The story "Welcome to the Big City" has a single dad who recently moved into town with his two daughters, when the city is attacked by a gigantic storm elemental. Heading to the roof to watch the fight between the monster and the town's superheroes, he is horrified at how ''casually'' his neighbors treat the whole thing almost like a party, and he seriously considers leaving town the next day to protect his kids. But after the battle, when he sees [[CloseKnitCommunity how supportive everyone is]] in the cleanup, he chooses to stay, realizing that ''those'' are the values he wants his children to learn.
** And the story "Newcomers" reveals that this isn't the case for all new arrivals -- a fair few just can't take it and will go somewhere else. There are superheroes and villains in other cities, but Astro City is just an exceptional WeirdnessMagnet.
--->'''Pete:''' But that's okay. Somebody's got to live in all the other cities.
** How does Honor Guard, the world's greatest super-hero team, stay on top of the millions of emergency calls sent in every day? Easy! They have a ''call center,'' with thousands of operators employed. Other than the building having matter transporters, materializing at locations around the world for secrecy, and occasionally being a key component in defeating super-villains, it's more or less just like any other call center employed by large organizations everywhere.
* LazyAlias: Samaritan uses the alias Asa Martin in order to maintain a cover identity. Granted, he only bothers with the civilian identity because the alien computer that informs him of global emergencies needs an internet connection.
* LeeroyJenkins: This is how American Chibi is introduced -- her first appearance consists of directly charging into the Iron Legion to disrupt their robbery plans. Then, minutes later, she tries to open a [[TheLonelyDoor giant floating door]] by slamming it at top speed.
-->"SPLAMMO! Did you see that? ''Did you see that?!''"
* LegacyCharacter: Given the long-running nature of ''Astro City'' and the lack of ComicBookTime, ''many'' characters end up this way. A few examples include Cleopatra, Jack-in-the-Box, The Blue Knights, Quarrel, Stray, The Flying Fox, [[spoiler:the Silver Centurions, the Confessor, Starfighter, Starbright]].
** A villainous example is Goldenglove; the first one was a small-time crook with a pair of alien gauntlets, while his daughter plans to use them to become a classy burglar. With help from Steeljack, she ends up learning to be a hero instead.
** Another villain example is Mister Drama and his granddaughter, the Drama Queen.
** It's suggested that the Assemblyman might be one, as there is both an earlier villain and a modern hero with the same name.
** Stray is implied to be this, the earlier one being a heroic wolfman, the later one being a wolfwoman who'd once been a villain, [[AntiHero and still has a dark edge]].
** In one of the more unusual examples of this trope, [[spoiler:American Chibi gifts a pair of her mystic scrunchies to her creator, Marguerite Li.]]
** Another unusual one is Stormhawk [[spoiler:and G-Dog]]; both are heroes formed by bonding a human and an animal, but the two have never directly met.
* LeParkour: Practiced by the Trouble Boys, a bunch of young men who admire Jack-in-the-Box and race him across rooftops for fun. When you can practically keep up with a guy with spring-powered leaps, you're ''good''.
* LetsYouAndHimFight:
** Happens between Samaritan and The Confessor at one point in "Victory", though The Confessor knows the fight is pointless. But he proceeds to fight Samaritan to a standstill anyway just to show that he can't allow the ultra-powerful to push him around.
** Played for drama in the story "Sorrowsday". Krigari Ironhand, a dimensional conquerer, is goaded by a mysterious stranger into attacking Honor Guard. The two clash repeatedly over the years until Krigari is finally defeated [[spoiler:thanks to a HeroicSacrifice by Stormhawk. The stranger is then revealed to be the farmer Eth, who was trying to stop Krigari before he could conquer Eth's realm -- and becomes racked with guilt over causing Stormhawk's death.]]
* LightningLash: El Hombre had a special, high-tech titanium-steel whip that could snap bullets out of mid-air and shock villains into submission.
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Crackerjack and Quarrel have been with each other so long that they're effectively married, even though they've never been exclusive to the other and have broken up (and gotten back together) dozens of times.
* LineOfSightAlias:
** In "Hot Time In the Old Town", Jazzbaby disguises herself as a human to interrogate Cal Tarrant. When Cal asks her name, she sees a sign for the Harmony dance hall and calls herself "Harmony Chord".
** In "A Little Knowledge", petty thief Andrew "Eyes" Eisenstein is scoping out Jack-in-the-Box's apartment when Jack and his wife (a local TV newscaster) appear. To allay suspicion, he asks her for an autograph, and gives his name as "Jack [[PunnyName Bachsinger]]".
* LockedIntoStrangeness: Samaritan has his hair turn blue after the TimeTravel incident that gives him his powers. He can change it to white at will, but apparently not back to its original black. His archenemy Infidel's hair also changed color as a result of his experimentation with the same energy that caused Samaritan's incident, going from black to green, though when not using his powers it's blonde.
* LoggingOntoTheFourthWall: "Pastoral" featured a character looking up the hero Roustabout on herocopia.com. If you looked up herocopia.com at the time, you got taken to the same page as in the comic. For a time, [[http://www.herocopia.com herocopia.com]] was a sanctioned fan site, until a database error erased most of the wiki. Fortunately, it has since been restored and is now the most extensive wiki for the series online.
* TheLonelyDoor: In "Through Open Doors (Part One)", Telseth of Kvurri arrives in Astro City through a fifty-foot-tall door floating above the Gaines River.
* LongingForFictionland: As a child, the [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Mock Turtle]] always was trapped in wardrobes because he was trying to find a portal to [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]]. As an adult, after arriving in Astro City and accepted into the super-community, he sees the city from above. Through his green-tinted visor, he breathlessly notes that it resembles an [[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz Emerald City]].
* LongLived:
** The Black Rapier has effectively doubled his natural lifespan with the aid of a rejuvenation serum.
** Julius and Augustus Furst have been adventuring for nearly a century, thanks to "vitalons" they've absorbed on their adventures.
** The Master was an ancient [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain racist mastermind]] who was reportedly not entirely human.
* LoserSonOfLoserDad:
** In "Confession", Brian wants to be a superhero to avoid this trope.
** In "The Tarnished Angel", Yolanda Costello -- daughter of the super-villain Goldenglove -- vows to avoid this by being a smarter crook than her dad was. In the end she learns to be a hero instead.
** Jessie Taggart is so disgusted by her criminal dad that she takes up his gear and identity to become a hero. She ends up [[spoiler:being the world-famous superhero Quarrel]].
* LostSuperweapon: The Innocent Gun, a weapon left on Earth by alien {{Precursor}}s as the final defense against an unspecified future threat. It was hidden in an ancient underground temple, and harnesses one of the fundamental powers of the cosmos.
* LovableJock: "Wish I May..." has Chet Markham, quarterback of the high school football team, and the only non-JerkJock who tries repeatedly to befriend TeenGenius EvilNerd Simon Siezmanski.
* LovecraftianSuperpower: Both Lord Sovereign and The Pale Rider derive their powers from the dark energy of the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s in the VoidBetweenTheWorlds. Lord Sovereign is able to fire energy blasts and MindControl people, while the Pale Rider is able to [[KillItWithFire incinerate people instantly]].
* LoveIsInTheAir: In "Waltz of the Hours", the arrival of the Dancing Master causes this to the people of Astro City, stirring up the sparks of love in the hearts of everyone around him.
* LoveMakesYouDumb: The brilliant (but ''very'' naive) GadgeteerGenius Mock Turtle is blinded by love for his childhood sweetheart Lucia, who he constantly imagines as an innocent girl to be sheltered from his roguish life as a super-villain. She, in turn, easily exploits his intellect and engineering talents for her own criminal gain.
* LowerDeckEpisode: Some of the most memorable stories are of this trope, usually focusing on the viewpoint of minor characters in a Superhero universe, witnessing Crisis-level events from the sidelines or behind the scenes. The "Local Heroes" trade collection provide a nice selection, with stories focusing on characters such as a hotel doorman and a lawyer.
* MadScientist: Professor Borzoi, Dr. Ganss, Dr. Nautilus, and Dr. Lewis Croft all do strange and unspeakable things with conventional science.
** Infidel is an EvilSorcerer who is also capable of using Mad Science when he wants.
* TheMafia: The main crime syndicate in Astro City is run by The Deacon.
** During TheSeventies, a gang war raged between The Deuce, "Tommy" Gunn, Brian "Braintrust" Rusk, Kuo "Bamboo" Tseh-Shi, and Josef "The Platypus" Platapopulous.
** "Tommy" Gunn took over the Forgione Mob after Dominic "Junior" Forgione, his son Richard, and the top associates were killed by the [[AntiHero Blue Knight]].
** And before their time, there was The Scarlet Snake, Mister Drama, and the Underlord.
* MandatoryUnretirement:
** Sticks' initial problem when he arrives in Astro City is trying to avoid this - the last thing he wants is to go back to a life of combat, but there are a number of groups who'd just love to have an effectively superpowered gorilla with combat experience working for them, and they're not the sort to take "no" for an answer.
** Shown rather tragically with Supersonic, where his old buddy tries to get him out for one rousing battle to show these young upstarts a classic in action. However, with his strategist mindset dulled by years of aging and [[DentedIron hard knocks]], he fails to perform anything like the way he used to, barely managing to scrape out a PyrrhicVictory.
* ManOfWealthAndTaste: EvilSorcerer Infidel lives in an ornate floating palace, is tended to by beautiful [[ArtificialHuman naked homunculi]], and eats and drinks the finest foods available anywhere.
* TheManTheyCouldntHang: Played with by The Hanged Man, who is implied to be the victim of a hanging several centuries ago. Whether or not he currently counts as alive is another matter...
** It's subsequently implied in "Waltz of the Hours" [[spoiler:that he's not what he's assumed to be, that he's been known by other names in other times and places, and that "The Hanged Man" is merely his most recent name]].
** "The Party of the First Part" reveals [[spoiler:that he already had "The Hanged Man" as his name in 18th century France, and that he took a new host there after his old body was destroyed, that of a criminal being hanged who accepted his offer of redemption]].
* MarriedToTheJob:
** [[TheCape Samaritan]] is so devoted to helping others that he barely has time to sleep or maintain a civilian identity. His idea of a good day is one where he manages to get ''nearly'' a minute of flight time (that is, flying for its own sake, rather than rushing to the next emergency).
** Winged Victory prefers to stay in her transformed superpowered form all the time, possibly because it's a refuge from her original frail form. She can't even recall the last time she visited her mother, noting only that it's been years.
** Quarrel effectively has this, as part of her deconstruction of a BadassNormal. She constantly realizes that she's outranked in a world of super-powered beings, armored villains, aliens, and gods, and compensates for it with '''lots''' of training -- to the point where she cannot sustain any sort of normal relationship because of the commitments (physical and emotional) required.
** As the most powerful magician in ''Astro City,'' the Silver Adept combines this with HardDrinkingPartyGirl, having more than enough supernatural responsibilities for the role. She works hard ''and'' parties hard, to the consternation of her staff.
* MasterApprenticeChain: ''Astro City'' has an unnamed LegacyTeam that consists of two avian-themed super-heroines, a "bird of light" and a "bird of shadow". When the elder partner retires, the younger one chooses a new apprentice. Members shown have included Nightflyer, Sunshrike, Nightingale, and Sunbird.
* MasterComputer:
** Gormenghast is a rogue AI that wants to TakeOverTheWorld.
** In the 43rd century, the [=iGod=] is a digital consciousness that spans galaxies.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Teased with the Blue Knight; it's unclear if he's a vigilante with high-tech gadgets and a skull mask, or a policeman empowered by the ghost of a police officer killed in the line of duty. [[spoiler:It's eventually implied to be a bit of both.]]
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: Used all over the place, and often from the perspective of someone in the background.
** It's especially evident in "Confession," where several of these lead to TheReveal of the Confessor's true identity.
** In "Knock Wood", every time policeman Josh Stone appears, there is a blurry skull-like reflection, shadow, or image nearby, hinting that [[spoiler:he is The Blue Knight]].
** Every time the Gentleman appears [[spoiler:you can see a small girl in pigtails somewhere in the background. She is the key to his existence]].
* MeaningfulName:
** Lots, but these are probably the least obvious examples - '''C'''harles and '''R'''oyal grow up to become a '''c'''op and a '''r'''obber.
** In a meta-example, the '''Silver Age'''nt is named because after the Silver Age of comic books, which he embodies via his actions. [[spoiler:It's also fitting that the "Silver Age" era of ''Astro City'' ends when he was executed for a crime that he didn't commit.]]
* MentalWorld: The Broken Man lives in an otherworldly plane of shifting thoughts where he crafts plans against the Oubor. In Astro City proper, he's [[spoiler:a drooling, barely-conscious mute restrained in a straitjacket at a high-security psychiatric hospital]].
* MileHighClub: As Samaritan and Winged Victory's relationship becomes more series, they occasionally indulge in late-night intercourse in the skies above Astro City. Since both of them can fly, no vehicles or assistance is required.
* MindControl:
** Lord Sovereign can control people with his [[LovecraftianSuperpower dark energy powers.]]
** Stovepipe Johnny once had a vat of green ooze that allowed him to turn homeless people into {{Mooks}}.
* MindRape: This happened to Ellie Jennersen when her college roommate used a device to scan her genius knowledge of robotics and keep her from sharing it with anyone else. It takes ''decades'' for her to recover.
* MiscarriageOfJustice:
** This is the reason behind the death of the [[TheCape Silver Agent]], and why his statue is memorialized with the caption "To Our Eternal Shame". [[spoiler: He was framed for the murder of a supervillain, then was arrested and executed by the government to show a skeptical populace that they had some control over superheroes]].
** In "Knock Wood", a lawyer helps his guilty client avoid conviction by invoking the numerous superhero tropes, like evil twins, doppelgangers, and mind control. He even invokes the recent execution of the unjustly punished Silver Agent to push the jury into a decision.
** In the backstory of "Pastoral", a man was forcibly subjected to genetic engineering experiments at the hands of [=TransGene=] International; they were acquitted, and he was convicted of breaking and entering instead.
* MiseryPoker: Played for drama in "And, In the End...". Rose Wilkerson, a woman who lost her young son (and her right hand) in a supervillain attack, has joined "Miranda's Friends", a [[TropaholicsAnonymous support group]] for survivors of super-conflicts. However, when the group's organizer reveals that his wife was [[RetGone erased from history]] in a CloseEnoughTimeline accident, she becomes enraged, insisting that he's a fraud and ''her'' trauma is far worse.
* MisplacedRetribution: For decades, the Drama Queen believed that the original Jack-in-the-Box was responsible for killing her grandfather, the mob boss known as Mister Drama. She confronts Jack-in-the-Box III at the scene of the death, only to learn that [[spoiler:her grandfather [[SuicideAttack killed himself and the original Jack]] because he was dying of cancer]]. Shocked by this revelation, she [[spoiler:tries to [[SelfImmolation immolate herself]] instead]].
* MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome: Briefly referenced in "Confession", when a series of ritualistic killings becomes worthy of a public panic only after an archetypal blonde high-school sweetheart becomes one of the victims.
* MistakenForFlirting: Played for drama in "Shining Armor", as Irene misinterprets Atomicus' hesitation about their relationship as a hint that she had to prove herself worthy to him. In actuality, he's ''scared'' of relationships since he was ReallyWasBornYesterday, and her efforts only make things worse...
* MistakenForGay:
** Crackerjack doesn't know this, but the old women in his apartment building think he's gay because he's a "theater type" with long hair.
** Nightingale and Sunbird also face rumors of lesbianism after an unlicensed comic portrayed them as "closer than sisters" and strongly implied there was something going on there. Nightingale ''definitely'' didn't take it well...
* MistakenIdentity: When the Mock Turtle arrives in Kiefer Square, Steeljack thinks he's the latest target of the Kiefer Square murders. In reality, he's being hunted by the Chessmen in retaliation for a totally unrelated matter.
* MobWar: One breaks out in "The Dark Age" between a half-dozen gangs in Astro City. It's made much more complicated because one gang has hired a [[PsychoForHire psychotic assassin,]] another gang is led by a telepathic BrainInAJar, and there's a vengeful AntiHero with a TouchOfDeath who wants to kill them all.
* TheMole:
** Royal Williams joins Pyramid to get information about the man who killed his parents. He feeds information to Charles, who forwards it to the authorities as needed.
** [[spoiler:Lord Saampa]] was chosen by the Oubor to lead its cult, but he keeps them busy with useless rituals so they don't hurt innocents, even as he tries to resist its influence.
* MolotovCocktail: In "Confession", an angry mob uses them while attempting to storm Shadow Hill.
* MonsterClown: The Box and Jackson, evil versions of Jack-in-the-Box II's son from the future.
** Although Jack-in-the-Box himself is a hero, he meets the qualifications for this trope from the villains' perspective.
* MonsterProtectionRacket: Appears twice in "The Tarnished Angel".
** In the past, [[spoiler:El Hombre]] stages a battle with a giant robot that he could defeat and restore his heroic reputation. Unfortunately, his plan failed, and he becomes a shameful fugitive when the ruse was discovered.
** The mastermind behind the Kiefer Square murders intends to send dozens of supervillains loose on the city in a crime spree, then capture them all to win instant celebrity as a dashing new superhero.
* MoodSwinger: Tumorr of the Stone Sea Mages goes from house-rattling death-threat roars to hyperactive glee in the blink of an eye.
* MoodWhiplash:
** In "The Voice of the Turtle", we get the life story of the Mock Turtle, a soft-spoken, naive, good-hearted inventor who only ever wanted to find a city of dreams. After [[JustLikeRobinHood getting tricked into committing crimes]] by a manipulative woman, he eventually flees the UK and makes his way to Astro City, where he's saved from his troubles and welcomed as a friend by Steeljack and the denizens of Kiefer Square. The issue ends with him having finally found his city of dreams, happy at last. Then issue 18 [[spoiler:opens after his brutal murder.]]
** "Who's a Good Dog?" is a fun, upbeat adventure of Andy Merton and his pet corgi Hank after they've fused to become the [[AnimalSuperheroes superhero G-Dog]]. Then [[spoiler:the veterinarian reminds Andy that Hank is in his old age.]]
* MookHorrorShow:
** In "A Little Knowledge", a small-time crook sees the superhero Jack-in-the-Box change into his civilian clothes. At first, he thinks that he's struck gold by discovering this potentially valuable information, but then starts to imagine all the ways in which selling the info could go wrong, including nightmares of being pursued by [[MonsterClown a vengeful Jack]]. He eventually gets so stressed out he leaves town without revealing the secret to anyone.
** In the first issue of "The Dark Age", petty criminal Royal Williams is part of an armoured car robbery that is foiled by Jack-In-The-Box. The whole thing is played like a horror movie monster attack, with Royal cowering in fear under a truck while Jack takes the others apart.
** This effect is also used by the Confessor, a ComicBook/{{Batman}} {{Expy}} who relies on the fear he gets from {{mooks}} -- especially for [[spoiler:the first Confessor, who was actually a vampire with all of the associated powers]].
* MoralityPet:
** At one point in "The Dark Age", Royal Williams (an AntiHero out to get the man who killed his parents) has a brief encounter with "K.O." Carson, ''a.k.a.'' the [[TheCape Black Badge]], a superhero who befriended the Williams boys in their youth. Seeing Carson reminds Royal of the virtues of heroism, eventually allowing him to turn away from the path of vengeance.
** Quite literally, in the case of G-Dog. Andy Merton was a petty crook whose first instinct when he found a magical amulet was to use it for crime. However, when the amulet fused him with his pet corgi, turning them into G-Dog, the dog's simple, good-natured protectiveness pushed Andy to become a better person.
* MoreDiverseSequel: Played with -- since the diversity in ''Astro City'' is largely a reflection of the different eras of RealLife comic books, the earliest stories tended to feature predominately white male heroes. Even so, there are notable exceptions, such as Coyotl and Dame Progress in the "pulp adventure" era, or the Black Badge in the Golden Age. In a straight application of this trope, there is a noticeable increase in character diversity as the timeline moves forward.
* MotiveDecay:
** Winged Victory's ArchEnemy, Karnazon. According to Winged Victory he used to be a VisionaryVillain who planned grand schemes such as robbing Fort Knox, but eventually flanderized himself into a one-note chauvinistic JerkAss who only cared about proving the superiority of men over women, just to needle her.
** The Chessmen were a group who originally performed chess-themed crimes in their chess-themed armor. Over the decades, as turnover occurred, they decayed into just a typical [[GangOfHats group of thugs with flamboyant outfits.]]
* MultinationalTeam: The Apollo Eleven was originally a team of ten astronauts from various nations tasked with establishing an international Moon base. However, they made contact with extraterrestrials who transformed their bodies and returned them to Earth as their emissaries. They are accompanied by L.G.M., one of the aliens.
* MultipleChoicePast: Crackerjack's origins is whatever fanciful yarn he can tell at the spur of the moment. At different times he's claimed to be from a circus family that got abducted and trained by aliens, an Olympic hopeful who was sabotaged by a competitor, a determined survivor of polio, a genetically-engineered member of a spy cult...
* MundaneUtility:
** Samaritan has access to an interdimension PhantomZone. He uses it to store his various awards and change clothes.
** "On the Sidelines" focuses on a community of superpowered people who use their powers for mundane jobs, like construction and special effects, rather than heroics or villainy. Examples include a [[MindOverMatter telekinetic]] who controls things for stunt work, [[PlayingWithFire a fire-manipulator]] who's a glassblower, an [[TheEmpath empath]] who's a club deejay, and a man with SuperStrength who works in construction.
** Steeljack ends up using his ability to [[WalkDontSwim walk underwater]] to do salvage runs in the river for the city.
** The lead vocalist of the band "Powerchord" is a woman with the ability to focus her voice; she uses her power to enhance her singing.
** The Silver Adept uses a magic-powered internet to respond to emails, track appointments, and get navigational updates.
** On hot days, Handgun and his wife would escape the heat in his secret underground lab and watch baseball games on TV.
** Disputed wills on Shadow Hill are quickly resolved by [[SpookySeance contacting the deceased directly]] to clarify matters.
* MutagenicGoo: Alan Craig was fleeing from gangsters near Romeyn Falls when he found a cave with a giant glob of floating silver inside. Touching it instantly [[EmpoweredBadassNormal revitalized his body]], and he eventually became the legendary hero known as the Silver Agent.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Happens in "The Dark Age" with [[spoiler:Black Velvet and the Street Angel]], who are horrified when they fully realize the true cost of their sociopathic war on crime.
* MyGreatestFailure:
** In "Welcome to [=HumanoGlobal=]", Marella Cowper received a phone call from a distraught girl in Ecuador and forwarded it to local social workers. Two days later, she sees a news report from Ecuador [[spoiler:about a massive supervillain attack that was sparked by an incident with local social workers...]]
** As a child growing up in Kiefer Square, Carl Donewicz' greatest ambition was to study hard and lift himself out of poverty. But after he accidentally shot and killed a teen during a gang fight, Carl considered himself tainted and resigned himself to a life of crime.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes N-R]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Death-Walker robots, made by mad Korean scientists in TheFifties. Steeljack dryly notes that even if they weren't lumbering, entirely black death-robots, the name would still be a hint as to what they're like.
* NebulousEvilOrganisation: Pyramid, a recurring worldwide evil organization with an Egyptian theme.
* TheNeedless: As a living cartoon character, Loony Leo does not need to eat, drink, or sleep, and is effectively immortal.
* NeverGrewUp: Matilda "Tillie" Armstrong, a ten-year-old girl [[spoiler:who uses her psychic powers to stay young forever]]. She could grow older if she wanted to, but that would make her unable to [[spoiler:manifest the Astro City hero The Gentleman]].
* NeverMyFault: After the Point Man used a LostSuperweapon against an alien menace -- destroying a dozen city blocks and killing several hundred people in the process -- he proceeds to blame the other superheroes for not telling him that it was a destructive world-ending superweapon (even though they ''did'' do exactly that).
* NiceGuy: Many of the heroes would fall under this trope, but the TropeCodifier in the verse is The Gentleman, who's completely and unflappably polite, no matter how dire the situation -- after rescuing a news helicopter that [[TooDumbToLive endangered itself by flying into a battle against a storm elemental,]] he simply smiled at the crew and politely suggested that they might want to get to safety and not endanger any of the bystanders on the streets below.
* NiceGuysFinishLast: MPH tries this on Quarrel when she breaks up with him and goes back to Crackerjack. She shuts him down immediately, pointing out she isn't representing "all women," she's herself, and she feels guilty that she can't reciprocate his kindness because [[MarriedToTheJob she's too committed to her training.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Point Man, a brash new hero, fired The Innocent Gun (a weapon containing one of the fundamental powers of the universe) at a planet-threatening menace... ''despite'' all of the experienced heroes telling him '''not''' to do so. He ended up leveling a dozen city blocks, killed hundreds of people, and tore a hole in reality... not to mention leaving the gun inert, useless against the ''real'' threat it was meant to stop.
* NighInvulnerability: Steeljack is 800 pounds of living metal, making him ''damn'' tough to hurt. He can still be incapacitated or killed by other, indirect means.
* NinetiesAntihero / SociopathicHero: A depressingly large number of characters in "The Dark Age" story arc fall into this trope, especially in the last act.
** The Pale Horseman [[KillItWithFire incinerates]] ''all'' criminals, whether it's murderers or shoplifting kids.
** Gloo is a mindless BlobMonster that fights crime by pulling "pranks" on its targets -- such as spraying [[AcidAttack flesh-melting "seltzer"]] or jamming eight {{Mooks}} [[FoldSpindleMutilation into a subcompact car]]. And it treats armed robbery and littering as equivalent crimes...
** The Blue Knight is a skeletal vigilante who hunts down and kills anyone associated with the criminal underworld, whether it's a mob boss or a {{Mook}} fencing stolen goods. He is eventually succeeded by the Blue Knight'''s''', a squad of armed vigilantes.
** Stonecold is a murderous vigilante with rock-solid armor and knuckledusters.
** Subverted by Hellhound, one of the first DarkerAndEdgier heroes. Despite having the demonic background, monstrous appearance, torn leather and chains costume, and [[DarkAgeOfSupernames "edgy" name]], is actually a NobleDemon who respected the [[TheCape Silver Agent]] and is friendly with the old-school heroes.
** By the end of "The Dark Age", the protagonists Charles and Royal Williams have become this in their obsessive quest to [[YouKilledMyFather kill the man who murdered their parents]].
* NoAdequatePunishment: Infidel's crimes include laying waste to the entire world and ''destroying the entire omniverse'' at least once. Unfortunately, he has been involved in so many historic events (including several in the future) that his longtime enemy Samaritan has been unable to come up with a punishment that would suit the crime without damaging the timeline. On the other hand, Infidel has been unable to find a way to kill Samaritan without causing similar damage. As a result, they've been at an impasse for years, so Infidel has agreed to go into retirement in a pocket dimension, while Samaritan agrees not to interfere with whatever he does there... for now, anyway.
* NobleDemon: Infidel may be a world-conquering EvilSorcerer, but he [[EvenEvilHasStandards follows his own code of honor]] and [[IGaveMyWord won't break his word]] once he gives it.
* NobodyHereButUsStatues: In "Ellie's Friends", the elderly Ellie Jennnersen runs a modest roadside museum featuring various robots, drones, and other mechanical {{Mooks}} salvaged from superhero battles. But they only resemble inert exhibits -- in the evenings, they become active, helping Ellie with her chores and tending to her (and their) needs.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
** ComicBook/{{Shazam}} expy The Gentleman is modeled after Fred [=MacMurray=] (who has always been co-creator Creator/AlexRoss' model for Captain Marvel), while his sidekick Young Gentleman is modeled after Music/ElvisPresley (a huge real-life fan of CM Junior).
*** Similarly, [[spoiler:his daughter]] Matilda "Tillie" Armstrong is modeled after Creator/JudyGarland (in a nod to Mary Marvel originally being modeled after Garland).
** The Green Man, in addition to being a Swamp Thing CaptainErsatz, is also heavily inspired in appearance by Creator/AlanMoore, the best-known writer of ''ComicBook/SwampThing''.
** The British villain The Headmaster of Crime is Creator/JohnCleese in a monocle and mortarboard.
** Tom O'Bedlam is essentially Creator/TomWolfe, immaculate white suit and all.
** One of the scientists in "Resistance" is a blatant personification of [[Characters/TheMuppetShow Dr. Bunsen Honeydew]].
* NoFourthWall: The Broken Man, a (possibly) insane being who directly addresses the readers to enlist them in his quest against the Oubor.
-->"Look, I can't explain everything all at once -- we'd be here for like a dozen issues and your eyes would glaze over!"
* NoGuyWantsToBeChased: Played for drama in "Shining Armor", where Irene Merriweather becomes obsessed with proving her coworker Adam Peterson is actually ComicBook/{{Superman}} {{Expy}} Atomicus. She thought he was playfully hinting that she needed to prove herself worthy of his love, when in actuality he was [[ReallyWasBornYesterday a child in a man's body]] and too confused and frightened to express himself emotionally. She eventually [[spoiler:drives Atomicus to leave Earth forever]].
-->"I chased him, so he ran."
* NonHumanNonBinary: The only non-binary character who's appeared in the entire run is Glamorax, who is the living embodiment of glam rock.
* NoodleIncident:
** For the longest time, this was the unexplained fate of the Silver Agent (complete with memorial statue inscribed "To Our Eternal Shame"). It was finally revealed that [[spoiler:he had been unjustly executed for murdering a foreign head of state, as the public was growing distrustful of superheroes and the government wanted to assert they still had control over metahumans. And even ''after'' his death, the Silver Agent ''still'' returned to save the world several times afterwards]].
** On a lighter note, Infidel once did ''something'' that swapped Samaritan's hair and costume colors.
--->"What's he done to reality ''this'' time?"
** It's not sure ''what'' specifically the Astro-Naut did to [[SmashMook The Convincer,]] but it was enough to turn him into a wimpering coward ready to turn state's evidence.
* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Dr. Bertram Garneau kept the critical knowledge of his [[{{Technobabble}} neuro-memetic imprint]] research in his mind, so his CorruptCorporateExecutive sponsor would not be able to exploit it.
* NoSell: Dame Progress used tranquilizing shells in her war on crime. Mister Cakewalk, who she frequently faced, was largely immune to them (though he did note they stung a lot).
* NotMeThisTime:
** The story "Adventures In Other Worlds" plays this to eleven. When Astra Furst goes missing, the First Family hunt down all of their usual super-villain enemies, convinced that one of them has captured her. Each villain's latest scheme gets disrupted, even though none of them are guilty of kidnapping Astra... when, in reality, [[spoiler:she's run away from home to experience elementary school and learn how to play hopscotch]].
** In "Things Past", the retired villainess Cutlass is the lead suspect in a brutal bank robbery that used her signature LaserBlade weapons. She insists she didn't do it, and hires Steeljack to find out who was really responsible.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: One issue reveals that the Time-Keeper, a time-themed villain in a referee outfit, managed to trigger a CrisisCrossover by starting a fight with a ''god'' and shattering time itself as a result.
* NotUsedToFreedom:
** In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack agrees to investigate the deaths of small-time criminals simply because, as a recent parolee, he's got way too much time on his hands and don't have any other way to fill it.
** In "The Deep Blue Sea", Mister Manta (a sea-based supervillain) is marooned on a deserted island with his tech severely damaged. After decades of plotting and repairing his suit, he finds his way back to civilization, but his first encounter completely overwhelms him because he hasn't spoken to another living person for so long. By the end of his story, he gets marooned again, and happily goes back to plotting his inevitable return... [[TheHermit by himself.]]
* TheNthDoctor: [[spoiler:As times change, and the cakewalk disappears from memory, Mister Cakewalk fades away. When jazz kicks up, Jazzbaby appears, and turns out to be a reincarnation of Cakewalk with no recollection of her origins. The pattern repeats with subsequent incarnations, each forgetting their previous lives.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity:
** In "Pastoral", people feign being unable to notice a CoverBlowingSuperPower.
** Crackerjack sometimes uses his carefree IdiotHero persona to lull people into lowering their guard around him.
* OddShapedPanel: Camilla at the carnival in "Pastoral" features panels like a ferris wheel -- with the borders being lights.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: This is a mainstay trope of many ''Astro City'' stories; since the focus is on the emotional or personal growth of the characters, earth-shattering events are often reduced to mere background color.
** "Everyday Life" has the First Family repeatedly tearing through armies of {{Mooks}} in search of their missing daughter, yet each battle is relegated to one or two frames, while the focus is on Astra's efforts to master hopscotch.
** "Confession" has a worldwide alien invasion with dozens of heroes against an army of shape-shifting extraterrestrials, with a dozen panels devoted to the actual battles themselves.
** "The Nearness of You" turns a TimeCrash CrisisCrossover into a background reference, summarized in a handful of panels across a single SplashPage.
** In "The End of the Whole Mess", a tired, worn-down Steeljack faces off against six ancient vengeful ghosts. Two panels later, he's lost his shirt and the few survivors are fleeing for their unlives.
* OffTheWagon: Done with a comic-book twist in "The Deep Dark Woods". Edward "Ned" Calloway is addicted to being a well-dressed [[GangOfHats themed costumed crook,]] despite his repeated efforts to pull himself out of the criminal lifestyle.
* OldSuperhero: ''Astro City'' is rife with examples of this trope, as it establishes a long history of generational superheroes, and the avoidance of ComicBookTime means characters age and cope accordingly. Some heroes are extraordinarily long-lived (''e.g.'' The Confessor, The Hanged Man, the N-Forcer, the Gentleman) and remain active, while others have [[RetiredBadass retired]] (''e.g.'' The Black Badge, Supersonic, Starfighter) or passed away due to natural causes (Noah of the Crossbreed).
** The oldest known superhero in the mythos is Coyotl, who was presumably a significantly pre-Colonial Native American. The oldest known hero still alive is Iron Horse The Human Locomotive, a steam-powered hero who's been active since the 1860s.
** The Black Rapier is an EmpoweredBadassNormal who used a rejuvenation serum to prolong his crimefighting career, but eventually retires as even that wasn't sufficient to keep him active.
** Quarrel and Crackerjack, two [[BadassNormal non-powered heroes]], are in the middle of the process; they don't ''want'' to retire, but age is taking its toll.
** Mister Manta is a villainous example; he's been marooned on a deserted island for so long that when he finally appears during a raid on a cruise ship, nobody recognizes the white-haired long-bearded skinny hermit. [[spoiler:He still manages to kick a prodigious amount of ass, though.]]
--->"Look at this guy! What does he think he is, Geezer Man?"
* OmnidisciplinaryLawyer: Played with. Averted when [[HorrifyingHero the Hanged Man]] contacts estate lawyer Marta Dobrescu about a [[ItMakesSenseInContext real estate fraud case,]] Marta realizes that's out of her wheelhouse and refers the matter to another lawyer.[[note]]Who happens to be the wife of one of the First Family, but that's not relevant here[[/note]] Played straight later when she gets collared into interpreting some mystical contracts for [[TheArchmage the Silver Adept.]]
* OncePerEpisode: Each ''Astro City'' story ends with a street sign reading "You Are Now Leaving Astro City. Please Drive Carefully." Stories that span multiple issues have each one end with a "To Be Continued" sign instead.
** "Pastoral" ends with a sign reading "Caplinville City Limits - Come Back Soon!"
** "Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes" ends with a "To Be Concluded" sign.
* OneLastJob:
** In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack finds that almost all of his fellow low-rent supervillain peers are constantly lining up for that one last job, the one that will lead them to greatness and riches... but it never works out.
--->"Oh, there was always a new job. And always a sure thing, too. This time was the big one, always. This time, the one that'd end all our troubles."
** This attitude eventually destroys Ned Carroway's marriage in "The Deep Dark Woods".
* OneProductPlanet: The world of the Quiqui-a trades their grain Jhef with other planets.
* OneWingedAngel: Hellhound is normally a normal-looking ScaryBlackMan, with a friendly demeanor and heroic intent. But when he was infected with a HatePlague, he was forcibly turned into a forty-foot-tall {{Kirin}} with fangs and horns.
* OrphanedPunchline: Crackerjack gives us "...so the woman says 'You idiot -- This is a duck, not a pig!' And the bartender says 'I was talking to the duck!'"
* OtherMeAnnoysMe: In "Where the Action Is", several of Manny Monkton's [[ComicBooksAreReal depictions of in-unverse supers]] draw their ire. First, Nightingale chews him out for insinuating that she and her sidekick Sunbird are a lesbian couple. Then, Glowworm beats him up for depicting him as a white supremacist (which particularly offends him because [[YouKnowImBlackRight he's actually black]] under the PowerGlow). Afterwards, Monkton gets the idea to avoid future problems by shifting his focus to stories about high-level cosmic entities who [[BeneathNotice won't care what he writes about them.]] This proves [[TemptingFate not to be the case...]]
* OurGargoylesRock: The Silver Adept's brownstone home is protected by Grev and his team of magic gargoyles, who guard the place and ward off incursions (magical and otherwise) as needed.
* OutsideRide: A variation; the Astro-Naut would ride jet engines -- and nothing else, ''just'' the engine -- for fun, like a rodeo cowboy.
* OverlyLongName:
** The Working Group on Unsettling Anomalies Classification and Contamination, otherwise known as the Blasphemy Boys.
** The Steel-Jacketed Man shortened his name to Steeljack.
* PaletteSwap: Infidel once did [[NoodleIncident something]] that gave Samaritan a blue costume and red hair.
* ParentalAbandonment:
** Louisa Garneau loses her parents as a teenager; her father left home to work on advocacy for various progressive and liberal causes, while her mother died of cancer in a hospital.
** Brian Kinney loses both of his parents at a young age and ends up in an orphanage as a result.
** El Hombre recruits his KidSidekick Bravo after his parents were killed by gang violence.
* PassingTheTorch:
** Jack-in-the-Box III takes up the mantle after his predecessor discovers he's going to be a father. Jack-in-the-Box II ends up serving as MissionControl instead.
** Done indirectly with G-Dog. [[spoiler:After his pet corgi Hank dies, Andy Merton decides to stop being a superhero instead of trying to find a replacement pet to bond with.]] He takes the medallion to a remote area and leaves it on a tree branch, so fate can choose a successor on its own.
* PastExperienceNightmare: Used repeatedly in "The Dark Age" as Charles and Royal Williams recall the night their apartment exploded and their parents were killed. When they finally confront Lord Sovereign, his enhanced mental powers allow him to enter their memory and [[EvilGloating taunt them]] about [[KillTheOnesYouLove killing everyone they've ever known]].
* PastLifeMemories: Tom O'Bedlam triggers Glamorax to recall their past lives -- as [[TheNthDoctor Mr. Cakewalk, Zootsuit, the Bouncing Beatnik, the Halcyon Hippie, and more]] -- by introducing them to people who were close to those incarnations.
* PatchworkWorld: The Gordian Knot, a reality nexus where millions of different planes of existence are caught in mid-collapse.
* PatrioticFervor: Discussed in "The Dark Age"; the disillusionment many Americans felt in TheSeventies -- that the United States was [[BrokenPedestal no longer a flawless leader of the world]] -- is reflected in the public's growing skepticism about superheroes. Meanwhile, a group called the Sterling Foundation pushes for a renewed sense of nationalism, urging Americans to "stand up" against opposition and criticism.
* PeoplePuppets: At one point, a group called the Sterling Foundation managed to put a device on Starfighter which allowed them to control him.
* PerspectiveFlip:
** "The Tarnished Angel" shows the Honor Guard from the outside. Since Steeljack's a former criminal screwed over by poor decisions and lousy circumstances now trying to do right, Honor Guard's skepticism come across as arrogant, bullying and elitist.
** "The Menace From Earth" and "Enemy of the State" shows a rescue mission by the First Family on an alien planet from the viewpoint of an alien child.
* PhantomZone: Samaritan has access to such a dimension, but rather than use it for criminals or epic battles, he uses it as [[MundaneUtility a storage closet]], mainly holding all the awards and plaques he regularly receives. It's also a convenient place to change his clothes when no phone booth is available.
* PlanetaryRomance:
** A major part of Starfighter's past adventures involve Illula, Seven-Fold Empress of Jarranatha.
** Also a good part of the Astro-Naut's adventures, with Xalzana the space princess.
* PlanetLooters: The Mrevani from "The Sky's the Limit" are primitive scavengers who steal their technologies from other, more advanced, civilizations, then use it to conquer them. The Astro-Naut fears that humans could do the same if they [[TheWorldIsNotReady used his discoveries prematurely]].
* PlanetOfHats:
** The gorillas of Gorilla Mountain (a hidden tropical zone in Antarctica) are all trained to be warriors and protectors. Somewhat justified as Gorilla Mountain is on top of an interdimensional rift and frequently gets invaded as a result.
** In "Sorrowsday", the Quiqui-a are a race of farmers devoted to raising and preparing the Jhef, [[OneProductPlanet the grain of their world.]]
** The Zirrs are a race of insectoid aliens whose entire social structure is geared towards worshipping their warlord leader and serving the Zirr Empire.
* PlantMooks:
** In one story, the villainous group Pyramid was growing an army of plant-soldiers inside a secret creche in Burma, only to be stopped by the Point Man.
** Another story refers to plant-based ArtificialHumans created with technology from the Garden Gnome.
* PlantPerson: The Green Man (an {{Expy}} for ComicBook/SwampThing) was formed when the mage Simon Magus accidentally melded with Earth's biosphere. He stands about fifty feet tall and [[ShoutOut bears more than a passing resemblance]] to Creator/AlanMoore.
* PlayingWithFire:
** The villain Flamethrower is this, with a touch of PyroManiac thrown in.
** There's an alien species called the Thermians who are WreathedInFlames and wear backpacks that let them manipulate fire.
* PleaseSelectNewCityName: "The Sky's the Limit" tells the story of how Romeyn Falls was renamed Astro City. [[spoiler:It was in honor of the GoldenAge hero the Astro-Naut, who saved the city from an alien invasion which had leveled most of it.]]
* PocketDimension: A number of these have appeared in various stories. Infidel has [[SelfImposedExile voluntarily exiled himself in one]] to pursue his studies, American Chibi is [[SealedEvilInADuel locked in one]] to battle the King-In-Chains, and Samaritan uses one as a [[MundaneUtility storage closet]].
* PokeThePoodle:
** Among the curses Mr. Malefic wishes upon the Silver Adept are that her feet be covered in blisters, her toenails cut too short and her lips be forever chapped.
** In a battle against The Gentleman, Professor Borzoi threatens to ''crumple his carnation'' and ''muss his coif''.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain:
** While Infidel isn't at the level of a StrawMisogynist, he does feel that women are inferior, and that treating them as equal to men is folly.
** Dr. Aegyptus, who kidnapped dozens of African-American folks and planned to use time-travel to take them back to before the American Revolutionary War and sell them into slavery.
** In "Where the Action Is", Manny Monkton publishes a story that said the villain Glowworm was a white supremacist with a scheme to exploit the black teens of the city. Unbeknownst to Manny, Glowworm is African-American, and ''really'' resents the implication...
** The Lawmen are a group of [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything hooded supremacists]] who attacked a gay pride parade.
** Dr. Gearbox was a GadgeteerGenius who refused to allow his daughter follow in his footsteps because he believed that engineering and math were inappropriate fields for girls.
** Earthpride is a hate group of former white supremacists who've extended their bigotry to aliens.
** The Master was a LongLived evil mastermind who rejoiced in hatred and fed on people's suffering and misery.
* PosthumousCharacter: ''Astro City'' has lots of these, given the lack of ComicBookTime and heavy use of flashback stories. To point out only a few examples:
** The heroic Stormhawk is seen entirely in flashback, yet is a key character in "Sorrowsday".
** Many of the incarnations of counterculture music -- Mr. Cakewalk, Jazzbaby, the Halcyon Hippie, etc. -- are shown in flashback stories or only mentioned in passing.
** Several of the founding members of [[SuperTeam Honor Guard]] (Leopardman, Max O'Millions, the first Cleopatra) appear only in flashbacks.
** The earliest adventurers of the 'verse, such as the Astro-Naut, Air Ace, Coyotl, and the All-American are seen exclusively in flashbacks or references.
* PostModernMagik:
** Appears twice in the "Confession" story arc.
*** First is with Mordecai Chalk, a cyborg monster-hunter with iron- and silver-enhancements, assorted mystical runes, weapons that fire anti-monster ammunition, and an onboard database that references thousands of occult tomes. [[spoiler:He tries to fight an occult serial killer and barely manages to survive.]]
*** Second is [[spoiler:an alien squad fighting a vampire with holographic crosses, holy water-soaked cables, and a two-handed stake-launching cannon.]]
** Steeljack's steel skin proves useful when he fights a group of demons vulnerable to being attacked with iron.
** The Silver Adept, the sorceress supreme of the series, uses the Aethernet -- a magic-powered internet -- to [[MundaneUtility respond to emails, track appointments, and get navigational updates]] across the myriad dimensions.
** American Chibi owes her origin to an EldritchAbomination trying to get into the world via ''video games''. Hummingbird II is dubious.
--->'''Hummingbird:''' But-- computer games? Creepy elder-god pixel-things?
--->'''Assemblyman:''' Hey, modern times, modern forms.
** When Hummingbird II needs to open a portal to the mystic realm of Khapak Iqun, it required a magic spell augmented with a technological gateway.
* PowerFist: Goldenglove's gloves gave him this power, but his daughter discovered they were capable of a lot more.
* PowerLimiter: Lord Sovereign has a fragment of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Sekhmet Stone]] embedded in his armor; it's the only thing that allows him to control his dark energies and prevent them from overwhelming him.
* ThePowerOfRock: ''Astro City'' has had a number of heroes and heroines, dating from its foundation as Romeyn Falls, with powers associated with various forms of music.
** Silverstring was a demon-slaying troubadour from the 1870s who [[WalkingTheEarth traveled from place to place and realm to realm]], learning music and fighting evil along the way.
** The AnthropomorphicPersonification of counterculture music is a [[TheNthDoctor recurring superhero]] in the series. Its manifestations have been Mister Cakewalk (a Ragtime-inspired vigilante from the 1900s), Jazzbaby (a jazz-themed heroine from the 1920s), Zoot Suit ('40s big band), the Bouncing Beatnik (hep cat from TheFifties), the Halcyon Hippie (psychedelic rock of TheSixties), then finally Glamorax (a Music/DavidBowie-inspired glam rocker of TheSeventies). Going beyond conventional crimefighting, they are also the ArchEnemy of the Oubor, an EldritchAbomination from outside of reality.
** Played with in Sticks, a talking gorilla from a militaristic gorilla society who left his home to pursue a career as a rock drummer. Due to his superior strength and agility, he was targeted for recruitment by both heroes and villains, which made it difficult to fulfill his goal. His solution was to [[spoiler:assemble a band of superpowered beings called "Powerchord"]].
* PromotionToParent: After the first (villainous) Quarrel was arrested, his daughter took it upon herself to take care of her three brothers and mom.
* ProtectionRacket: During the Great Depression, the Ingels Street Mob would intimidate shopkeepers into signing up for "protection"; those who refused would be visited by The Convincer, an armored thug who'd smash up the place (and maybe the owners).
* ProtectorBehindBars: In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack has been imprisoned by Honor Guard after they [[CassandraTruth refuse to believe his warnings]] about an impending citywide supervillain attack. Out of options, he breaks free and gets back to the city because he realizes that the [[CloseKnitCommunity small-time crooks of his neighborhood]] had no one else to protect them from a murderer.
* PsychoForHire:
** There's Demolitia and the Unholy Alliance, who enjoy their work too much to be PunchClockVillains and are not classy enough to form MurderInc
** The terrorist organization Pyramid is not above renting out their psycho killer Jitterjack for whoever has the price.
** For a while, the NinetiesAntiHero Hollowpoint was running a killer-for-hire service.
* PsychicPowers: This is the secret origin of [[spoiler:The Gentleman -- he is the psychic manifestation of Matilda Armstrong, a girl who wishes him into existence when there's trouble. Matilda is also able to use her powers to create additional people (like [[KidSidekick the Young Gentleman]]), keep herself immortal, and BreakTheFourthWall]].
* PunchAWall: In "The Tarnished Angel", Carl gets so frustrated that he takes out his anger by smashing up a [[ConvenientlyEmptyBuilding condemned apartment building.]]
* PunchClockVillain: In "Ellie's Friends", Ellie's nephew Fred is making money on the side by renting out Ellie's collection of [[RobotBuddy robot friends]] as mooks and henchmen to anyone. Ellie ends up getting arrested as a result.
* PutOnABus: Done literally in "A Little Knowledge", as "Eyes" Eisenstein takes a bus [[spoiler:to get ''very far away'' from Astro City]].
* TheQueenpin: "The Voice of the Turtle" has the Red Queen, [[spoiler:''a.k.a.'' Lucia, childhood girlfriend of the Mock Turtle]]. She built up a criminal empire using a combination of her own cleverness and guile, his intelligence, and various stolen goods.
* QuittingToGetMarried: In "Waltz of the Hours", a sudden citywide [[LoveIsInTheAir burst of romance]] prompts the costumed bank robber Gundog to suddenly retire from crime and move to Maine with his new girlfriend Laura.
* RageBreakingPoint: In "The Deep Dark Woods", a lifetime of being insulted and ignored finally spills over when a stranger just walks into Ned Carroway. Ned proceeds to ''demolish'' the man before stealing his clothing.
* RayOfHopeEnding: At the end of "Enemy of the Empire", Zir realizes [[spoiler:his sister is ReassignedToAntarctica and his entire society is a horrible, broken mess of lies]]. But he vows to try and find a way to change it from within.
* ReactionShot: At the end of "Pastoral", we see Cammie's reaction to what she saw in the barn -- including her going back to the house and writing an entirely new email that shows she has decided to become a SecretKeeper -- before the last panel reveals what she saw.
* TheRealHeroes:
** Samaritan says this in "In Dreams" when receiving an award from the fire service. He really believes it, though he wishes he could skip the ceremonies and [[SamaritanSyndrome spend more time saving civilians]] instead.
** There's also a poster seen in one story of the Silver Agent next to a police officer. "Silver Agent says salute your local heroes!"
** The story "Since the Fire", written for one of the 9/11 benefit books, is all about this.
* ReallyWasBornYesterday: In "Shining Armor", Atomicus looks like a thirty-something adult male, but has the emotional maturity and understanding of a young child since he was created just a year ago.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Commander Flint, of E.A.G.L.E., who comes to one of Winged Victory's facilities to investigate it when she's under accusation. He hears her out, respects her wishes, and tells her he's not there to arrest her. When he gets word that a warrant's being put out for her arrest, he gives her a warning.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: All the soldiers of the Zirr Empire who were defeated by the First Family are cashiered, demoted and reassigned to crap work. Since they're brainwashed, they accept this as failure for not doing their all to serve their empire.
-->'''Zir:''' This was our system. This was our way. We do as the priestlords say. And the priestlords ''lie'' to us. And good people break and are punished for failing, rather than blame those who created the situation in the first place.
* {{Reconstruction}}: ''Astro City'' is a series built on the repeated reconstruction of comic book superheroes. While most of Creator/KurtBusiek's works involve nuanced reconstruction on some level, ''Astro City'' has it as its lifeblood. You will be hard-pressed to find a single issue that doesn't reconstruct one ComicBook trope or another, whether it's the CrisisCrossover, the BadassNormal, MundaneUtility, the IntrepidReporter, [[SecretIdentity Secret Identities]], the NinetiesAntihero, PostModernMagik...
* RecursiveReality: "Sorrowsday" introduces the Moleculands, an entire set of microscoping realities like Subatomia and the Quarkrealms.
* RedRightHand: Royal recognizes Aubrey Jason as his parents' killer by his distinctive facial scar.
* RedOniBlueOni: Julius Furst is red to his brother Augustus' blue.
* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Usually played straight, as Creator/KurtBusiek believes that it's important that the stories take place in our world. That said, a key event in the universe is [[TheCape Samaritan]] averting the ''Challenger'' shuttle disaster, which ushered in a new era of inspirational superheroes.
** There's also the story of Vincent Oleck, a lawyer who successfully defended his client in a murder case by citing superhuman tropes such as {{Shapeshifting}}, {{Evil Twin}}s, and DeathIsCheap. Later, it is explained that the case caused a major overhaul of praxis in ''Astro City's'' legal system, so the defense wouldn't work in the present day.
** Deconstructed in the Astro-Naut's story. Roy Virgil, ''a.k.a.'' the [[CaptainSpaceDefenderOfEarth Astro-Naut]], developed many super-advanced inventions during his interplanetary adventures. However, he refuses to share them with anyone because he's convinced that TheWorldIsNotReady for them. The public is ''outraged'' that he's hoarding futuristic technology from them, especially as this was during the start of World War II and the Allies' war effort, causing [[HeroWithBadPublicity his popularity to plummet.]]
* ReformedButRejected: In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack leaves prison tired of being a supervillain and simply wants to make an honest living for himself. However, he is shunned by most employers, and the only work offers he gets are for supervillain jobs, which he cannot accept lest he break parole. When he tries to investigate a string of murders, his efforts are met with rejection and scorn from people who assume he's up to no good.
* ReligiousVampire: [[spoiler:The Confessor]] was a young priest that was turned into a vampire and became a superhero as [[TheAtoner form of penance]]. His uniform is styled with a cross on his chest that causes him constant pain to prevent him from giving into the temptation to drink blood and reminds him of his mission to defend justice.
** Notably, after [[spoiler:he is exposed as a vampire and then destroyed]], his (non-vampiric) sidekick encounters the Crossbreed, a team of Christian superheroes. He assumes they'll be just as horrified that he was a vampire as the public is, but they reveal that they've always known what he was and didn't hold it against him because he was "doing the Lord's work."
* RemoteBody: The Death-Walker robots are controlled by human operators from a remote location.
* RepressiveButEfficient: Infidel tries to convince Samaritan that his life would be ''so'' much easier if he'd stop being TheCape and use his powers to TakeOverTheWorld.
* RescueSex: At the end of "Things Past", after Cutlass has thrown a celebratory block party for Steeljack and handed him the keys to his new home, she suggests that they can try out the [[DestructoNookie reinforced bedroom]] afterwards.
* WeHelpTheHelpless: This is how Resistor works -- at times of intense emotional energy, when peaceful people are being attacked, selfless people nearby who want to help them are [[SuperEmpowering transformed into energy beings]] able to [[BarrierWarrior protect them from harm]].
* RetGone:
** This is a key point in "The Nearness of You", where Michael Tenicek keeps dreaming of a woman he's never met, yet knows all of her intimate details. It turns out [[spoiler:she was his wife, but got erased in the aftermath of a TimeCrash event due to a CloseEnoughTimeline]].
** This was the result of Samaritan's first mission. He eliminated the BadFuture he came from and wiped out all of his loved ones from his original timeline.
*** In fact, two of the stories featuring Samaritan strongly hint that the reason why he's been [[SamaritanSyndrome obsessively doing good acts]] is to make up for deleting the loved ones of his original timeline. Talk about [[SurvivorGuilt Survivor's Guilt]]!
** This is also what led to Infidel becoming Samaritan's ArchEnemy -- when Samaritan eliminated his BadFuture, he also accidentally eliminated Infidel's empire in the [[ToTheFutureAndBeyond distant future]]. Prior to their truce, many of their battles involved one trying to eliminate the other's reality.
** Preventing this is why the Silver Agent willingly allows [[spoiler:himself to be executed]].
* RetiredBadass:
** "Hero's Reward" is about Duncan Keller, ''a.k.a.'' the hero Starfighter, adjusting to being this. [[SentientCosmicForce The Lorus]], the source of his powers, has decided he should enjoy his retirement, and he should accept that it's okay to just take it easy for a while.
** The Black Rapier, leader of Honor Guard, voluntarily retires after decades of super-heroics.
** Dr. Cannon, Honor Guard's on-call medic, was formerly the superhero known as Tenspeed.
** Though they stopped short of giving themselves a team name, Charles and Royal Williams qualify -- they go from being a pair of vengeful {{Nineties Anti Hero}}es to running a chartered fishing business in Mexico.
** "Old Times" shows that Supersonic still has the speed and the strength of his youth, if not the cleverness.
* RevealShot: The end of "Pastoral" reveals what Cammie saw that made up her mind about Caplinville.
* RidiculouslyFastConstruction:
** A newspaper clipping from the "Local Heroes" trade paperback mentions that Honor Guard often uses alien technology to quickly repair damages after super-powered fights.
** It is also mentioned that quick repairs to the city's infrastructure is SeriousBusiness to the Astro City Department of Public Works.
* RidiculousProcrastinator: Mister Manta has been marooned on a deserted island for decades. He vows to return to civilization someday and resume his life of crime, but keeps putting it off to improve his [[BambooTechnology makeshift gear and weapons]]. In reality, he could leave if his gear was [[DoWellButNotPerfect good enough to reach the mainland,]] but deep down he enjoys being TheHermit.
* RingRingCrunch: The Silver Adept has an annoying habit of magically smashing her alarm clocks into the wall every morning.
* RingsOfDeath: Street Angel's halos during TheSeventies are made of high-impact ceramic with a steel core. They might not be fatal, but they will inflict a ''lot'' of injury and possibly maim...
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** "The Dark Age" follows the lives of Charles and Royal Williams as they evolve into {{Sociopathic Hero}}es to get revenge on the man who killed their parents.
** In one story, the Zirr Empire sends troops to attack the First Family, but they can only settle for abducting the non-powered wife of one of them. About ''five minutes later,'' the '''entire''' Family storms the Empire to get her back.
* {{Robosexual}}: Played every which way with Beautie. She is a human-sized superpowered robot fashion doll, and while she has an interest in romance she finds the people who aren't put off by her completely rigid body and lack of genitalia more disturbing and difficult to interact with than those who are.
* RobotBuddy: "Ellie's Friends" features an entire roadside museum full of these, with dozens of robots she salvaged and befriended after countless superhero battles. Special credit goes to Arthur, a ball-shaped former warbot who [[spoiler:masterminds Ellie's escape from jail after she's wrongly accused of terrorism]].
* RobotMaster:
** The first Assemblyman creates rampaging robots for anyone who pays.
** Vivi Vector is a female example who thinks big -- she's spent ''decades'' infiltrating robotics and electronics systems worldwide with her creations.
** Ellie Jennersen was a robotics genius even before she got into college and broadened her expertise. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:her potential was cut short after her roommate {{Mind Rape}}d her and stole her work]].
** Dr. Saturday is a MadScientist who builds giant robots that resemble cartoon characters.
* RobotSuperhero:
** Beautie is a [[FlyingBrick super-strong flying robot]] that resembles an adult-sized Beautie fashion doll.
** Rivets, the Robot Kid, is an android programmed to be a heroic teen superhero.
* RockMonster: The Ore-Master is a ten-foot-tall being made of metals pulled from the earth and burning with internal fire.
* RubberMan: Karl Furst of the First Family has this power.
* RunicMagic: Starfighter activates the powers of the Lorus by drawing glowing symbols on nearby objects or in midair. These powers include flight, sound suppression, costume changes, and interstellar travel.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes S-Z]]
* SamaritanSyndrome: A lot of the heroes have shades of this, but [[TropeNamer Samaritan]] himself has it the worst; he is so busy helping people that he hasn't been able to form a single normal human relationship in ''twenty years.''
** In one story, his fellow superheroes make arrangements to protect the world without him for one night so that he can go on a date with Winged Victory, who is similarly as dedicated to heroism. Both of them have a hard time relaxing on the date, but it's implied that their being out of action for a little while didn't cost the world anything due to their friends stepping up their game. There's also a moment towards the very end where they get to relax and enjoy a very short moment of dead silence, with no emergencies.
*** Later issues heavily imply the two of them are an item, which is appropriate considering their similarities to their duty.
*** It's really brought home by the fact that Samaritan's dream is to be able to fly free -- as in, "just fly around for the fun of it" rather than "fly toward the latest emergency".
** Discussed in "After the Fire", where a teen named Farrell talks to a firefighter who lost his leg rescuing him from a burning high rise.
--->'''Artie:''' "The superheroes flyin' around, they're okay -- but they can't always be there. We gotta take care of ourselves."
* SavedToEnslave: This is Infidel's way of gathering followers -- rescue people from calamity using TimeTravel and then bind them into his service.
* ScaryBlackMan: Hellhound is a burly black man with a demonic look, a torn leather jacket with chains, and other scary accoutrements. Subverted in that he's one of the ''nicest'' heroes around.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Simon Magus' glasses give off a constant glow, as if they're hiding some great power behind them.
* ScrewDestiny: The only thing that can stop Krigari Ironhand from conquering the micro-realms is to tell him that he's destined to be defeated by Honor Guard. This causes Krigari to refocus his energies on defeating them to defy the prophecy.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: In "Things Past", the Iron Guard beat a hasty retreat after Steeljack single-handedly tears through their antiquated armor.
* SealedEvilInADuel: When American Chibi realizes that her presence in the real world is what allows the [[SealedEvilInACan King-In-Chains]] to exert its influence beyond Ibbopolis, she volunteers to seal herself in their PocketDimension to keep it trapped. Chibi and the King remain locked in a never-ending battle as a result.
* SecretIdentity: Played with every way possible.
** Some supers have their identities publicly known and are treated like celebrities, such as with the First Family.
** Others are shrouded entirely in myth and feared or shunned, like The Confessor or the Blue Knight.
** And still others have revealed their identities to the authorities while keeping them secret from the public at large, such as the Street Angel and Quarrel.
** Roustabout has, in reality, a public identity in the CloseKnitCommunity of the carnival and the towns it visits, but because he's wanted by the law, the community acts as a large-scale SecretKeeper and even feigns ObfuscatingStupidity as if it were an ExtraStrengthMasquerade.
** In one story, a petty criminal stumbles upon Jack-in-the-Box's identity, then starts thinking about the ways he might exploit the information. [[spoiler:The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that [[DeathBySecretIdentity it will all end VERY badly for him]]. He decides to forget everything and leave town instead.]]
* SecretKeeper: ''Astro City'' has dozens of these, given the sheer number of superheroes and supervillains in the 'verse. Special recognition goes to the entire town of Caplinville, where the CloseKnitCommunity maintains an ExtraStrengthMasquerade for local hero Roustabout.
* SecretRelationship: As Roustabout is on the run from the law, he and his girlfriend naturally keep quiet.
* SecretSecretKeeper: Andy Merton's girlfriend, Esme, already knew he and Hank were G-Dog before he told her. [[LampshadeHanging As she points out,]] it wasn't difficult to figure out considering they all live together, and every time Andy and Hank disappear G-Dog shows up soon after...
* SeenItAll:
** The residents of Astro City treat the various super-heroics as part of the appeal of the city. Even when a gigantic Thunder God threatens to level the town, most folks get outside, pull up lawn chairs, and watch the show... if they don't have homework to finish, anyway.
** In "On the Sidelines", Martha Sullivan treats being forcibly "recruited" into becoming a minion for an up-and-coming supervillan with bored derision and apathy. She's been through this so many times that she's simply ''annoyed'' at having her time wasted before this wannabe gets his ass kicked.
--->"Seriously? ''Gas?'' Of all the hoary old--"
* {{Seers}}: Played with in "Sorrowsday". The interdimensional rampage of Krigari Ironhand is only paused when Druin the Seer appears and foretells of his defeat by Honor Guard. This angers Krigari to refocus his energies on [[ScrewDestiny defeating Honor Guard and defy the prophecy]]. In the end, it is revealed that [[spoiler:Druin is simply a farmer in disguise, using a desperate attempt to deflect Krigari's destructive campaign]].
* SelfDeprecation: At the end of "My Dad", [[FourthWallObserver the Broken Man]] grumbles about not having enough pages to tell his story and blames the pacing issues on the comic's creators.
* SelfImposedExile: After destroying reality in a futile battle against Samaritan, Infidel agreed to exile himself into a pocket dimension where he could study and scheme without directly endangering the universe.
* SelfMadeMan: Infidel started off as a poor boy from Kenya and grew to become the most fearsome EvilSorcerer and MadScientist simply through his boundless intellect.
* SelfMadeOrphan: Technically speaking, Samaritan qualifies. He arrived in the present day from a BadFuture and succeeded in averting that -- but [[RetGone wiped out his own early history]] as a result.
* SentientCosmicForce:
** The dark energy that infested Astro City during TheEighties is implied to be this. It's an energy field that is implied to be attracted to (or induces) feelings of vengeance and malevolence in others, and can empower beings like The Pale Horseman and Lord Sovereign with paranormal abilities.
** The Lorus that empowers Starfighter is this, a cosmic force associated with patterns and shapes.
* SentIntoHiding: After he is tagged by the Blue Knight with a TrackingDevice, Royal Williams wraps tin foil around his neck and hides in a brick-walled basement to block the signal.
* SequelHook: The Vertigo run concludes with [[spoiler:someone claiming to be a former pilot of the N-Forcer armor coming forward]], intended to set up the first original graphic novel.
* SeriesFauxnale: "The Voice of the Turtle" ends with Steeljack believing that he's stopped the Kiefer Square murders by [[MistakenIdentity driving off the Chessmen and saving the Mock Turtle.]] The issue even closes with the [[OncePerEpisode "You Are Now Leaving Astro City" street sign,]] signaling the end of the "Tarnished Angel" story arc. The next issue opens with [[spoiler:the death of the Mock Turtle]], indicating the case is far from over.
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong
** Samaritan was originally from the 35th century, when mankind was nearly extinct. In a desperate attempt, he was sent back in time to stop the event that triggered his BadFuture. He arrived in 1985, accidentally infused with the primal energy of time and space, and barely managed to avert the ''Challenger'' shuttle explosion. He had saved the future and became a superhero, but at the cost of [[RetGone eliminating his original timeline and everyone in it]].
** This is a background event in "The Nearness of You". A time-manipulating supervillain ends up shattering time itself and endangering all of reality as a result. The heroes eventually managed to restore the timestream, but with [[CosmicRetcon some minor differences...]]
* SettleForSibling: Silver Agent's first girlfriend eventually got over their breakup and married his brother.
* SewerGator: One of the outcast heroes who was recruited by Bravo to become a founding member of the Astro City Irregulars was a mutant alligator that lived in the city sewers, with the unoriginal name of Alligator.
* SexGod: According to Quarrel, [[IdiotHero Crackerjack]] is ''fantastic'' in bed.
* SexMagic: At least one of Simon Magus' rituals require having sex with his assistant Grimoire.
* ShameIfSomethingHappened: Played completely straight in "Knock Wood"; a lawyer uses a genius defense to acquit the son of a mafia boss, who then wants to recruit him permanently. When the lawyer refuses, the boss invokes the trope nearly verbatim against his family so he will accept the offer...
* SharedMassHallucination: In "The Dark Age", there is a brief mention of a battle with the L.S.Deviant, an alien that induced [[RealityWarper reality-warping hallucinations]] throughout the city -- cars eating pedestrians, buildings breathing, people sprouting wings...
* SharpDressedMan:
** No one can hold a candle to The Gentleman, who has never been seen wearing anything other than his impressively elegant tuxedo, complete with sash and buttonhole rose.
** "Ned" Carroway is addicted to being a costumed {{Mook}} partially because it allows him to imagine himself as a BadassInANiceSuit. Pity his criminal skills aren't as good as his clothing sense.
** In Astro City, "clotheshorses" are career criminals who are addicted to [[GangOfHats committing crimes while dressed up in elegant clothes or elaborate costumes]].
* ShockAndAwe: Juice of the Astro City Irregulars is a manifestation of electrical energy who can fly and project energy bolts. White Lightning is a supervillain with similar powers.
* {{Shout Out}}s: ''Astro City'' is a massive Shout Out to the comic book industry; almost all the storefronts, streets, neighborhoods and locations are named for notable creators, most of which will fly past the uninitiated. Here are some of the more notable ones:
** Astro City itself is overshadowed by the massive [[Creator/JackKirby Mount Kirby]], the city's prominent landmark.
** Julius Furst of the First Family is based on Creator/DCComics' creator Julius Schwartz.
** A race of shape-shifting aliens is named the Enelsians, after Magazine/{{MAD}} magazine and Creator/DCComics writer [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Nelson_Bridwell E. Nelson Bridwell.]]
** The Sprang Museum of Popular Advertising -- which features an assortment of massive props -- is named after Golden Age ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' artist Dick Sprang.
** A high-class restaurant in the city is named Goscinny's, after René Goscinny (writer and co-creator of ComicBook/{{Asterix}}).
** Kiefer Square is a reference to artist Henry C. Kiefer, who drew various Golden Age comic books as well as the ''Classics Comics/Classics Illustrated'' line of books.
** Characters are shown drinking Haddock's brand whiskey, named for the Franchise/{{Tintin}} character.
** The main prison of Astro City is on Biro Island; Charles Biro was the editor of the (pre-Comics Code) ''Crime Does Not Pay'' comic book series.
** Bakerville, the predominantly African-American neighborhood, is named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Baker_(artist) Matt Baker]], the first African-American comic book artist best known for drawing ''ComicBook/PhantomLady''.
** Hillman Aviation is named after Hillman Periodicals, publishers of ''ComicBook/{{Airboy}}''.
** The Chesler neighborhood of Astro City is known for its sweatshops. This doubles as a TakeThat to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_%22A%22_Chesler Harry "A" Chesler]], an early comic book publisher infamous for his sweatshop conditions.
** Binderbeck Plaza is named after Otto Binder and C.C. Beck, creators of the Fawcett [[Characters/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]].
* ShroudedInMyth:
** The Blue Knight is the subject of much rumor and speculation. An ex-cop with a holographic skull face, an actual avenging spirit, etc. Whether or not he's eight feet tall or has a skull collection is also disputed.
** The Confessor originally existed as little more than a legend because no video footage or photos of him had ever been taken. [[spoiler:This is because he's a vampire. The fact that after Altar Boy succeeded him there ''were'' photos made criminals even more confused on the matter, thinking that he's somehow immune to traditional vampire weaknesses and that he'd come back from the dead rather than making the more obvious connection.]]
* SickeninglySweet: Every time G-Dog (half-man, half-corgi) rescues someone, they invariably gush over how ''adorably cute'' he is... which irritates his human half to no end.
* SignatureScent: Louisa Garneau can recognize when [[SuperEmpowering Resistor]] is about to appear because the manifestation is accompanied by the smell of her father's pipe tobacco and lemon drops.
* SinisterMinister:
** Subverted by The Deacon, who is the undisputed leader of organized crime throughout the city, but is simply a crime boss who [[BadHabits dresses like a religious figure]].
** The Deacon is balanced by his greatest enemy, the Confessor, who's not only religiously themed, but is actually a real priest. And then subverted again when [[spoiler:the Confessor is outed as a vampire]].
** "The Dark Ages" featured the Hellsignor, a skeletal EvilSorcerer who called himself "Satan's Archbishop".
* SizeShifter:
** Natalie Furst of the First Family and Max O'Millions of Honor Guard can make themselves grow to enormous size.
** Wolfspider can shrink to the size of his namesake.
** The Hanged Man can change his size at will; he's been seen several times to grow tall enough to tower over the city.
* SkullForAHead: The Blue Knight wears a face mask that projects a holographic skull.
* SleepDeprivation: "In Dreams 2015" begins with Samaritan having problems sleeping; this causes him to become uncharacteristically irritable and to [[ExhaustionInducedIdiocy make careless mistakes]].
* SliceOfLife: Many of the stories focus on regular civilians as they go through their days in a world full of superheroes and whatnot.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: It varies by the viewpoint character. Busiek seems to be experimenting with stories where neither the idealistic nor the cynical characters come out constitutionally certain that their core beliefs are correct as the series progresses (e.g. the ''Samaritan'' and ''Beautie'' one-shots). As a whole, the series tends more towards idealism than cynicism.
* SmokyGentlemensClub: Butler's, an upper-class club where superheroes can relax in their secret identities (and formal wear) while the staff wear masks. Discretion is absolutely guaranteed.
* SocialClimber: Maria Alvardo Vega started off running charities and social reform groups for migrant workers in the barrios of Los Angeles, and ends up as the president of an investment banking company. It's hinted that her ambition is what led to her divorce from her political activist husband.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: Samaritan suffers from this when his super-heroic peers maneuver him into a dinner date with Winged Victory.
* SoProudOfYou: Many characters have this; even the retired villain Quarrel admits that he's proud of his daughter's heroic career.
** In "The Menace From Earth", Zo's mother is ecstatic after seeing his high aptitude scores, as they indicate he's an extremely talented Zirr and may get to choose his own role in [[HiveCasteSystem Zirr society]].
* SpaceBase: The Astro-Naut had one on an asteroid, complete with [[MST3KMantra hangers and an airstrip.]]
* SpacePolice: G.A.L.A.K.T.I.K. is an alien law-enforcement group that arrests and incarcerates interstellar criminals. They resemble TheGreys wearing [[TheMenInBlack black suits]].
* SpannerInTheWorks:
** When the Ion Empire captured Honor Guard, Quarrel managed to follow the robots to one of their ships. Since they were unaware of her presence, she was able to blow up the power supply for the "stasis lens" and rescue Honor Guard.
** Professor Borzoi's Belief Ray created a giant gorilla powerful enough to challenge the Gentleman. Unfortunately, it also brought Loony Leo to life, who smashed the ray and made the gorilla disappear.
** Krigari Ironhand's second defeat against Honor Guard came because he abducted all of their members except for Mermaid, whom [[BeneathNotice he didn't think was worth bothering with]]. She manages to free them all.
** [[spoiler:Karnazon's]] campaign to discredit Winged Victory is foiled when an abused boy sneaks into their secret base and informs the heroes of its location.
* TheSparkOfGenius: Roy Virgil, ''a.k.a.'' the Astro-Naut. He was [[BadassBookworm so smart]] that he could copy the alien technologies he saw on his space adventures ''without'' the benefit of reverse-engineering them -- just knowing what was possible was sufficient.
-->"Just knowing they exist, knowing that whatever they do actually can be done... well, that lets me know it's possible, if I only find a way. [[BlaseBoast So I do.]]"
* SpiderManSendUp: Though Jack-In-The-Box has a "prankster/clown" motif borrowed more from ComicBook/TheCreeper or Killjoy, is clearly meant to be ComicBook/SpiderMan at first glance -- street-level hero, acrobatic FragileSpeedster fighting style, unusual means of locomotion (spring-feet), favors string-like weapons to snare criminals, and constant wisecracking. One issue involves his fear of spawning murderous, deathly serious AntiHeroSubstitute successors, a pretty obvious joke on characters like Venom and Kaine. Appropriately enough, his first appearance was a [[DolledUpInstallment reworked pitch]] for a ''Spider-Man'' story that Marvel didn't approve.
* SpiderPeople: Little Miss Muffet was a short-lived local superhero; she resembled a blond young girl with six arms who could climb walls.
* SpockSpeak: Several characters do this, most notably the robot Beautie.
* SpottingTheThread: The key moment of "Confession" is when Brian confronts the Confessor with various observations he's made.
-->'''Brian''': You're prenaturally strong and fast. Bullets go through you. You can turn into mist. You mesmerize people with a look...You snuck up on me [[spoiler: when I was looking in a mirror! You don't have a reflection! You...you're a vampire, aren't you?]]
-->'''Confessor''': Ah, Brian, well...well done.
** Shortly after, Brian openly notes that "I spotted the clues but you ''let'' me", knowing the Confessor wanted him to figure out his secret.
* StableTimeLoop: Preserving this is why the Silver Agent voluntarily allows himself to be [[spoiler:executed in 1973 by the people of Astro City. Prior to his execution, he had been pulled into the far future to lead a war against a galaxy-spanning menace. As he traveled back to the present day, he continued to help and inspire more people in their times of need -- and he was afraid that trying to avoid his fate would lead to alternate timelines that would [[RetGone erase their efforts]].]]
* StarfishLanguage: The Enelsians. Their speech amongst their own kind is represented by alien glyphs... which are actually part of a cypher in English. Translating what they are really saying is a fun little puzzle, if you have the time.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:The Deacon]] plays this role in "The Dark Ages". As second-in-command to Joey "The Platypus" Platapopulous, he covertly engineers events during the citywide gang war to pit the gangs against each other, destabilizing them all and pitting them into a collective stalemate. Then, with the city in chaos due to a HatePlague, he [[spoiler:kills "The Platypus",]] then seizes control of most of the city's underworld before the night is over.
* StayInTheKitchen: Played for drama in "Her Dark Plastic Roots". [[spoiler:Elaine Girbachs, the daughter of GadgeteerGenius Dr. Gearbox, was a ChildProdigy whose expertise exceeded his own. But when he found out about her talent, he denounced her because he believed engineering and math aren't proper fields for girls.]]
* StealTheSurroundings:
** Occurs in "Where the Action Is". [[spoiler:When a cosmic being gets irritated with Manny Monkton fabricating unflattering stories about it, it causes Manny's entire office building -- with Manny inside -- to disappear for parts unknown.]]
** ''Something'' causes [[TheArchmage Simon Magus']] home to disappear in "The Day the Music Died".
* StealthPun:
** The supervillain Slamburger appears to be made of ground beef.
** See also the Crossbreed: David (the giant), Daniel (the lion-man), Peter (rock-skinned stone manipulator), Mary (winged flyer), Joshua (sonic screams) and Noah (commands rain and lightning). Though in this case, the characters make it deliberately clear that these are religious references, not much stealth utilized.
** And the astronauts-turned superheroes in the Apollo Eleven. Why, yes, they ''did'' land on the moon. The name came first (from Alex Ross), and the characters followed.
** The Confessor. [[spoiler:Vampires are stereotypically associated with bats, making him a literal ComicBook/{{Batman}}.]]
** The main prison is Astro City is Biro Island Correctional Facility. In British English, a "biro" is a generic term for a ''pen''.
* {{Steampunk}}: Dame Progress, an early twentieth century hero of Astro City, fights crime using a steam-powered flight harness and a steam-powered mecha.
* StickyFingers: "The Dark Age" opens with Royal Williams pickpocketing valuables from various shell-shocked citizens, in contrast to his early childhood being the honest and upright brother to Charles.
* StickySituation: Glue-Gun, who is [[ButtMonkey regarded as a joke]] by the entire superhero community.
* StoneWall: Resistor is a [[{{Technobabble}} free-floating emotional memetic field]] that -- at times of strife -- [[SuperEmpowering turns bystanders into energy beings]] who [[BarrierWarrior cast protective shields]] to protect others. This is Resistor's '''only''' power; they have no offensive capabilities whatsoever.
* StrawFeminist: The Council of Nike that empowers Winged Victory. They criticize her for her relationship with Samaritan and for joining the Honor Guard (which is led by a man), believing that any association with any men makes Winged Victory look weak and undermines her message.
* StrawmanPolitical:
** Some citizens of Astro City view Winged Victory in a distinctively negative light because of her strong advocacy for women's rights and independence.
** Similarly, the Crossbreed are typically dismissed as religious fanatics because they believe their powers are a gift from God and proselytize when not fighting super-villains.
* StringTheory: The Broken Man has this set-up in his realm, linking objects related to the Oubor and his plans to fight it, although the pins are stuck in thin air and looking closely at an object lets you enter its story. Later on, in "This Town", he says [[NoFourthWall we're]] not going in that room today, "the yarn's been unruly and the thumbtacks... it hasn't been pretty."
* SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: Infidel narrates that he once [[ApocalypseHow/ClassZ destroyed the universe]] in a "fit of pique." After discovering even that wouldn't kill Samaritan (and Samaritan realizing the same for Infidel), they collaborated to put everything back together. Once that was done, they decided to [[GoKartingWithBowser have dinner together once a year]] instead of constantly putting reality at risk.
* SuicideAttack: Done by [[spoiler:Mister Drama]] when he discovered he would die of cancer in a few weeks. Wishing to go out in a blaxe of glory, he [[spoiler:pretends to be The Underlord to lure the original Jack-in-the-Box to an underground lair]], then blows it up to kill them both.
* SuperDeformed: American Chibi looks like an {{Anime}} character with a huge head, big eyes, and an undersized body. Justified as she is the creation of a video-game artist who wanted a positive, life-affirming character to star in her game. [[spoiler:When Honor Guard follows American Chibi to her PocketDimension homeworld, they are also turned into super-deformed designs.]]
-->"Oh, you are all just so ''totally'' adorable...!"
* {{Superdickery}}:
** The story "Shining Armor" is a brutal deconstruction of [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane's]] brand of Superdickery in MediaNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} Superman/Lois relationship. Irene Merriweather [[MistakenForFlirting tries to prove herself worthy]] of Atomicus' love by exposing his secret identity, even as she ''repeatedly'' endangers him by doing so. When she finally succeeds, [[spoiler:Atomicus explodes in rage and leaves Earth '''forever,''' tired of her dogged pursuit]]. Atomicus never wanted to play that game at all, but was [[ReallyWasBornYesterday too naive and afraid]] to tell her so.
** There was also a brief mention in the story "Old Times" -- Supersonic, after an adventure that temporarily gave him 16 exact doubles, took his Lois-type girlfriend Caroleen to a dance as Supersonic and had one of his doubles come as his secret identity of Dale Enright. He did this ''just to mess with Caroleen.''
* SuperEmpowering: Resistor is a [[{{Technobabble}} neuro-memetic imprint]] that free-floats in the public consciousness. When a concentration of high social strife breaks out at a location -- such as peaceful protestors being attacked -- it turns ordinary people into flying energy beings who can [[BarrierWarrior protect the innocent.]]
* SuperHero: The focus of the series is largely the adventures of the various superheroes that populate the city, and the people who live with them.
* SuperheroCapitalOfTheWorld: While [[CaptainGeographic every major city has its own superheroes,]] Astro City itself attracts an unusually large number of them. Sometimes lampshaded by characters who find the heavy concentration of super-activity to be part of the city's appeal.
-->"They all think it's an ordinary city... More super-heroes than most, a little more exotic -- but a regular city for all that. They ''always'' think that, at first."
* SuperheroPackingHeat:
** Early Astro City heroes who used firearms include Air Ace and the Cloak of Night.
** From "The Dark Ages", Hollowpoint and the Blue Knight[[note]]As well as his successors, the Blue Knight'''s'''[[/note]] predominantly use firearms.
* SuperheroTrophyShelf:
** Subverted with Samaritan, who has a PhantomZone that he uses only as storage space for the many awards and souvenirs that he receives, and which merely gather the extradimensional equivalent of dust.
** Played straight with the Trophy Room in Honor Guard's flying base.
** The First Family also have a lot of odds and ends lying around, but how many are trophies (as opposed to [[SealedEvilInACan Cans O' Evil]] or "thingummies-Augustus-wants-to-tinker-with-at-some-point") is as of yet unknown.
* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Mister Manta and Mermaid can breathe underwater.
* SuperRegistrationAct: In "Confession", the city government starts a registration act to calm the public during a wave of serial killings. It does not go well. [[spoiler:It turns out the Mayor was an alien shapeshifter who was trying to contain the heroes before their invasion.]]
* SuperTeam: '''FAR''' too many to list -- Honor Guard, the First Family, the Irregulars, the Unclean, Apollo Eleven, the Crossbreed, the J-Hawks, the Omega Rangers, the Birds of Paradise, Reflex 6, Queenslaw,[[note]]They started off as a TV show but were briefly made real[[/note]] the Experimentals, the Silver Centurions, Powerchord...
* SuperVillain: It being a superhero genre series, there's scads of supervillains running around, from the reality-shattering Infidel to the ButtMonkey Glue-Gun.
* {{Swashbuckler}}:
** El Hombre is essentially Franchise/{{Zorro}} but with an electrified whip instead of a sword.
** Crackerjack combines this with a GloryHound {{Jerkass}} personality.
* TabloidMelodrama: ''Inside Scoop'' magazine '''loves''' to do this to Astra Furst, taking every innocent and mundane aspect of her life and twisting it into breathless drama. They're so relentless that they [[spoiler:pay her boyfriend to record their prom night activities, with a million-dollar bonus if he can get a sex tape out of it. When Astra breaks up with him over this, they turn it into scandal fodder within ''minutes'']].
* TakeAThirdOption: Sticks' solution to his dilemma of wanting to play music while not endangering the people around him is to [[spoiler:form a band with other musically-talented supers, allowing them to indulge their passion while stopping any troublemakers they may encounter]].
* TakeUpMySword:
** The Confessor is succeeded by Altar Boy after the Confessor [[spoiler:is revealed to be a vampire and killed in battle]].
** Jack-in-the-Box II initially took up the mantle to capture the crime boss his father died pursuing.
** Starbright is replaced [[spoiler:by his former ArchEnemy Simon Says after the original dies on a mission]].
** Done indirectly with Stormhawk -- after he dies in a HeroicSacrifice, the medallion that granted his BeastMan FusionDance powers returns to his home, where his wife enshrines it. Later, a burglar steals the medallion, then accidentally becomes G-Dog as a result.
* TalkingInYourDreams: The Blue Knight directly addresses a lawyer who's been dreaming of him in the last dream.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: All over the place, in finest comic book fashion -- characters explain gadgets and powers as they are used, speedsters and fliers talk while zipping past, banter...
* {{Technopath}}:
** The heroic Assemblyman is suggested to be one of these, and he has been shown controlling machines and reconfiguring them into various weapons.
** Magda, from "On the Sidelines," who can communicate with machines and persuade them to do her bidding. She uses her powers to [[MundaneUtility restore old cars.]]
* TerrorHero: The Confessor, a ComicBook/{{Batman}} {{Expy}} who intimidates criminals with scary deep voices and persistent rumors of supernatural origins. During Astro City's equivalent of [[MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks the Dark Age]], other AntiHero characters of this vein appeared, including the Blue Knight, the Street Angel, Hellhound, Stone Cold, and the Pale Horseman.
* TestosteronePoisoning: Karnazon, a massive, over-the-top muscle-bound LongHairedPrettyBoy WalkingShirtlessScene with a ManlyChin. A {{Foil}} to Winged Victory, his goal is to defeat her and assert the inherent superiority of men over women.
-->"Accept the inevitable, as a woman should, and surrender!"
* TemporalAbortion: One story features a man who is haunted by the memory of a woman he does not recall meeting, even though he remembers countless details about her. [[spoiler:Unable to sleep because of his dreams about her, he finally consults the supernatural being called the Hanged Man, who tells him that the mystery woman was his wife. Thanks to some time-travel shenanigans, history was altered, and she was never born in the present timeline.]]
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Infidel took his name as a badge of honor when people rose up against him as a monster and a jerk and a heretic and, yes, an infidel.[[note]]Granted, the guy really is pretty darn evil long before this.[[/note]]
* TheyJustDontGetIt: In one story about a doorman at a high class hotel, he explains that when people come to Astro City the first time, they just don't understand how different it is. This included a [[SmallNameBigEgo snobbish]] agent who was trying to contact Samaritan and [[TooDumbToLive almost got herself killed]], a normal crook who didn't understand the rules of the underworld in Astro City, and a family that was stopping there during a layover. Most of the folks left and didn't come back.
* ThinkingUpPortals: [[TheArchmage The Silver Adept]] can open portals that allow her to travel instantaneously from one point to another, even across dimensional realms. The only exceptions are when mystical phenomena interfere with her travels, which require [[GirlFriday her assistant]] to help find alternate routes.
* ThisMeansWar: Played for drama in "Serpent's Teeth", when an alternate-timeline version of Jack-in-the-Box II's son uses Jack's "Of course you realize, this means war" as motivation to become a KnightTemplar on the city's criminals... without realizing Jack was quoting WesternAnimation/BugsBunny.
* TimeCrash: Occurs in "The Nearness of You". [[spoiler:Michael Tenicek is haunted by dreams of a wife he's never met, because [[RetGone she was erased from existence]] in the aftermath of a Time Crash.]]
* TimeMaster: The Time-Keeper is a villain who uses stopwatches of his own design that can stop time. In "The Nearness of You," he fights Eterneon, the Lord and Watcher of the Timestream, and the battle results in a TimeCrash CrisisCrossover.
* TimeTravelTenseTrouble: Quarrel's first meeting with Street Angel has him encountering this, since he's already met a future version of her.
* TimeZonesDoNotExist: Averted by the Silver Adept, who frequently loses track of critical magical events because she forgets what time zone (whether on Earth or elsewhere) they're occurring in. Fortunately, her secretary keeps her on track -- usually...
-->'''Silver Adept:''' No sweat, I'll work on them this morning.\\
'''Raitha:''' This morning? You've got the Himalayan Convocation in an hour!\\
'''Silver Adept:''' No, that's not 'til tonight. It needs starlight to--\\
'''Raitha:''' It's in the Himalayas -- it's ''already'' tonight there!
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: In "Hot Time In the Old Town", an EldritchAbomination's intrusion into reality is instantly repelled by contact with Jazzbaby, an AnthropomorphicPersonification of [[ThePowerOfRock counterculture music]].
* TopHeavyGuy: Krakkaboom of the 80s Astro City Irregulars, whose bombastic proportions are evidently a side effect of his powers.
* TotalPartyKill: Most of the Jayhawks were [[HeroicSacrifice killed in battle]] against The Master; Rally survived only because he was [[BringHelpBack getting help for the others.]]
* ToTheFutureAndBeyond:
** The Silver Agent was sent to the 43rd century [[spoiler:right before his execution]], where he inspires and leads thousands of heroes against a digital tyrant. Afterwards, he is sent backwards in time, stopping at key periods along the way to help others in need and establishing himself as a beacon of hope for millenia. This is why [[spoiler:he willingly allows himself to be executed]], to avoid [[RetGone changing history and erasing the sacrifices]] of those other heroes.
** After being harassed by mere mortals in history, Infidel established his first empire in the far future, after humanity had died out and he could study the universe without being interrupted... at least, until Samaritan [[RetGone accidentally erased it.]]
* TouchOfDeath: Black Velvet can cause people to instantly disintegrate to nothingness in a sudden flash of light.
* TrackingDevice:
** In "Justice Systems", mob boss Dominic Forgione plants a tracker on attorney Vincent Oleck's car to follow him even as Vincent's family flees the city.
** The Blue Knight marks his targets with a small red crosshair that allows him to track them wherever they try to hide.
** The employee badges for Honor Guard's call center have a tracking device in them as an anti-kidnapping measure.
* TragicIntangibility: Robin Carruthers and Simon [=McCaleb=] of the Apollo Eleven are deeply in love. Unfortunately, the incident that gave them powers has turned Simon into a [[InsectoidAliens four-armed insectoid being]], while Robin is now an ''[[{{Intangibility}} intangible]] [[StarfishAliens being made of gas]]''.
* TrappedOnTheAstralPlane:
** The [[BodySurf Body Surfer]] supervillain called the Silver Brain was banished to another plane of existence years ago by Samaritan. He keeps escaping by possessing the denizens of that other realm and riding their bodies back to the physical world.
** The Jayhawks were believed to be [[TotalPartyKill killed in battle]] against The Master. In actuality, they're trapped as spirits in an intangible state, only able to watch as history passes them by.
* TransformationTrinket:
** Winged Victory's logo-shaped necklace, seen in her civilian form.
** Marguerite Li's hair scrunchies, when worn, turns her into American Star.
** In "Having a Wonderful Time", a tourist on a tour of abandoned supervillain bases finds a green gem on the ground. When she picks it up, she is transformed into Omnius Rex, a cosmic villain last seen in 1977.
** Stormhawk and G-Dog both use a magic amulet that merged them with their pet to form a BeastMan superhero.
* TranslatorMicrobes:
** The employees at Honor Guard's call center use translators that enable them to speak to clients worldwide.
** Becomes a plot point in "The Menace From Earth". The First Family use these, but because the "translation field" doesn't extend over broadcast, nobody in the Zirr Empire who watches the official news can understand what the humans are saying. This allows the Empire's leaders to falsely claim that the First Family ran away in defeat and accomplished nothing significant.
* TransTribulations: Played for drama in "Wish I May...". TeenGenius Simon Siezmanski was ostracized in high school and pushed to become the EvilNerd Simon Says, but eventually develops grudging respect for the AllLovingHero [[TheCape Starbright]]. When Starbright [[spoiler:dies on a mission and is posthumously revealed to be the school's LovableJock]], Simon finally takes [[BeYourself Starbright's advice]], acknowledges his transgenderism, and begins the transition to female.
* TrappedOnTheAstralPlane:
** The [[BodySurf Body Surfer]] supervillain called the Silver Brain was banished to another plane of existence years ago by Samaritan. He keeps escaping by possessing the denizens of that other realm and riding their bodies back to the physical world.
** Teen superteam the Jayhawks were presumed dead when caught in a massive explosion. Actually, they've been trapped in an intangible state all that time, only able to watch, and unable to get anyone's attention.
* TrickAndFollowPloy: In "Mistakes", after Marella Cowper realizes an injured man at the refugee camp is a member of the Skullcrushers, she spooks him into returning to base and follows him. Later, it is revealed that [[spoiler:Honor Guard did the same thing to Marella, deliberately leaving her badge active so they could follow ''her'' to the Skullcrushers]].
* TrickArrow:
** Prior to his DarkerAndEdgier turn, the Street Angel used to use non-lethal gimmicked throwing rings ("halos") to snare and catch his opponents. ''After'' his Darker And Edgier turn, he replaced them with halos made of high-impact ceramics with a steel core.
** Quarrel is a more straightforward example of the "archer with trick arrows" archetype; in this case, she has a pair of wrist-mounted launchers that fire a variety of bolts.
* TropaholicsAnonymous: In "Aftermaths", we see that Michael Tenicek from "The Nearness Of You" now runs "Miranda's Friends", a support group for people who have lost loved ones or suffered emotional trauma due to superpowered struggles.
* {{Troperiffic}}: Pretty much inevitable, given the vast number of characters, events, locations, and throwaway references used in the series. Just look at how extensive this page and its various sub-pages are...
* ATrueStoryInMyUniverse:
** Comic book companies publish titles based on both their own fictional characters and licensed real-life supers. The ones based on real heroes are more popular, but are also required to stay within known facts; Manny Monkton of Bulldog Comics repeatedly gets into trouble when he pushes the boundaries.
** The end of "The Dark Age" reveals that the entire story is an [[BasedOnATrueStory embellished novelization]] of what had happened in-universe, with some details changed, including the real names of the main protagonists.
** Duncan Keller writes stories based on his adventures as Starfighter, presenting them as fictional.
* TwoFistedTales: The Astro-Naut's adventures are of this nature, featuring an AcePilot waging SpaceOpera battles, fights against TheMafia, and PlanetaryRomance with the GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Xalzana, exploring a thousand worlds in a sleek silver ProtoSuperhero costume.
* UncertainDoom: Plenty of characters simply vanish between stories with no obvious cause. Given the difficult line of work they live in and the lack of ComicBookTime, it's not quite clear if they've died in battle, moved away, or simply retired.
* {{Understatement}}:
** In "Newcomers", Pete Donacek describes an attack by hundred-foot-tall ancient spirits:
-->"They make a hell of a mess."
** From "Knock Wood", after attorney Vincent Oleck questions a coroner if he was ''absolutely'' sure one of his subjects was [[DeathIsNotPermanent actually dead]]:
--->''There was something of a commotion.''\\
''(Panel shows outside of the courthouse and a shout of ORDER! ORDER!)''
** In "The Sorcerer's Assistant", as the Silver Adept has to complete three days' worth of work in six hours:
--->''She is '''busy.''' Her duties are birthed swarming.''
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Krigari Ironhand's second defeat came about because he abducted all the members of the Honor Guard save Mermaid, whom he didn't think was worth bothering with. She managed to free everyone else.
* UngratefulTownsfolk:
** Winged Victory catches this a ''lot,'' on account of her outspoken feminist views. In "Safeguards", a bystander calls out the ungrateful passengers on her bus for complaining about Winged Victory after she's just captured a super-villain.
** In "Confession", the people of the city blame the heroes for spending their time dealing with super-criminals and cosmic dangers while ignoring a recent spate of unsolved murders. It didn't help that the citizens were being riled up by [[spoiler:shape-shifting alien invaders]], and possibly an EldritchAbomination as well.
** This was part of the reason why Brian Kinney left his hometown of Buchanan Corners. His father, the county doctor, selflessly treated everyone who needed help even if they couldn't pay, leaving Brian's family impoverished as a result. When his father died penniless and Brian was orphaned, the townspeople derisively called his father an idealistic fool and said [[LoserSonOfLoserDad Brian would be no better]]. This angered Brian so much that he ran off to Astro City to make a name for himself.
** Although the Astro-Naut fought the Axis during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the people of the United States turned their backs on him, simply because [[TheWorldIsNotReady he refused to share his technologies and weapons]] with the government.
** The socio-political atmosphere of TheSeventies have left many people wary and suspicious of their heroes. When The Experimentals accidentally destroy an apartment building in the midst of stopping [[ApocalypseHow/Class0 an explosion that could level half a continent,]] the bystanders simply complain about the property damage inflicted. This angers the Experimentals to simply retreat without bothering to do ''anything'' to help the displaced citizens.
* {{Unishment}}: In "Welcome to [=HumanoGlobal=]", Marella and her colleagues are chewed out by their boss for being too quick to believe harmless activities are clues to supervillain plots. They are reassigned for two weeks handling non-emergency duties -- which enables them to attend an Honor Guard charity event and meet the heroes firsthand.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Although most people in Astro City will still stop and watch whatever super-heroics occur nearby, there are residents who have become jaded enough to not raise an eyebrow at the excitement around them.
** Taken to the extreme for the people in Shadow Hill, where the evening streets are filled with various vampires, {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, bogeymen, and The Hanged Man. The residents deal with it by simply refreshing their wards, making sure the incense is lit, and having their charms conveniently nearby.
** In "The Out-of-Towners", a hundred-foot translucent being called the Incarnate appears high above Astro City. It doesn't move or communicate, and ignores everyone's attempts to communicate, so the citizens simply nicknamed him "Big Joe" and went on with their lives.
* VengefulGhost:
** The Blue Knight is believed to be possessed by one of these, [[spoiler:the spirit of policeman Josh Stone's dead son, Damon]].
** It's said that VoidBetweenTheWorlds is a featureless realm filled with [[VengefulGhost hungry,]] [[EldritchAbomination nasty things]].
** The Pale Horseman may be one of these as well -- when Lord Sovereign was drawing power from the VoidBetweenTheWorlds, the Pale Horseman called it "my people", demanding its return.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: Given the size of the cast, many of the background characters receive little more than names and costumes. Busiek relies on the reader's knowledge of other comics to fill in the blanks, particularly with obvious {{Expy}} characters like Rex Zorus ([[ComicBook/FantasticFour The Thing]]), Samaritan (ComicBook/{{Superman}}), the N-Forcer (ComicBook/IronMan), or Winged Victory (ComicBook/WonderWoman). Such knowledge rounds out the setting considerably.
* VigilanteMan: Although ''Astro City'' is more idealistic than not, it does have its share of rough-and-tumble heroes. Examples include the Blue Knight, Hellhound, the Pale Horseman, and the Street Angel (during his DarkerAndEdgier phase).
* VillainDecay: In-universe with Karnazon, who started out robbing Fort Knox and ended up doing anything to defy Winged Victory and prove the superiority of man over woman.
* VillainEpisode: A recurring staple of the series.
** The Eisner Award-winning "Show 'Em All" focuses on the Junkman and his perfect bank robbery.
** As well as the amusing "Voice of the Turtle", which is part of a larger arc starring a small-time superpowered hood.
** One issue is devoted to a shapeshifting alien spy, who is deciding whether or not he should give a signal for his leaders to invade the Earth.
** "The Deep Dark Woods" gives this treatment to a small-time {{Mook}} who is addicted to being a member of a [[GangOfHats costumed criminal gang]].
** "Through Open Doors (Part Two)" is about a man who works in the Deacon's criminal syndicate.
** "The Eagle and the Mountain" focuses more on Samaritan's archenemy Infidel far more than [[TheCape Samaritan]] himself.
** The two-parter "The Menace From Earth"/"Enemy of the Empire" is told from the perspective of a member of the [[TheEmpire militaristic alien Zirr empire]].
* VillainExitStageLeft: At one point in "The Dark Age", while the rest of Royal's gang is fighting Jack-in-the-Box, Royal rolls under a car to avoid capture. Once the fight is over, he simply rolls out and runs away.
* VillainTeamUp: Villain teams seldom appear, and when they do, it's often as peripheral detail instead of the focus of a story. That said, a few do appear:
** The Unholy Alliance is a recurring team of villains who team up for various reasons, though the members also work on their own. The roster changes a bit from story to story, but core members tend to be Demolitia (team lead), Slamburger, Glowworm, and Flamethrower.
** Sugar and Spice are two scantily-clad women who commit various robberies with gimmick devices. Sugar wears a pink negligee with frill trim, while Spice wears a black dominatrix costume and wields a bullwhip. They have also worked with the Unholy Alliance from time to time.
** In "The Tarnished Angel", Steeljack has a brief flashback to when he was part of the Terrifying Three -- Cutlass, Steeljack, and the first Quarrel. It comes up again in his return arc, as Cutlass seeks him out to help clear her name.
--->'''Steeljack:''' We didn't last, and fought each other more'n' anyone else -- but we were friends, I guess.
** Team Carnivore in "Pastoral" are a group of genetically-manufactured BeastMen. They appear to have been created together.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [=TransGene=]. Not only getting away with kidnapping and fatal experiments, but getting the hero who revealed it convicted of a crime. Cammie, in "Pastoral", is initially taken in entirely.
* VoidBetweenTheWorlds: It's said that the space outside of reality is a black and featureless void, filled with [[VengefulGhost hungry,]] [[EldritchAbomination nasty things]]. The Point Man accidentally opens a tear in reality into this space.
* WalkDontSwim: Steeljack, being an 800-pound man of living steel, does this whenever he gets into water. By the time of "Things Past", he's using this ability [[MundaneUtility to do salvage runs in the river for the city]].
* WalkingTheEarth:
** Looney Leo once spent six years wandering around the United States. Being a living cartoon character, he did not need to eat or sleep or be sheltered from the elements, which made it easier.
** In the early seventeenth century, there was Silverstring, a mysterious musician who wandered from town to town and realm to realm. His magical silver-stringed guitar was said to mesmerize crowds and repel monsters, but he would always move on for new music to learn. He is rumored to have died somewhere near Romeyn Falls.
* WartsAndAll: Most of the heroes have this to some degree.
** In "Confession", Altar Boy learns that his mentor, the Confessor, [[spoiler:is a vampire]]. Worse, the Confessor refused to declare that [[spoiler:he had never killed anyone as a vampire]]. Even so, his heroism and selflessness not only won over Altar Boy, but also [[spoiler:inspired him to take up the mantle]].
** Crackerjack, who's a bombastic, money-seeking vainglorious womanizer, but still a genuine and well-respected ("reasonably respected", at any rate) hero.
** Winged Victory is revealed to be this in "Victory". She champions women's rights, but recognizes that she's not the be-all-end-all solution to society's gender divide and is just a normal woman trying to do the best she can and lead by example.
* WasItReallyWorthIt: At one point, a disillusioned Royal Williams wonders if getting revenge on his parent's killers is worth it if he loses his brother Charles along the way.
* WeirdnessMagnet:
** It's mentioned that there are superheroes in other cities and countries, but most places with heroes seem to [[CaptainGeographic only have a handful]], whereas Astro City has a highly disproportionate number. One character compares the city's abundance of super-beings as the equivalent to Los Angeles' earthquakes.
*** Flashbacks show that even thousands of years before the city existed, the land itself attracted heroes of legend, including the super-powered kind.
** Matilda "Tillie" Armstrong just seems to have a knack for being around weirdness, like her school being the center of a pickpocketing ring, or going to a museum just as a snake cult stages an attack. She's also stopped aging for some reason...
* WelcomeToTheBigCity: Happens to Brian Kinney when he first arrives in Astro City. Fortunately for him, the Crossbreed are there to ''gently persuade'' the pickpocket to return his wallet.
* WellDoneSonGuy: A variation occurs with Beautie and [[spoiler:the daughter of Dr. Gearbox]]. When Beautie tries to figure out why she periodically suffers bouts of amnesia, she eventually discovers that she was invented by [[spoiler:Elaine Girbachs, the prodigy daughter of a GadgeteerGenius. However, he denounces Beautie because he thinks engineering and mathematics are not proper fields for girls; this causes the daughter to angrily renounce Beautie, ordering her to go away and [[ExactWords "FORGET FOREVER!"]]]]
* WetwareCPU:
** Braintrust is a crime lord with a robot body and a BrainInAJar for a head. He also has telekinetic powers.
** A.T.A.C.C. is a seven-foot-tall robot bristling with firearms and powered by a BrainInAJar inside.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** The intergalactic ambassador Telseth is introduced in the Vertigo run with a subplot that runs across a half-dozen issues, but its resolution (or the fate of human ambassador Ben Pullam) is never mentioned.
** "The Dark Age" features the Innocent Gun, an ancient superweapon left on Earth to combat "the greatest trial humans would ever face". The gun was fired prematurely by The Point Man, apparently leaving humanity defenseless against the threat, but the fallout from that is never shown.
** Discussed during the "Lovers Quarrel" arc. Crackerjack wonders whatever became of the Crossbreed (from "Confession"). Apparently they broke up after Noah died.
* WhatHaveIBecome: This is the final realization for Royal and Charles Williams in "The Dark Age"; [[spoiler:caught between [[{{Determinator}} pursuing their parents' killer]] and [[HangingByTheFingers rescuing the Silver Agent from death,]] they recognize that they have [[HeWhoFightsMonsters become the same]] [[AntiHero compassionless "heroes"]] whom they've despised]].
* WhatMeasureIsAMook:
** Played for drama in "The Tarnished Angel"; the Conquistador insists on not hurting any people with his plan, but does not consider his criminal underlings as "people."
** The subject is explored when [[spoiler:Royal and Charles go undercover as mooks in Pyramid]].
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Briefly discussed in "The Eagle and the Mountain"; when Samaritan is disturbed at Infidel's use of female homunculi (non-sapient mindless apparitions) for his servants, Infidel asks him if he would've been upset if they were robots instead.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Discussed in the "Confession" arc:
--> What matters more: the burdens we bear, or the manner in which we bear them?
* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys:
** Though it's never stated outright, it is heavily implied that much of Honor Guard's infrastructure -- from their elaborate flying base to their teleporting call center -- is funded by N.R.-Gistics, the company responsible for the N-Forcer armored hero.
** During the "Confession" story arc, it is hinted that the Confessor gets his funding through judicious use of long-term investment funds. Apparently waiting a hundred years for high-yield returns isn't a problem [[spoiler:if you're a vampire]].
** Jack-in-the-Box apparently funds his crimefighting efforts by being the CEO of a toy company.
** One issue featured a flashback to the villainous Assemblyman, who built weapons and gadgets for anyone with the cash.
** The Black Lab is a group of villains who perform villainous super-science for anyone willing to pay them.
** The Junkman, true to his philosophy, builds all of his gear by scavenging discarded products.
** The Fixit Man is a small-time GadgeteerGenius who used to repair gear for supervillains; he quit due to too much planned obsolescence making everything disposable.
* WhipOfDominance: Spice is a DarkActionGirl from the Unholy Alliance that fights with a large bullwhip, which gives her a {{Dominatrix}} air when combined with her black HellbentForLeather outfit.
* WhiteAndGreyMorality: The series largely runs on this as part of its optimistic reconstruction of MediaNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks. While there are villains and monsters and evildoers, their motives are frequently due to their own [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions,]] and they are ultimately defeated by the optimistic heroes regardless. Many a villain has pulled a HeelFaceTurn after realizing how pointless and self-destructive their current paths are.
* WickedToymaker:
** The Toymaker turns children's toys into dangerous devices.
** The Junkman plays with this trope -- his gimmick is that he recycles discarded junk into the equipment he uses. While much of his gear is based on toys (such as turning a broken Etch-A-Sketch into a safecracking fluoroscope), he doesn't deal ''exclusively'' in toys.
** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] by the original Jack-in-the-Box. He was a toy designer whose designs were used for crime... but not by him. They were sold to criminal gangs by his corrupt superiors, and his primary motivation for becoming a masked crimefighter was to keep his designs ''away'' from criminals.
** Dr. Saturday builds HumongousMecha that resemble cartoon characters.
* WitchClassic: The Silver Age sidekick Kitkat quit super-heroics to study the mystic arts, and renamed herself Greymalkin. She lives in an OldDarkHouse with [[CrazyCatLady dozens of cats,]] and occasionally serves as an advisor to Honor Guard, as well as a backup when the Silver Adept is unavailable.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: "On the Sidelines" introduces the Sideliners, superpowered people who ''don't'' become heroes or villains, but instead use their powers in their work -- ''e.g.'' a heat manipulator who's a glassblower, or a super-strong guy who works in construction.
* WonderTwinPowers: The Jade Dragons are a brother/sister martial arts team who can summon a giant dragon by lining their arms together.
* {{Worldbuilding}}: ''Astro City'' is built on this trope -- Creator/KurtBusiek has mapped out the entire timeline of the 'verse and will not hesitate to include throwaway references to unexplained people, places, and events in its own history. These often appear to the reader as {{Call Back}}s, {{Cryptic Background Reference}}s, and {{Continuity Nod}}s, creating a very strong sense of a fully interconnected and consistent narrative universe.
* TheWorldIsNotReady: This is the reason that the Astro-Naut gave for not sharing his technological discoveries with the United States government -- he had battled enough PlanetLooters before that he feared ''humans'' would do the same thing to other worlds.
* WorldsSmartestMan: Infidel went from impoverished slave to reality-breaking EvilSorcerer through intense study, has challenged Samaritan countless times, ''destroyed reality'' at least once, and is only in a SelfImposedExile because [[IGaveMyWord he promised to do so.]] He once invented a machine to observe superstrings and considered it a mere trifle.
* WorthLivingFor: In "The Dark Age," Charles Williams pulls himself from the brink of death after his brother Royal tells him that he's found the person who killed their parents.
* {{WPUN}}: The major radio station in Astro City is KBAC, which is short for "Kurt Busiek's Astro City", the full title of the book.
* WrongSideOfTheTracks: Downplayed with Bakerville in Astro City. While it's more industrial-oriented and its residents are definitely lower on the social strata, it's not a lawless hellhole filled with drugs and crime, and has its own supers to keep things under control.
* XtremelyKoolLetterz: One of Vivi Victor's schemes involves robotic "Xentinels". What prompted her to call them that isn't stated, but then, she is mad.
* YouAreWhatYouHate: Done intentionally in "The Dark Age". Although Royal and Charles Williams didn't care for superheroes and supervillains, seeing them as [[SociopathicHero pretty much the same]], by the mid-'80s they have almost [[HeWhoFightsMonsters become a vigilante team of their own]] due to their [[{{Determinator}} unrelenting pursuit]] of [[YouKilledMyFather the man who killed their parents]].
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Deliciously deconstructed in "Show 'Em All" -- the Junkman pulls off a major heist without a hitch, and lives a life of luxury while everyone wonders who was the brilliant criminal who committed the robbery. However, he is soon frustrated at not getting recognition for the heist, especially since the public assumes that the heroes must have caught the mastermind somehow at another time. This eventually drives him to repeat the robbery again, but with deliberately-included minor flaws, so he can get captured. He is then thrilled to be recognized for the initial robbery and savors the high-profile trial detailing his heist in extraordinary detail, at which point [[CrazyPrepared he plans to escape the consequences anyway]].
* YouMeddlingKids: "The Cat Who Walked Through Walls" ends with the villain Popinjay muttering "...if not for that ridiculous feline!"
* YouKilledMyFather:
** Aubrey Jason, a Pyramid agent, killed Royal and Charles Williams' parents during a fight with the Silver Agent. When Royal learns his identity twenty years later, he uses that information to give his dying brother Charles the [[WorthLivingFor will to live on]].
** The Gunslinger is a murderer whose targets were all members of a squad of Vietnam War soldiers. His father was the squad sergeant, and the men had killed him to hide their heroin ring.
* YouKnowImBlackRight: A boisterous, money-grubbing comic publisher did ''not'' know that the supervillain Glowworm was black before depicting him as a white supremacist in a Jack-in-the-Box story. The results were not pretty.
* ZeroGSpot: Referenced in "The Gordian Knot". The planet Reklak-4 is part of a nexus of multiple realities that is used as a galactic cultural hub and entertainment center. Some people like to use the recreational low-gravity zones for carnal experiments...
-->"They actually have rooms for that, up near the top, where the effect is strongest. But it's messy, it's awkward, you smack into the walls a lot, and then you have to clean up and it's kinda gross... [[BlatantLies Or, uh, that's what friends have told me, anyway.]]"
[[/folder]]

* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: The backbone of the series. Every character is an entirely original creation, but they all draw on archetypes from other comics. Samaritan is basically ComicBook/{{Superman}} but with a TimeTravel origin, the Silver Agent is ComicBook/CaptainAmerica as a metaphor for UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, The First Family is basically [[TheFantasticFaux the Fantastic Four]] but multi-generational, Jack-in-the-Box is heavily inspired by ComicBook/SpiderMan but with [[BadassNormal a variety of gadgets instead of powers]], and so on.
** As The Gentleman is a [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] {{Expy}} of [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], it's rather fitting that he's drawn to resemble Alex Ross's renditions of the Big Red Cheese (especially since Ross paints almost all of the ''Astro City'' covers).

* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: In one story, the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] villain Professor Borzoi uses a [[AppliedPhlebotinum Belief Ray]] to make a [[Film/KingKong giant]] gorilla attack the crowd at a movie theater. A side effect of the ray brings the cartoon character Loony Leo to life. When Leo smashes the ray, he and the gorilla start to fade away, but The Gentleman convinces the crowd to believe in Leo and saves him. That's how Leo's troubles began...

** Also note that the encounter occurred during Astro City's equivalent of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, and Borzoi is a CardCarryingVillain of the idealistic school.

* DirectLineToTheAuthor: According to Creator/KurtBusiek, a core idea of the worldbuilding for ''Astro City'' is that the stories we read are but a fraction of the output of "Astro Comics", a comic book company that has been active since the [[UsefulNotes/GoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]]. For example, a good number of the superheroes are {{Fad Super}}s who were created by "Astro Comics" at a time to capitalize on a cultural trend or popular movie, and the grittier tone of the series at various points is due to readers' changing tastes and market forces.

** The story "Shining Armor" is a brutal deconstruction of [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane's]] brand of Superdickery in UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} Superman/Lois relationship. Irene Merriweather [[MistakenForFlirting tries to prove herself worthy]] of Atomicus' love by exposing his secret identity, even as she ''repeatedly'' endangers him by doing so. When she finally succeeds, [[spoiler:Atomicus explodes in rage and leaves Earth '''forever,''' tired of her dogged pursuit]]. Atomicus never wanted to play that game at all, but was [[ReallyWasBornYesterday too naive and afraid]] to tell her so.

* TerrorHero: The Confessor, a ComicBook/{{Batman}} {{Expy}} who intimidates criminals with scary deep voices and persistent rumors of supernatural origins. During Astro City's equivalent of [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks the Dark Age]], other AntiHero characters of this vein appeared, including the Blue Knight, the Street Angel, Hellhound, Stone Cold, and the Pale Horseman.

* WhiteAndGreyMorality: The series largely runs on this as part of its optimistic reconstruction of UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks. While there are villains and monsters and evildoers, their motives are frequently due to their own [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions,]] and they are ultimately defeated by the optimistic heroes regardless. Many a villain has pulled a HeelFaceTurn after realizing how pointless and self-destructive their current paths are.

* JewishMother: Played for laughs with Marta Dobrescu, whose mother continues to nag her to get married ([[IWantGrandkids and have grandkids]]), manipulates her to visit more often, and asks [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers about baseball]] -- as a ghost. That's one of the drawbacks of living in Shadow Hill...

* DragonsUpTheYinYang: The Twin Dragons are a brother-sister martial arts team. Each sibling had a dragon tattooed along one arm; when put together, the two summoned a spiritual dragon to attack their foes.

** Sugar and Spice are two scantily-clad women who commit various robberies with gimmick devices. Sugar wears pink negligee with frill trim, while Spice wears a black dominatrix costume and wields a bullwhip. They have also worked with the Unholy Alliance from time to time.

** Matilda "Tildie" Armstrong just seems to have a knack for being around weirdness, like her school being the center of a pickpocketing ring, or going to a museum just as a snake cult stages an attack. She's also stopped aging for some reason...

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Briefly discussed in "The Eagle and the Mountain"; when Samaritan is disturbed at Infidel's use of female homuculi (non-sapient mindless apparitions) for his servants, Infidel asks him if he would've been upset if they were robots instead.

** "Hero's Reward" is about Duncan Keller, ''a.k.a.'' the hero Starfighter, adjusting to being this. [[SentientCosmicForce The Lorus]] that gives him his powers, has decided he should enjoy his retirement, and he should accept that it's okay to just take it easy for a while.

* {{Robosexual}}: Played every which way with Beautie. She is a human-sized superpowered robot fashion doll, and while she has an interest in romance she finds the people who aren't put off by her completely rigid body and lack of genitalia more disturbing and difficult to interact with than those that are.

** Hillman Aviation is named after Hillman Periodicals, publishers of ''ComicBook/{{Airboy}}''

* SocialClimber: Maria Alvardo Vega started off running charities and social reform groups for migrant workers in the barrios of Los Angeles, and ends up as the president an investment banking company. It's hinted that her ambition is what led to her divorce from her political activist husband.

** In "The Menace From Earth", Zo's mother ie ecstatic after seeing his high aptitude scores, as they indicate he's an extremely talented Zirr and may get to choose his own role in [[HiveCasteSystem Zirr society]].

** When the Ion Empire has captured Honor Guard, Quarrel managed to follow the robots to one of their ships. Since they were unaware of her presence, she was able to blow up the power supply for the "stasis lens" and rescue Honor Guard.

* StableTimeLoop: Preserving this is why the Silver Agent voluntarily allows himself to be [[spoiler:executed in 1973 by the people of Astro City. Prior to his execution, he had been pulled into the far future to lead a war against a galaxy-spanning menace. As he traveled back to the present day, he continued to help and inspire more people in their times of need -- and he was afraid that trying to avoid his fate would lead to alternate timelines that would [[RetGone erase their efforts]] ]].

* StayInTheKitchen: Played for drama in "Her Dark Plastic Roots". [[spoiler:Elaine Girbachs, the daughter of GadgeteerGenius Dr. Gearbox, was a ChildProdigy whose expertise exceeded his own. But when he found out about her talent, he denounces her because he believed engineering and math aren't proper fields for girls.]]

** ''Something'' causes [[TheArchmage Simon Magnus']] home to disappear in "The Day the Music Died".

* ThinkingUpPortals: * [[TheArchmage The Silver Adept]] can open portals that allow her to travel instantaneously from one point to another, even across dimensional realms. The only exceptions are when mystical phenomena interfere with her travels, which require [[GirlFriday her assistant]] to help find alternate routes.

* TransTribulations: Played for drama in "Wish I May...". TeenGenius Simon Siezmanski was ostracized in high school and pushed to become the EvilNerd Simon Says, but eventually develops grudging respect for the AllLovingHero [[TheCape Starbright]]. When Starbright [[spoiler:dies on a mission and is posthumously revealed to be the school's LovableJock]], Simon finally takes [[BeYourself Starbright's advice]], acknowledge his transgenderism, and begins the transition to female.

* TwoFistedTales: The Astro-Naut's adventures are of this nature, featuring an AcePilot waging SpaceOpera battles, fights against {{TheMafia}}, and PlanetaryRomance with the GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Xalzana, exploring a thousand worlds in a sleek silver ProtoSuperhero costume.

** This was part of the reason why Brian Kinney left his hometown of Buchanan Corners. His father, the county doctor, selflessly treated everyone who needed help even if they couldn't pay, leaving Brian's family impoverished as a result. When his father died penniless and Brian was orphaned, the townspeople derisively called his father an idealistic fool and [[LoserSonOfLoserDad Brian would be no better]]. This angered Brian that he ran off to Astro City to make a name for himself.

** Taken to the extreme for the people in Shadow Hill, where the evening streets are filled with various vampires, {{Eldritch Horror}}s, bogeymen, and The Hanged Man. The residents deal with it by simply refreshing their wards, making sure the incense is lit, and having their charms conveniently nearby.

** This is behind the death of the [[TheCape Silver Agent]], and why his death is memorialized with the caption "To Our Eternal Shame". [[spoiler: He was framed for the murder of a supervillain, then was arrested and executed by the government to show a skeptical populace that they had some control over superheroes]].
** In "Knock Wood", a lawyer helps his guilty client avoid conviction by invoking the numerous superhero tropes, like evil twins, doppelgangers, and mind control. He even invokes the Silver Agent's unjustly death to push the jury into a decision.

* MiseryPoker: Played for drama in "And, In the End...". Rose Wilkerson, a woman who lost her young son (and her right hand) in a supervillian attack, has joined "Miranda's Friends", a [[TropaholicsAnonymous support group]] for survivors of super-conflicts. However, when the group's organizer reveals that his wife was [[RetGone erased from history]] in a CloseEnoughTimeline accident, she becomes enraged, insisting that he's a fraud and ''her'' trauma is far worse.

** In "The Voice of the Turtle", we get the life story of the Mock Turtle, a soft-spoken, naive, good-hearted inventor who only ever wanted to find a city of dreams. After getting tricked into committing crimes by a manipulative woman, he eventually flees the UK and makes his way to Astro City, where he's saved from his troubles and welcomed as a friend by Steeljack and the denizens of Kiefer Square. The issue ends with him having finally found his city of dreams, happy at last. Then issue 18 [[spoiler:opens after his brutal murder.]]

* MultipleChoicePast: Crackerjack's origins is whatever fanciful yarn he can tell at the spur of the moment. At different times he's claimed to be from a circus family that got abducted and trained by aliens, an Olympic hopeful who was sabotaged by a competitor, a determined survivor of Polio, a genetically-engineered member of a spy cult...

* MutagenicGoo: Alan Craig was fleeing from gangsters near Romyen Falls when he found a cave with a giant glob of floating silver inside. Touching it instantly [[EmpoweredBadassNormal revitalized his body]], and he eventually becomes the legendary hero known as the Silver Agent.

* NiceGuy: Many of the heroes would fall under this trope, but the TropeCodifier in the verse is The Gentleman, who's completely and unflappably polite, no matter how dire the situation -- after rescuing a news helicopter that [[TooDumbToLive endangered itself by flying into a battle against a storm elemental,]] he simply smiled to the crew and politely suggested that they might want to get to safety and not endanger any of the bystanders on the streets below.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Point Man, a brash new hero, fired The Innocent Gun (a weapon containing one of the fundamental powers of the universe) at a planet-threatening menace... ''despite'' all of the experienced heroes telling him '''not''' to do so. He ended up leveling a dozen city blocks, killed hundreds of people, and tore a hole in reality... not to mention leaving the gun insert, useless against the ''real'' threat it was meant to stop.

*** Similarly, [[spoiler:his daughter]] Matilda "Tillie" Armstrong is modeled after Creator/JudyGarland (in a nod to Mary Marvel originally being modeled after Garland.)

* TheHermit: Mister Manta becomes this in "The Deep Blue Sea". After decades marooned on a deserted island, he finds his way back to civilization, only to become rattled because he's so accustomed to being alone. He gets marooned again, and happily goes back to "planning" his triumphant return.

** In "Aftermaths", Michael Teniceck is able to devote himself to running a support group for victims of super-battles because [[spoiler:Honor Guard]] has been paying his bills and depositing a modest fund into his bank account.

* HumbleGoal: In "Things Past", the mastermind who's been committing crimes using the gear from retired supervillians did so simply because he wanted to play with his nifty toys.

* IGaveMyWord: Infidel has withdrawn into his own pocket dimension and refrain from interfering in human affairs merely because he had promised Samaritan he'd do so.

** Astra Furst knows she's a super-powered EnergyBeing, and a member of a superhero family, and has absolutely no problem with joining in to save the world when needed. It's what happens between world-saving that gets to her, like being home-schooled and never meeting anyone her age, having to keep a special diet which usually tastes like crap (Manganese-flavoured breakfast cereal, anyone?), being restricted in her romantic life and not really having any career choices other than the FamilyBusiness...

** Loony Leo was a cartoon character brought to life because of a mishap with the GoldenAge villain Professor Borzoi's Belief Ray. Leo stopped the villain and started to fade away, but The Gentleman convinces the crowd to save him by believing Leo was real.

** This is why Beautie cannot remember her origins, because [[spoiler:Beautie was ''ordered'' to forget, after her creator was shamed by her creation]]. Worse, if Beautie ''tries'' to remember or uncover her origins, she soon forgets her quest.

* TropaholicsAnonymous: In "Aftermaths", we see that Michael Teniceck from "The Nearness Of You" now runs "Miranda's Friends", a support group for people who have lost loved ones or suffered emotional trauma due to superpowered struggles.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas

* EverythingsCuterWithKittens: the one thing Cammie's willing to admit about the farm: the kittens are cute.

** The original Quarrel was a small-time crook with a gimmicky bolt-blaster. When his first child was born, he cheerfully hands out cigars to his villainous colleagues and declares that she won't be a criminal like himself. In his later years, he's thrilled that she's become a world-renown superhero.

** The original Goldenglove was a criminal who'd always tell his kids to go to school and don't follow in his shoes.

** In a flashback, Maddie Sullivan reveals that as a teenager, she briefly considered becoming a super-heroine, "Mind Over Maddie". Her costume consisted of a tie-dyed shirt with a domino mask and a brown vest.

** In one storyline, attorney Vincent Oleck is defending a mobster who had murdered someone in front of dozens of witnesses used a "superhero defense", pointing out known cases of crimes actually committed the accused's {{evil twin}} from [[AlternateUniverse another dimension]], supposedly dead people [[UnexplainedRecovery getting up and walking away]] none the worse for wear, etc. Between the [[RefugeInAudacity sheer audacity]] of the argument and a mood of public guilt over [[spoiler: the recent [[MiscarriageOfJustice wrongful execution]] of the Silver Agent]], it worked. The case also became a landmark in American legal praxis, and led to changes in how cases with metahuman involvement were handled. Lampshaded later when Oleck states that there is no way that defense would fly in the comic's present day.

** The Mount Rushmore Four are four criminals disguised as US Presidents

* GenreDeconstruction: ''Astro City'' is a deconstruction ''and'' a reconstruction; it focuses on the impact of superheroes on regular people, but also on the inner thoughts of heroes and villains. Even more so, it deals with those issues in ways that are not just negative or cynical as deconstructions often are. For example, one story deals with a parent bringing his children to Astro City, only to be greeted with a chaotic night full of angry weather elementals; yet despite the danger, he decides they should stay, as the strength and idealistic community of the city were values he wanted his children to have. Other stories deal with a hero trying to balance the needs of his neighborhood and the needs of his unborn child, or a lawyer leveraging superhero tropes to benefit his client but endangers his family. Kurt likes to keep his fans guessing.

** The Conquistador "The Tarnished Angel"[[spoiler:, who is actually the disgraced superhero El Hombre, who misses being famous so much that he stages a supervillain attack so that he can stop it and become famous again]].

** On the opposite end of the spectrum is Butlers, a ''very'' discrete private club with formal eveningwear and elegantly catered meals, suitable for special events.

** From the First Family, there's Natalie Furst to Rex Zorus, the monster prince of an undersea kingdom. Rex defied his own mother to marry Natalie, and the entire family has remain fairly cordial for over twenty years.
** Zachary Johnson, the second Jack-In-The-Box, has been married to local television news anchor Tamra Dixon for decades. He gave up super-heroics after finding out she was pregnant, and have been nothing but supportive of each other over the years.

* ChickMagnet: Briefly discussed; When Reflex 6 tries to recruit Sticks to join them, Tearaway notes that it's a great way to meet girls.

** Steeljack is a former super-villain whose entire body is covered in living metal. [[BlessedWithSuck It cuts down on his sense of touch,]] but he's completely human underneath. Worse, he's tarnishing with age, having been a supervillain for decades.

--->"You want to sell those Grav-Pods you arrived on, I'll give you a good deal. Those are vintage, man. First used in 1963 by Dr. Ecliptic agains Supersonic. Not many originals survive, but those two look cherry."

** Jack-In-The-Box II's two bad-future possible sons are perfect examples of the absolute worst kind of "heroic" characters from the Dark Age of Comics - one is a Sabertooth expy, the other is a cyborg killer (with a spring-loaded ''head'', no less), and both are absolutely convinced that they are entitled to kill anyone they want because they are the good guys. Jack spends the rest of the story arc moving heaven and earth to make sure they never come into existence.

** Eldritch Abominations are just a part of the neighborhood for the Shadow Hill district. The residents' daily routines includes refreshing the wards protecting their homes while ignoring the tentacled horrors retreating from daylight. The people who live there get by because they've gotten used to the vampires, the things that terrify the vampires, the Hanged Man [[JustForPun hanging about,]] and all of the other unsettling weirdness that comes with the place.

** The original Quarrel was a male criminal. He is succeed by his daughter, who took his name and gear to build a heroic legacy.

* AmnesiaLoop: Done in "Her Dark Plastic Roots". Beautie is unsatisfied because she doesn't know her own origins, so she begins to investigate the matter. Beautie eventually discovers [[spoiler:she was created by Elaine Girbachs, the daughter of [[GadgeteerGenius Dr. Gearbox]], but he denounces Beautie because he believed engineering and math aren't fields for girls. Ashamed, Elaine tearfully ordered Beautie to leave and [[ExactWords forget forever]]. When Beautie confronts Elaine in the present day, she orders Beautie to leave again... and it turns out that this happens every few years as Beautie's directive weakens until she re-visits Elaine again and again and again]].

** One character the Broken Man introduces to the audience is Mister Cakewalk, a [[JustLikeRobinHood Robin Hood-like]] SouthernGentleman from the late 19th/early 20th century, who is eventually revealed to be the personification of counterculture music. As the genres changed, so did his identity (and [[GenderBender gender]] in some cases); Jazzbaby, Zoot Suit, the Halcyon Hippie, and so on. [[spoiler: Their final appearance reveals that an encounter with a cult that worshiped an ancient god of darkness destroyed them, leaving behind the Broken Man. The Broken Man himself isn't convinced that he can be any of those people, since A) he remembers his old life, which is something a personification of music shouldn't have, and B) if he ''was'' the personification of counterculture music, he would've changed with the dominant genre, but he's been the exact same for years.]]

* BackStory: Just about everyone has one. Whether or not the readers ever see it is another matter.

* BreakingTheBonds: In "Things Past", Steeljack breaks his super-powered restraints, then snaps Cutlasses' restraints, all in the span of a few seconds.