History ComicStrip / BuckRogers

* SpaceOpera: perhaps the earliest example.

* SpacePirates: Black Barney

* AlternateContinuity: Unlike his comic page contemporary ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'', who tends to stay visually recognizable in most incarnations, Buck and his world have undergone major overhauls in almost every updated version, starting with the Disco-era aesthetic in the 1970s TV series, through Creator/{{TSR}}'s hard s.f. "[=XXVc=]" role-playing game setting, to the TronLines outfits in the current comic book by Dynamite Entertainment. [=TSR=] averted this with the "Cliffhangers" version of the [=RPG=], which was very faithful to the original comic--perhaps to a fault, since it started at the [[CanonDiscontinuity mostly forgotten]], [[YellowPeril politically incorrect]] ''[[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness beginning]]'' of the comic's timeline, before the iconic space opera elements had even been introduced.

* [[ArtificialGravity Anti Gravity]]: In the comic and novel, much of the technology is based around the other-dimensional substance called ''inertron,'' which reacts negatively to gravity. Strapping a weighted chunk of it to a vehicle makes it light enough to fly easily, and strapping some on your back (a "jumping belt") allows you to make giant leaps across the landscape or fly with a low-powered jet pack. Of course, if you let go of a piece, it will zip up into the sky and you'll never see it again. Similar to Creator/HGWells' [[Literature/FirstMenInTheMoon cavorite]] (or [[WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle upsydaisium,]] for that matter).

%%* ColdSleepColdFuture

%%* TheFuture
%%* HumanAliens

%%* LastOfHisKind

*** This is not, in fact, FairForItsDay, because all that stuff about HalfHumanHybrids and the other ethnic groups is a rewrite of the original novels dating to the 1970s.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: [[NiagaraFalls Niagara]], New York, was made the capital of Earth's government to thank/promote a paper in the area that ran the comic.

* CasanovaWannabe: In the short-lived 1970's revival of the newspaper comic, Kane came off kind of like an evil version of Larry from ''ThreesCompany.'' And the funny thing is, [[SoBadItsGood it kinda worked.]]

!!''Buck Rogers'' provides examples of the following tropes:

* AlternateContinuity: Unlike his comic page contemporary ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'', who tends to stay visually recognizable in most incarnations, Buck and his world have undergone major overhauls in almost every updated version, starting with the Disco-era aesthetic in the 1970s TV series, through TSR's hard s.f. "[=XXVc=]" role-playing game setting, to the TronLines outfits in the current comic book by Dynamite Entertainment. [=TSR=] averted this with the "Cliffhangers" version of the [=RPG=], which was very faithful to the original comic--perhaps to a fault, since it started at the [[CanonDiscontinuity mostly forgotten]], [[YellowPeril politically incorrect]] ''[[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness beginning]]'' of the comic's timeline, before the iconic space opera elements had even been introduced.

* DarkerAndEdgier: TSR's ''[=XXVc=]'' role-playing setting, a "Harder" Sci-Fi version of the story.

* MythologyGag: The DynamiteComics version has several references to the TV series, along with other incarnations of the franchise.

* RayGun: Has probably the most instantly recognizable ray pistols in all space opera, because [[https://collectiblesfromthepast.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/1930s-buck-rogers-daisy-atomic-pistol-u-235-w-box-vintage.jpg tin versions]] were a popular toy back in the comic's heyday. The DynamiteComics version uses the same design for them.

* TronLines: The outfits in the comic book from DynamiteComics.

* RayGun: Has probably the most instantly recognizable ray pistols in all space opera, because tin versions were a popular toy back in the comic's heyday. The DynamiteComics version uses the same design for them.

* ZeeRust: the Buck Rogers comics originated, codified or popularized much of the RaygunGothic aesthetic and practically defines "retro future" to this day; The Planet Express spaceship from ''{{Futurama}}'' is a prominent modern example of the classic Buck Rogers style.

* [[ArtificialGravity Anti Gravity]]: In the comic and novel, much of the technology is based around the other-dimensional substance called ''inertron,'' which reacts negatively to gravity. Strapping a weighted chunk of it to a vehicle makes it light enough to fly easily, and strapping some on your back (a "jumping belt") allows you to make giant leaps across the landscape or fly with a low-powered jet pack. Of course, if you let go of a piece, it will zip up into the sky and you'll never see it again. Similar to HGWells's [[Literature/FirstMenInTheMoon cavorite]] (or [[WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle upsydaisium,]] for that matter).

* FishOutOfTemporalWater; Buck at first, though this disappears pretty quickly.

* MythologyGag: The DynamiteEntertainment version has several references to the TV series, along with other incarnations of the franchise.

* ZeeRust: the Buck Rogers aesthetic practically defines "retro future" even now; The Planet Express spaceship in ''{{Futurama}}'' is a prominent example of the classic Buck Rogers style.

%%* ChosenOne

%%* FishOutOfTemporalWater

%%* NewspaperComics

%%* OpeningScroll

%%* SleptThroughTheApocalypse
%%* SpaceOpera

** One of the novels does note that the Han Airlords were probably the result of a meteor or probe that crashed in Mongolia. The alien object apparently took possession of the inland Chinese and Mongolians and turned them toward conquest. ''The Airlords of Han'' specifically mentions (in a throwaway paragraph at the end) that the Japanese and coastal Chinese were unaffected, although the 'gangs' of North America approached them cautiously (it also notes that the 'blacks of Africa' are now 'one of the leading races of the world'). A massive case of FairForItsDay (note also that the novels were written well before UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo.)

%%* ZeeRust

* {{Technobabble}} - ''Franchise/StarTrek'' has '''nothing''' on BuckRogers in this department, trust me.

* ChosenOne
* ColdSleepColdFuture

* FishOutOfTemporalWater

* TheFuture
* HumanAliens

* LastOfHisKind

* NewspaperComics

* OpeningScroll

* SleptThroughTheApocalypse
* SpaceOpera

* ZeeRust

* [[ArtificialGravity Anti Gravity]]: In the comic and novel, much of the technology is based around the other-dimensional substance called ''inertron,'' which reacts negatively to gravity. Strapping a weighted chunk of it to a vehicle makes it light enough to fly easily, and strapping some on your back (a "jumping belt") allows you to make giant leaps across the landscape or fly with a low-powered jet pack. Of course, if you let go of a piece, it will zip up into the sky and you'll never see it again. Similar to [[Literature/FirstMenInTheMoon cavorite]] (or [[WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle upsydaisium,]] for that matter).

* [[ArtificialGravity Anti Gravity]]: In the comic and novel, much of the technology is based around the other-dimensional substance called ''inertron,'' which reacts negatively to gravity. Strapping a weighted chunk of it to a vehicle makes it light enough to fly easily, and strapping some on your back (a "jumping belt") allows you to make giant leaps across the landscape or fly with a low-powered jet pack. Of course, if you let go of a piece, it will zip up into the sky and you'll never see it again.