History Literature / SoonIWillBeInvincible

--->"You really are new to this, aren't you? There's no way he was going to stay down for long."

* DidNotGetTheGirl: [[spoiler:Turns out Impossible won and then lost the girl of his dreams before the events of the novel. And Blackwolf hooks up with his ex-wife Damsel, leaving Fatale alone all over again.]]

* BlessedWithSuck: Many characters are shown to have powers that come with a steep price. Fatale's cybernetic enhancements have seriously crippled her social life, Damsel's [[HalfHumanHybrid weird half-alien biology]] results in frequent vomitting, Rainbow Triumph's enhancements require constant medication to keep her from dying, and Feral's tiger physiology gives him severe lower back pain from trying to stand upright all the time.

* Elphin: A literal fairy who has a [[BladeOnAStick magic spear]] and can control the weather. Fatale, for one, thinks her story is false [[spoiler:for most of the book]]. Seems to be based loosely on characters like ComicBook/TheMightyThor, who claim to be immortal mythical or religious beings, but people doubt their legitimacy.

* HalfBreedAngst: Damsel's parents weren't even biologically compatible -- her mother was closer to a fish person -- and it took some major genetic tinkering to even make her. While technically an OppositeSexClone of her father, Stormcloud, with some of her mother's DNA added in, she's still alien enough she failed the blood test to join the Super Squadron, which didn't accept off-worlders, a personal dream of hers. She has superpowers but requires medication to keep her body from tearing itself apart due to the conflict of her designer genes.

* NephariousPharaoh: We have the supervillain named The Pharoah, who dresses the part complete with fancy headdress, gold body glitter and make-up. He wields a powerful hammer (either magical or advanced alien tech) that, when he says a word, makes him powerful enough to face off against the resident Justice League expies by himself. He also claims it's his mission to restore the glories of Ancient Egypt and that he is the reincarnation of Ramses. The problem is he doesn't know WHICH Ramses he's supposed to be, can't read hieroglyphics,and barely knows anymore about Ancient Egypt than your average person. Dr. Impossible suspects he's either delusional or outright lying.

* NoBiochemicalBarriers: [[spoiler:Subverted; it's eventually revealed that it took years of lab work to create Damsel.]]

A novel by Creator/AustinGrossman about a world where {{superhero}}es exist and have been around since UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. The setting is an AffectionateParody of both the Franchise/MarvelUniverse and Franchise/TheDCU, and like these two is decidedly in the realm of the FantasyKitchenSink, with everything from magicians to aliens. Most of the characters are [[CaptainErsatz Captains]] [[CaptainErsatz Ersatz]] or [[SatireParodyPastiche pastiches]] of {{superhero}}es and superhero tropes.

* Blackwolf: An [[CaptainErsatz ersatz]] {{Franchise/Batman}} with heavy streaks of Ozymandias, whose BadassNormal demeanor comes from [[DisabilitySuperpower autism]]. Notably, he is far more well-balanced than Bruce Wayne and has a genuinely pleasant personality. Is semi-retired at the beginning of the book, mainly using his Blackwolf persona for publicity. He and Damsel were once married, until the widely publicized breakup of the original Champions.

* [=CoreFire=]: An [[CaptainErsatz ersatz]] Franchise/{{Superman}}, who is one of the few truly invincible heroes in this world. He and Doctor Impossible are [[ArchNemesis nemeses]]; Doctor Impossible was the one whose FreakLabAccident created him, though [=CoreFire=] [[UnknownRival doesn't know this]] [[spoiler:until the end of the book]]. Implied to be a {{Jerkass}}.

* DeathIsCheap: [[spoiler:Corefire. He's a CaptainErsatz of Franchise/{{Superman}}, [[Comicbook/TheDeathOfSuperman you didn't honestly think he would stay down, now did you?]]]] He was actually put into a coma, but not like the others could tell.

A novel by Austin Grossman about a world where {{superhero}}es exist and have been around since UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. The setting is an AffectionateParody of both the Franchise/MarvelUniverse and Franchise/TheDCU, and like these two is decidedly in the realm of the FantasyKitchenSink, with everything from magicians to aliens. Most of the characters are [[CaptainErsatz Captains]] [[CaptainErsatz Ersatz]] or [[SatireParodyPastiche pastiches]] of {{superhero}}es and superhero tropes.

* The Pharaoh: a HarmlessVillain who claimed to be the reincarnation of Ramses and had a Thor-like hammer which made him [[TitleDrop invincible]]. Dr. Impossible expresses doubt on his {{backstory}}, after the Pharaoh is unable to decide which Ramses he was exactly. He serves as a parody of innumerable badly realised comic book villains that were quickly phased out despite their powers, down to his grandiose backstory, silly costume, and accidental copying of an established hero's name.

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:For a moment, it seems like [=CoreFire=] will pull this... but nope, Doctor Impossible utterly destroys him too. In the end, it's Lily who pulls a BigDamnHeroes when the Pharaoh's hammer power finally runs out.]]

* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:The Pharaoh's hammer.]] First mentioned in passing in Chapter 5, as Doctor Impossible wonders what [[spoiler:Pharaoh]] is up to these days. [[spoiler:It's the reason for [=CoreFire=]'s disappearance, ''and'' the weapon Doctor Impossible uses to defeat and capture the New Champions.]] [[spoiler:The mystery of the Hammer's origins are thought of several times throughout the book, but no-one solves it before the end. The astute reader may put together the hints to realise it is the Hammer formerly owned by Sean, one of the other Elfland children. It is stated to be not-quite-magical, was found in the woods behind a housing development (the same place the Elfland kids returned to reality), and is also a weapon capable of defeating CoreFire just like the Scepter of Elfland.]]

* [[{{Irony}} Cosmic Irony]]: [[spoiler:Impossible tracks down the joke-villain Pharaoh's hammer so he can fight off [=CoreFire=], finding it (and the Pharaoh) at the centre of a spreading patch of ice in Costa Rica, from the [=CoreFire=]/Pharaoh battle. Later, Lily tells him that she once did go to the future and saw the world-destroying Blight of her fake {{backstory}}: it started at the hammer in Costa Rica, and by removing it for his {{evil plan}}, Doctor Impossible inadvertently saved the world.]]

** The (villainous) Pharaoh fills the trope in a different style, The 'Hammer of Ra' makes him extremely powerful... but his silly costume, pretentiousness, laid-back nature, and made-up OriginStory mean that he isn't taken seriously by heroes or villains. Probably the only character in the book who doesn't regard it all as SeriousBusiness.

** [[spoiler:Lily]] gives Doctor Impossible the coordinates to the Pharaoh’s hammer. Telling a known felon where he can find a weapon generally is frowned on, but nothing comes of it.

* LethalJokeCharacter: The Pharaoh looked ridiculous and wasn't very smart, but with the hammer, he was at the level of [=CoreFire=] and Damsel in terms of invulnerability.

* NephariousPharaoh: we have the supervillain named The Pharaoh, who dresses the part complete with fancy headdress, gold body glitter and make-up. He wields a powerful hammer (either magical or advanced alien tech) that, when he says a word, makes him powerful enough to face off against the resident Justice League expies by himself. He also claims it's his mission to restore the glories of Ancient Egypt and that he is the reincarnation of Ramses. The problem is he doesn't know WHICH Ramses he's supposed to be, can't read hieroglyphics,and barely knows anymore about Ancient Egypt than your average person. Dr. Impossible suspects he's either delusional or outright lying.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:Dr. Impossible unwittingly saves the world by taking the Pharaoh's hammer away from where it was warping the local landscape, and would have created "the Blight" of Lily's (supposed) future.]]

* OneSteveLimit: Averted. There are 2 characters named Pharaoh, and Dr. Impossible notes that people keep confusing the two, as the supervillain named Pharaoh was treated as a walking joke.

* RetiredMonster: Baron Ether, now too old and too mutated to really conquer the world, is kept in check by his old nemesis. Regardless of his retirement status, he helps Dr. Impossible with his plans. The Pharaoh faded into obscurity without being defeated [[spoiler:although he was detected, and accidentally killed, before the narration starts.]]

* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Lily's {{backstory}} is that she was sent back from a BadFuture to do this, succeeded, then decided that she preferred the BadFuture and is now trying to MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight. [[spoiler:None of it's true, of course. The story of the future apocalypse is true, but Lily turns out to be contemporary, not future-born, and Lily prevents it easily by way of having [=CoreFire=] and the Pharaoh fight. It's all a ruse to keep up her supervillain antics. It's also a deconstruction of the genre's tendency to constantly retcon origin stories.]]

%%* SuperZeroes: The Pharaoh.

* VillainousFriendship: Doctor Impossible and the Pharaoh's relationship is somewhere between being the best of friends and VitriolicBestBuds, and a pair who mostly tolerate each others' company because it's them against the world. Yes, the Pharaoh is an absolute idiot, but he's still Impossible's friend, and he seems as eager to make the Champions respect the Pharaoh as to make them respect himself.

* StockPhrases: Doctor Impossible is full of them, and seems [[ButThouMust pathologically incapable]] of ''not'' using them while in public. His internal narration, on the other hand, is perfectly normal and constantly asks why he's always belting off cliche liners.

* AbortedArc: Dr. Impossible's confrontation with Mr. Mystic just sort of peters out without any real resolution. One minute, Impossible is trapped in some kind of magical dreamscape or something, and the next Mr. Mystic is simply gone and he's free to snatch up the Zeta Gem he came for without any further incident. You might think that it was a trick, and that Mr. Mystic had left a fake gem or something, but no, nothing happens and [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment it's never mentioned again]].

* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:The Pharaoh's hammer.]] First mentioned in passing in Chapter 5, as Doctor Impossible wonders what [[spoiler:Pharaoh]] is up to these days. [[spoiler:It's the reason for [=CoreFire=]'s disappearance, ''and'' the weapon Doctor Impossible uses to defeat and capture the New Champions.]]

* ItIsPronouncedTropay: Fatale is pronounced Fuh-toll.

** [[spoiler: Lily gets this as well. Her entire plan was to show up Dr. Impossible and Corefire for treating her like TheDamsel and the DisposableLoveInterest. However in the climax, Corefire reveals he only dated her for a short time and never gave her much though afterwards.]]

** [[spoiler: Impossible also believes that Corefire's sole motivation in life was to foil him due to their college feud, when it's eventually revealed that Corefire doesn't remember him at all.]]

* IgnoredEpiphany: Dr Impossible realises that getting everything he wanted doesn't make him feel any better, but at the end of the book is plotting his next escape and the continuation of his schemes -- he just can't help himself. And yes, [[TitleDrop Soon He Will Be Invincible.]]

* IgnoredEpiphany: Dr Impossible realises that getting everything he wanted doesn't make him feel any better, but at the end of the book is plotting his next escape and the continuation of his schemes -- he just can't help himself.

** [[spoiler:Lily]] gives Doctor Impossible the coordinates to the Pharaoh’s hammer. Telling a known felon where he can find a weapon generally is frowned on, but the New Champions decide to just let it go.

* NeverLiveItDown:
** In-universe, Doctor Impossible's Battle Blimp; "No-one ever lets me forget that thing." Still, it got everyone's attention and put the Doctor "on the map".
** Also before he got his own superpowers, he was only known as the "Zeta Beam Guy" whose DisastrousDemonstration created [=CoreFire=].

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Damsel's mother was one. Technically, Damsel is too, according to her passport.