History Literature / Calamity

* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: [[TheChessmaster Regalia]]'s [[EvilPlan plan]], however brilliant it is, has no chance to succeed. [[spoiler:Not even with Prof in charge, since the plan revolves around absorbing Larcener's Epic powers and using them to more or less steal godhood from Calamity himself. Too bad Larcener ''is'' Calamity, so stealing his powers is impossible.]]

* NewEraSpeech: Prof delivers one to a crowd of Ildithians after seizing control of the city. David notices that the speech contains twisted expressions of aspects of Prof's uncorrupted personality, such as his protective and controlling tendencies.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Averted in its PG-rated form. David is a ''terrible'' kisser, as Megan keeps cheerfully reminding him. She's perfectly willing to give him more chances to practice, though.

* HumansAreGood: David tells [[spoiler: Calamity]] in so many words that without the [[TheCorruption darkness]] twisting them into sociopaths, humans--even superpowered ones--are "inherently good." [[spoiler: The epilogue shows this to be overstating the case--some people, like Obliteration, don't need any outside influence to be monsters.]]

* VillainousBreakdown:
** Prof has his [[spoiler:when Megan and David force him to admit that he has failed so many ways, causing him first to lose his powers, then to [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone break down into hysterical sobbing]]]].
** [[spoiler:Calamity/Larcener devolves from a calculating manipulator into a screaming lunatic (however briefly) when Prof, after apparently being BroughtDownToNormal, not only regains his powers, but is able to activate the PoweredArmor suit powered by said powers, which [[ThisCannotBe is supposed to be impossible]]. He finally accepts it when he realizes that it was his influence corrupting the Epics rather than humanity being inherently evil. He leaves Earth, finally freeing the Epics from enforced corruption.]]

** [[spoiler:With Megan finally accepting her powers, with help from David and along with conquering her fear, she is able to obtain greater control over her actions. Once Calamity leaves, it simply becomes a matter of controlling her reality-warping without Calamity's corrupting influence. This even allows her to send David off into the other reality so he can spend lost time with his dad including the latter teaching David how to use his new Epic powers. Both Prof and even and newly-realized Epic Mizzy are able to use their powers while still retaining their old personalities.]]
* EnemyMine: Larcener turns up at the Reckoner's doorstep because all of his subordinates turned on him in favor of the much more proactive and dangerous Limelight.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: [[TheChessmaster Regalia]]'s [[EvilPlan plan]], however brilliant it is, has no chance to succeed. [[spoiler:Not even with Prof in charge, since the plan revolves around absorbing Larcener's Epic powers and using them to more or less steal godhood from Calamity himself. Too bad that, unknowing to everyone else, Larcener is Calamity]].

* GetItOverWith: [[spoiler:When Prof's weakness has been triggered and he know's he's beaten, but his corruption has not receded, he makes this demand of David. David doesn't do it.]]

* TheHeavy: Jonathan Phaedrus/Limelight is the main focus of most of the story, but the focus is on a SaveTheVillain aspect. The real BigBad is Calamity[[spoiler:/Larcener]].

* HumansAreGood: David tells [[spoiler: Calamity]] in so many words that without the [[TheCorruption darkness]] twisting them into sociopaths, humans, even superpowered ones, are "inherently good." [[spoiler: The epilogue shows this to be overstating the case - some people, like Obliteration, don't need any outside influence to be monsters.]]

* PatrickStewartSpeech: [[spoiler: In talking to Calamity, David’s insistence that Men would have been and still are inherently good people with the powers, backed up by Megan’s bringing the group to the dimension where it actually was the case. It actually was because of Calamity sticking around that there even was a problem to begin with.]]
** [[spoiler: Notably, when Calamity leaves, he’s proven right [[AlwaysChaoticEvil sort of]] ]]
* PowerCopying: Larcener's real power is to permanently take other Epic's powers. [[spoiler:Or rather, take back. It doesn't work on Epics who have faced their darkness, which perplexes him]]

** Knighthawk combines this with smartness. [[spoiler:He leaves several working but utterly useless pieces of Epic technology in plain sight for robbers to steal. The truly valuable stuff is kept in his fridge hidden inside food containers.]]

* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: David defeats [[spoiler: both Prof and Calamity]] this way.

* Foreshadowing: If you pay close attention when David visits the alternate universe, it's pretty clearly implied that Steelheart, Firefight, and possibly others are fighting Obliteration, thus foreshadowing his status as the first post-calamity supervillain.

* EvilAllAlong: A weird example. [[spoiler:Obliteration faced his weakness and drove out the corruption five years ago. All his insanity is just him, and has nothing to do with Calamity]].

Following Regalia's successful plot to turn Prof into her successor, the Reckoners are on the run. Professor Jonathan Phaedrus, now known only as Limelight, has destroyed all their cells and safehouses, leaving only David's remaining team. They are underequipped and overwhelmed, so they turn to the only option available to them: Steal from Knighthawk Foundry to get the equipment they need.

** [[spoiler:With Megan finally accepting her powers, with help from David and along with conquering her fear, she is able to obtain greater control over her actions. Once Calamity leaves, it simply becomes a matter of controlling her reality-warping without Calamity's corrupting influence. This even allows her to send David off into the other reality so he can spend lost time with his dad including the latter teaching David how to use his new epic powers. Both Prof and even and newly-realized epic Mizzy are able to use their powers while still retaining their old personalities.]]

** [[spoiler:Calamity/Larcener devolves from a calculating manipulator into a screaming lunatic (however briefly) when Prof, after apparently being BroughtDownToNormal, not only regains his powers, but is able to activate the PoweredArmor suit powered by said powers, which [[ThisCannotBe is supposed to be impossible]]. He finally accepts it when he realizes that it was his influence corrupting the epics rather than humanity being inherently evil. He leaves Earth, finally restoring the epics to who they once were, with exception of epics like Prof and Megan who had already risen above the corruption, David who is like them but had yet to reveal his own powers, and epics like Obliteration who were psychopaths even before Calamity's influence, although Obliteration himself had already overcome Calamity's influence.]]

* InTheBlood: [[spoiler: Tavi and David both have the same powerset as their respective fathers.]]

* {{Retconjuration}}: Megan has a limited and unstable form of this, actually very much like Forgers from TheEmperorsSoul. She can alter reality to match a parallel universe, or specific aspects of it, but most of the time the changes are unstable and temporary. The only ones that she can make permanent are those that were likely anyway.

* YouAreInCommandNow: Following Prof's Rending, Tia's disappearance, and the death of pretty much every other high-ranked Reckoner, David is in charge largely because no one else wanted the job. Cody turned it down curtly, Abraham laughed it off, Mizzy started shaking uncontrollably, and Megan wasn't an option since she was still fighting Calamity's corruption.