Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
** According to WordOfGod, Gary is inspired by Spiderman, Anarky, and the Hood. He also has elements of Batman in his origins.
to:
** According to WordOfGod, Gary is inspired by Spiderman, Anarky, and the Hood. He also has elements of Batman in his origins.
Added DiffLines:
** A blink and you'll miss it reference is Gary's fourteen year old self is described as dressing nearly identical to Quentin Quire.
Added DiffLines:
* SoapboxSaddie: Gary has elements of this, talking at great length about political matters which all the other characters tune out as background noise.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
** The Lightning Family are very similar to the Flashes.
** Stingray is a Stand-in for Black Manta and belongs to a group similar to the Flash's Rogues.
** Stingray is a Stand-in for Black Manta and belongs to a group similar to the Flash's Rogues.
Changed line(s) 43 (click to see context) from:
** WordOfGod said Gary is inspired by Spiderman, Anarky, and the Hood. He also has elements of Batman in his origins.
to:
** WordOfGod said According to WordOfGod, Gary is inspired by Spiderman, Anarky, and the Hood. He also has elements of Batman in his origins.
Added DiffLines:
* StraightGay: Bronze Medal has nothing camp about him whatsoever. This also applies to Mandy and the Black Witch.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BombThrowingAnarchist: Gary fancies himself one of these. In fact, he is really just extremely left of center. It's just, well, he's a left-of-center supervillain.
Added DiffLines:
* CompositeCharacter: The book combines this with {{Expy}} to create very familiar-seeming but unique characters.
** The Nightwalker seems to be a combination of Batman and Doctor Strange.
** Ultragod is a combination of the Silver Age Superman, Icon, and Green Lantern.
** Ultragoddess is, appropriately, one for Supergirl with the same Green Lantern-esque powers as Ultragod.
** Red Riding Hood seems to be a stand-in for Harley Quinn.
** Diabloman stands in for Bane, the Tattooed Man, and Brother Blood with elements of Deathstroke. He's also similar to Deadshot in that he has young daughter he cares about deeply.
** The Extreme seem to be a combination of X-Force, Youngblood, and every other 90s group ever with a healthy TakeThat toward them.
** Tom Terror resembles the Golden Age Lex Luthor combined with Doctor Sivanna and the Red Skull.
** WordOfGod said Gary is inspired by Spiderman, Anarky, and the Hood. He also has elements of Batman in his origins.
** The Nightwalker seems to be a combination of Batman and Doctor Strange.
** Ultragod is a combination of the Silver Age Superman, Icon, and Green Lantern.
** Ultragoddess is, appropriately, one for Supergirl with the same Green Lantern-esque powers as Ultragod.
** Red Riding Hood seems to be a stand-in for Harley Quinn.
** Diabloman stands in for Bane, the Tattooed Man, and Brother Blood with elements of Deathstroke. He's also similar to Deadshot in that he has young daughter he cares about deeply.
** The Extreme seem to be a combination of X-Force, Youngblood, and every other 90s group ever with a healthy TakeThat toward them.
** Tom Terror resembles the Golden Age Lex Luthor combined with Doctor Sivanna and the Red Skull.
** WordOfGod said Gary is inspired by Spiderman, Anarky, and the Hood. He also has elements of Batman in his origins.
Added DiffLines:
* FreudianExcuse: Played with. The death of Gary's brother and the traumatic consequences [[spoiler: including killing his brother's murderer at age fourteen]], certainly contributed to Gary becoming a supervillain. However, it's also clear Gary always admired supervillainy and had extremist political vies as well.
Added DiffLines:
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Not Gary but Shoot-Em-Up. An Anti-hero in the Nineties who wanted to kill supervillains to make sure they stopped menacing people, targeted a bunch of reformed and mostly-harmless ones in front of their families. The effect of this is, after killing Gary's brother Keith (a B-list supervillain named Stingray), he sets Gary on his path to supervillaindom. [[spoiler: Which results in Gary shooting him in a hotel later that year, despite being only fourteen years old.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* TheAdjectiveSuperhero: ''Merciless: The Supervillain without Mercy!"
to:
* TheAdjectiveSuperhero: TheAdjectivalSuperhero: ''Merciless: The Supervillain without Mercy!"
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* TheAdjectiveSuperhero: ''Merciless: The Supervillain without Mercy!"
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 64 (click to see context) from:
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Most supervillains assume Gary is this due to his laid-back demeanor, [[CardCarryingVillain Card Carrying Villainy]], and rambling. He really comes off more as a demented cosplayer than a supervillain. Then the bodies start dropping.
to:
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Most supervillains assume Gary is this a HarmlessVillain due to his laid-back demeanor, [[CardCarryingVillain Card Carrying Villainy]], and rambling. He really comes off more as a demented cosplayer than a supervillain. Then the bodies start dropping.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* HollywoodNerd: Gary is an enormous geek who references everything from Star Wars to video games to comic books.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy! The cloak gets a lot of mileage out of making fun of Gary for this.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 29 (click to see context) :
** GrayAndGrayMorality: Gary's conflict with the Society of Superheroes is this as he's clearly in the wrong but they're a little too repressive for their own good.
Added DiffLines:
* GrayAndGrayMorality: Gary's conflict with the Society of Superheroes is this as he's clearly in the wrong but they're a little too repressive for their own good.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
** WhiteAndGrayMorality: Gary's conflict with the Society of Superheroes is this as he's clearly in the wrong but they're a little too repressive for their own good.
to:
** WhiteAndGrayMorality: GrayAndGrayMorality: Gary's conflict with the Society of Superheroes is this as he's clearly in the wrong but they're a little too repressive for their own good.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BadassGay: The book has a number of gay and bisexual superhero and supervillain characters. These include the protagonist's wife, his henchwoman, his wife's ex-girlfriend (one of the strongest supervillains alive), and a Fragile Speedster who is married to an even more famous and powerful Speedster.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 43 (click to see context) from:
* FauxAffablyEvil: Tom Terror appears to be a WickedCultured mentor-like figure to Gary. He's closer to being a CompleteMonster.
to:
* FauxAffablyEvil: Tom Terror appears to be a WickedCultured mentor-like figure to Gary. He's closer to being a CompleteMonster.not.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 71 (click to see context) :
** Mandy is wearing a 'Slaughtermania' t-shirt at one point.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 2 (click to see context) from:
[[caption-width-right:1000: It's good to be the bad guy.]]
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:373:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3a1c3bb88230610793365fd5278a8644.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:1000: It's good to be the bad guy.]]
[[caption-width-right:1000: It's good to be the bad guy.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 1,3 (click to see context) :
[[quoteright:1000:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3a1c3bb88230610793365fd5278a8644.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:1000: It's good to be the bad guy.]]
[[caption-width-right:1000: It's good to be the bad guy.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:1000:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3a1c3bb88230610793365fd5278a8644.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:1000: It's good to be the bad guy.]]
[[caption-width-right:1000: It's good to be the bad guy.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 23 (click to see context) :
* BechdelTest: Notable for the fact in a 1st person male perspective that not only does it pass, it actually has a cast of more women than men.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* BechdelTest: Notable for the fact in a 1st person male perspective that not only does it pass, it actually has a cast of more women than men.
Deleted line(s) 60 (click to see context) :
* OneOfUs: Gary is an enormous geek who references everything from Star Wars to video games to comic books.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 59 (click to see context) from:
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Most supervillains assume Gary is this due to his laid-back demeanor, [[CardCarryingVillain CardCarryingVillainy]], and rambling. He really comes off more as a demented cosplayer than a supervillain. Then the bodies start dropping.
to:
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Most supervillains assume Gary is this due to his laid-back demeanor, [[CardCarryingVillain CardCarryingVillainy]], Card Carrying Villainy]], and rambling. He really comes off more as a demented cosplayer than a supervillain. Then the bodies start dropping.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 89 (click to see context) from:
* WorthyOpponent: Gary seems to have this sort of feeling for the Society of Superheroes. They seem more confused why a non-psychopath like himself wants to be a supervillain.
to:
* WorthyOpponent: Gary seems to have this sort of feeling for the Society of Superheroes. They seem more confused why a non-psychopath like himself wants to be a supervillain.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
* AffablyEvil: Gary Karkfosky may qualify, if you consider him evil. El Diablo and Cindy also qualify.
to:
* AffablyEvil: Gary Karkfosky may qualify, if you consider him evil. El Diablo Diabloman and Cindy also qualify.
Changed line(s) 38 (click to see context) from:
** Qualifies as a full-on SnarkKnight once you realize Gary's opinion of himself isn't much higher than his opinion of anyone else. Mandy, Ultragod, El Diablo, and Ultragoddess are about the only people he seems to respect.
to:
** Qualifies as a full-on SnarkKnight once you realize Gary's opinion of himself isn't much higher than his opinion of anyone else. Mandy, Ultragod, El Diablo, Diabloman, and Ultragoddess are about the only people he seems to respect.
Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
* TheDragon: El Diablo settles into a combination of this role and TheMentor.
to:
* TheDragon: El Diablo Diabloman settles into a combination of this role and TheMentor.
Changed line(s) 53 (click to see context) from:
* TheMentor: El Diablo plays this role to Gary. As does Cloak to a certain extent.
to:
* TheMentor: El Diablo Diabloman plays this role to Gary. As does Cloak to a certain extent.
Changed line(s) 81 (click to see context) from:
* VillainDecay: In-universe. El Diablo used to be one of the most feared villains in the world but health problems have reduced him to being a D-Lister's sidekick. Gary offers him a position as his Dragon and El Diablo never looks back.
to:
* VillainDecay: In-universe. El Diablo Diabloman used to be one of the most feared villains in the world but health problems have reduced him to being a D-Lister's sidekick. Gary offers him a position as his Dragon and El Diablo Diabloman never looks back.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 27,28 (click to see context) from:
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Gary rapidly develops into one of these amongst supervillains. He's shockingly dangerous despite being an enormous dork.
* {{Capepunk}}: Why would someone ever want to be a supervillain?
* {{Capepunk}}: Why would someone ever want to be a supervillain?
to:
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Gary rapidly develops into one of these amongst supervillains. He's shockingly dangerous despite being an enormous dork.
dangerous.
*{{Capepunk}}: Why would someone ever want to be CapePunk: The book Deconstructs the NinetiesAntiHero and UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks by having Gary disgusted by heroes who kill and overly psychopathic villains. It also serves as a supervillain?DeconReconSwitch because Gary, himself, is a well-written NinetiesAntiHero. The book, notably, treats LighterAndSofter superheroes significantly more sympathetically than most examples of the {{Capepunk}} genre.
*
Changed line(s) 42 (click to see context) from:
* GenreSavvy: This is why Gary is able to get out of the majority of his predicaments along with the variety of powers he gets from the Nightwalker's cloak. Qualifies as DangerousGenreSavvy to the Extreme.
to:
* GenreSavvy: This is why Gary is able to get out of the majority of his predicaments along with the variety of powers he gets from the Nightwalker's cloak. Qualifies as DangerousGenreSavvy to the Extreme.DangerouslyGenreSavvy since he's a supervillain.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 39 (click to see context) from:
* Decon-Recon Switch: Despite being from the perspective of a man who idolizes supervillains while disdaining superheroes, it becomes very clear that villains are bad people and superheroes are (generally) good.
to:
* Decon-Recon Switch: DeconReconSwitch: Despite being from the perspective of a man who idolizes supervillains while disdaining superheroes, it becomes very clear that villains are bad people and superheroes are (generally) good.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 77 (click to see context) from:
* {{Transexual}}: The Human Tank is a male-to-female one. She's also TheAtoner for her past as a supervillain and now a superheroine.
to:
* {{Transexual}}: {{Transsexual}}: The Human Tank is a male-to-female one. She's also TheAtoner for her past as a supervillain and now a superheroine.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 50 (click to see context) from:
* KarvorkaMan: Gary is an unemployed oddball who wants to be a supervillain. No less than three stunningly attractive women have been revealed to have been in relationships with him. He's also off-handedly mentioned to be with many more.
to:
* KarvorkaMan: KavorkaMan: Gary is an unemployed oddball who wants to be a supervillain. No less than three stunningly attractive women have been revealed to have been in relationships with him. He's also off-handedly mentioned to be with many more.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 59 (click to see context) from:
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Most supervillains assume Gary is this due to his laid-back demeanor, CardCarryingVillainy, and rambling. He really comes off more as a demented cosplayer than a supervillain. Then the bodies start dropping.
to:
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Most supervillains assume Gary is this due to his laid-back demeanor, CardCarryingVillainy, [[CardCarryingVillain CardCarryingVillainy]], and rambling. He really comes off more as a demented cosplayer than a supervillain. Then the bodies start dropping.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 23 (click to see context) :
* BaitAndSwitchDeconstruction: Despite being from the perspective of a troubled man who idolizes supervillains while disdaining superheroes, it becomes very clear that villains are bad people and superheroes are (generally) good.
Added DiffLines:
* Decon-Recon Switch: Despite being from the perspective of a man who idolizes supervillains while disdaining superheroes, it becomes very clear that villains are bad people and superheroes are (generally) good.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* AmbiguousyBi: Cindy. Humorous, since Gary's wife Mandy is openly bisexual and put off by Cindy's vague allusions.
to:
* AmbiguousyBi: AmbiguouslyBi: Cindy. Humorous, since Gary's wife Mandy is openly bisexual and put off by Cindy's vague allusions.
Changed line(s) 79 (click to see context) from:
* ThoseWhackyNazis: Gary, being Jewish, doesn't find a superhero who incorporates their iconography the least bit funny.
to:
* ThoseWhackyNazis: ThoseWackyNazis: Gary, being Jewish, doesn't find a superhero who incorporates their iconography the least bit funny.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
''The Rules of Supervillainy'' is the first book in the ''Supervillainy'' series by Creator/CTPhipps. The series is published by Jim Bernheimer, author of ''Literature/ConfessionsOfADListSupervillain.''
Gary Karkofsky is an ordinary guy with an ordinary life living in an extraordinary world. Supervillains, heroes, and monsters are a common part of the world he inhabits. Yet, after the death of his hometown's resident superhero, he gains the amazing gift of the late champion's magical cloak. Deciding he prefers to be rich rather than good, Gary embarks on a career as ''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy.]]''
But is he evil enough to be a villain in America's most crime-ridden city?
Gary soon finds himself surrounded by a host of the worst of Falconcrest City's toughest criminals. Supported by his long-suffering wife, his ex-girlfriend turned professional henchwoman, and a has-been evil mastermind, Gary may end up being not the hero they want but the villain they need.
----
This book contains the following tropes:
* ActionGirl: Cindy, Ultragoddess, Black Witch, Ninjess, Guinevere, the Human Tank, the Red Schoolgirl, and many more. There are a lot of superheroines and supervillainesses in this world and all of them are badass.
* {{Adorkable}}: Lampshaded in-universe as one of Gary's qualities by all of the people who know him.
* AffablyEvil: Gary Karkfosky may qualify, if you consider him evil. El Diablo and Cindy also qualify.
* AmbiguousyBi: Cindy. Humorous, since Gary's wife Mandy is openly bisexual and put off by Cindy's vague allusions.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Gary reacts to things in a slightly off-way, finding humor in inappropriate things as well as saying whatever is on his mind regardless of whether it's appropriate or not. He also suffers no guilt for killing supervillains. This briefly leads him to think he's a Sociopath. Given he's prone to empathizing with everyone ''except'' the supervillains he kills, this is unlikely.
* {{Antihero}}: Gary zig-zags between this and VillainProtagonist for much of the book before finally choosing which he is. [[spoiler: He's an anti-villain.]]
** The Extreme and Shoot-Em-Up are antiheroes as well, though they kill numerous innocents and are much further down the scale than Gary.
* {{Antivillain}}: Namechecked. Gary says this is what he aspires to be after a long period of soul searching.
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Reaper's Cloak is this, though Gary and the Nightwalker are both able to use it for good.
* TheAtoner: Most of the supervillains working in the Shadow Seven.
* AxCrazy: Cindy is literally this once she gets a fire ax. Psychoslinger is a much darker version of this.
* BaitAndSwitchDeconstruction: Despite being from the perspective of a troubled man who idolizes supervillains while disdaining superheroes, it becomes very clear that villains are bad people and superheroes are (generally) good.
* BigBad: Tom Terror is the likeliest candidate. Subverted as he doesn't appear until the final third of the book [[spoiler: and is summarily defeated by Ultragod once Gary removes his superpowers.]]
* BigGood: The Society of Superheroes fills this role in the setting. Which sucks for Gary when he draws their ire.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Gary is a supervillain-in-name-only who fights evil superheroes and even more evil villains. Averted with the arrival of Ultragod, Ultragoddess, and the Society of Superheroes who are every bit as good as they are believed to be.
** WhiteAndGrayMorality: Gary's conflict with the Society of Superheroes is this as he's clearly in the wrong but they're a little too repressive for their own good.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Gary rapidly develops into one of these amongst supervillains. He's shockingly dangerous despite being an enormous dork.
* {{Capepunk}}: Why would someone ever want to be a supervillain?
* CardCarryingVillain: Gary proudly proclaims himself to be a supervillain. Other villains find this quite weird.
* CityOfAdventure: Falconcrest City is certainly full of this, even if it's also a WretchedHive.
* CurbStompBattle: Ultragod just flies down, puts Gary in a bubble, and takes him off into space and there's not anything he could do about it. [[spoiler: Given the way Gary fights Magog, it's entirely possible he COULD have but didn't want to hurt Ultragod.]]
** The way [[spoiler: Tom Terror]] is defeated.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Gary is revealed to be suffering from one of these. [[spoiler: His brother was murdered in front of him by Shoot-Em-Up despite the former having reformed. Gary then tracked down the villain and killed him--at the age of fourteen.]]
** Cindy has one of these too, which is only alluded to. [[spoiler: At one point, having been forced to serve as a prostitute in high school.]]
* DarkChick: Cindy fills this role in most of the supervillain teams she's on. Also qualifies as a NotSoHarmless villain when she reveals she's closer to TheLancer of the group.
* DatingCatwoman: Both Mandy and Ultragoddess consider their relationships with Gary to be this way.
* DeadpanSnarker: Gary is this in ''spades.'' Almost every word out of his mouth is unaudulterated pure sardonicism.
** Qualifies as a full-on SnarkKnight once you realize Gary's opinion of himself isn't much higher than his opinion of anyone else. Mandy, Ultragod, El Diablo, and Ultragoddess are about the only people he seems to respect.
* TheDragon: El Diablo settles into a combination of this role and TheMentor.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Tom Terror appears to be a WickedCultured mentor-like figure to Gary. He's closer to being a CompleteMonster.
* GenreSavvy: This is why Gary is able to get out of the majority of his predicaments along with the variety of powers he gets from the Nightwalker's cloak. Qualifies as DangerousGenreSavvy to the Extreme.
* HappilyMarried: A first in superhero literature as both Gary and Mandy seem to be quite content in their relationship.
* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: It's implied Gary suffered this as a child, reading much-more advanced books than is normal for his age while hanging around his supervillain brother instead of kids his age.
* JackOfAllTrades: Gary has a number of minor (by comparison to the setting) abilities. Minor fire, ice, levitation (not flight), durability (not invulnerability), and insubstantibility powers. He can also see ghosts. Gary turns these all into a massive advantage.
** Subverted when he [[spoiler: makes a pact with Death]] and becomes a master of fire and ice throwing.
* JewishAndNerdy: Gary is a definite example of this. Cindy is definitely Jewish and UN-Nerdy.
* {{Kaiju}}: Enough of a problem the Nightwalker had a special gun for dealing with them.
** Gary has to deal with two at the end of the book.
* KarvorkaMan: Gary is an unemployed oddball who wants to be a supervillain. No less than three stunningly attractive women have been revealed to have been in relationships with him. He's also off-handedly mentioned to be with many more.
** Played with when Gary reveals the secret of his success with women was to treat all of the ones he wants to date with respect while giving complete honesty about his intentions. [[WordOfGod It helps the author has also said Gary bears a striking resemlance to]] [[ComicBookFantasyCasting Wentworth Miller.]]
* KnightTemplar: The Extreme are a collection of these. As is Shoot-Em-Up and other in-universe antiheroes.
* TheMentor: El Diablo plays this role to Gary. As does Cloak to a certain extent.
* MissionControl: Mandy takes on this role with Gary, providing him valuable intelligence through the power of the internet.
* MsFanservice: Cindy Wakowski a.k.a. Red Riding Hood deliberately cultivates this role as a henchperson.
* NinetiesAntihero: The book shreds these mercilessly (no pun intended). Shoot-Em-Up is the first and he inspired Gary to become a supervillain by murdering his brother after he reformed. The Extreme, an entire team of them, are even worse.
** Gary is deeply troubled when he starts to realize, after killing numerous villains and getting praise for it, he's morphed into one of these himself.
* NominalHero: The Extreme and Shoot-Em-Up don't do anything good but kill supervillains. Reformed or harmless or not.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Most supervillains assume Gary is this due to his laid-back demeanor, CardCarryingVillainy, and rambling. He really comes off more as a demented cosplayer than a supervillain. Then the bodies start dropping.
* OneOfUs: Gary is an enormous geek who references everything from Star Wars to video games to comic books.
* PoliceAreUseless: Gary thinks so. Given there's 400 supervillains in the city and many have superpowers or super-tech, it's more like, "police are completely outmatched."
* PopCulturedBadass: A very very nerdy pop-cultured badass.
* PsychoForHire: Psychoslinger is, apparently, this. He's a spree-killer, serial killer, and all round lunatic the other villains use.
* RefugeInAudacity: A large part of why Gary is so successful. People can't compartmentalize Gary more or less just walking up to people, announcing he's a supervillain, and then carrying out his plan without hurting anyone but fellow villains.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Mandy was intended to have the Cloak, not Gary.]]
** [[spoiler: Cloak was the Nightwalker's ghost all along.]]
* ServileSnarker: Cloak has this relationship to Gary, constantly pointing out the flaws in his very twisted logic.
* ShoutOut: The streets in Falconcrest City are named after famous comic book writers.
** Ultragoddess is playing a clear homage to VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs while wearing a Star Wars t-shirt.
** Mandy is wearing a 'Slaughtermania' t-shirt at one point.
** The phone to the Chief of Police's office is an homage to the 60s Batman tv series.
** Gary makes frequent references to the Franchise/{{Alien}} movies when fleeing an extraterrestial predator.
** Gary says his costume looks like a combination of a Sith Lord and Ring Wraith's outfit.
** Sunlight is said to have done a lot of drugs with Creator/HunterSThompson.
* RidiculouslyAverageGuy: Gary appears to be this but turns out to have a startling number of relationships to many superheroes and villain.
* SpicyLatina: Averted with Ultragoddess who is both black as well as Latina but the most sensible woman in the cast aside from Mandy.
* {{Transexual}}: The Human Tank is a male-to-female one. She's also TheAtoner for her past as a supervillain and now a superheroine.
* ThouShallNotKill: Revealed to be a code of ethics most superheroes follow. It's {{Justified}} when Ultragod points out it avoids a lot of problems both legally, ethically, as well as practically. Furthermore, it can be bent if there's absolutely no other resort. Those superheroes who don't care about murder are called antiheroes in-universe.
* ThoseWhackyNazis: Gary, being Jewish, doesn't find a superhero who incorporates their iconography the least bit funny.
* UnskilledButStrong: Gary isn't a very powerful supervillain but he has a lot of very versatile abilities he makes intelligent use of. He also then becomes MUCH more powerful once he [[spoiler: makes a pact with Death.]]
* VillainDecay: In-universe. El Diablo used to be one of the most feared villains in the world but health problems have reduced him to being a D-Lister's sidekick. Gary offers him a position as his Dragon and El Diablo never looks back.
* VillainProtagonist: It's in the title. Gary is a supervillain and proudly so. [[spoiler: He, eventually, becomes an antihero instead.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: This starts happening with both the public and superheroes when they start to note Gary's "victims" are all evil.
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: How Mandy stays in touch throughout the story.
* WomenAreWiser: Mandy has elements of this, especially in comparison to the complete lunacy of Gary and his crew. As does Ultragoddess. Subverted by the fact it's really just Gary and his crew who are insane. We just see more of them (plus Cindy is arguably more deranged than Gary).
* WhatTheHellHero: A bank teller when he robs the bank within minutes of saving the employees from being killed.
** And then does it again the next day.
* WorldOfBadass: Gary lives in a world where four hundred supervillains in ''one city'' is just really-really high.
* WorthyOpponent: Gary seems to have this sort of feeling for the Society of Superheroes. They seem more confused why a non-psychopath like himself wants to be a supervillain.
* ZombieApocalypse: What will happen if Gary doesn't use his powers often enough. He thinks it's a minor disadvantage.
----
Gary Karkofsky is an ordinary guy with an ordinary life living in an extraordinary world. Supervillains, heroes, and monsters are a common part of the world he inhabits. Yet, after the death of his hometown's resident superhero, he gains the amazing gift of the late champion's magical cloak. Deciding he prefers to be rich rather than good, Gary embarks on a career as ''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy.]]''
But is he evil enough to be a villain in America's most crime-ridden city?
Gary soon finds himself surrounded by a host of the worst of Falconcrest City's toughest criminals. Supported by his long-suffering wife, his ex-girlfriend turned professional henchwoman, and a has-been evil mastermind, Gary may end up being not the hero they want but the villain they need.
----
This book contains the following tropes:
* ActionGirl: Cindy, Ultragoddess, Black Witch, Ninjess, Guinevere, the Human Tank, the Red Schoolgirl, and many more. There are a lot of superheroines and supervillainesses in this world and all of them are badass.
* {{Adorkable}}: Lampshaded in-universe as one of Gary's qualities by all of the people who know him.
* AffablyEvil: Gary Karkfosky may qualify, if you consider him evil. El Diablo and Cindy also qualify.
* AmbiguousyBi: Cindy. Humorous, since Gary's wife Mandy is openly bisexual and put off by Cindy's vague allusions.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Gary reacts to things in a slightly off-way, finding humor in inappropriate things as well as saying whatever is on his mind regardless of whether it's appropriate or not. He also suffers no guilt for killing supervillains. This briefly leads him to think he's a Sociopath. Given he's prone to empathizing with everyone ''except'' the supervillains he kills, this is unlikely.
* {{Antihero}}: Gary zig-zags between this and VillainProtagonist for much of the book before finally choosing which he is. [[spoiler: He's an anti-villain.]]
** The Extreme and Shoot-Em-Up are antiheroes as well, though they kill numerous innocents and are much further down the scale than Gary.
* {{Antivillain}}: Namechecked. Gary says this is what he aspires to be after a long period of soul searching.
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Reaper's Cloak is this, though Gary and the Nightwalker are both able to use it for good.
* TheAtoner: Most of the supervillains working in the Shadow Seven.
* AxCrazy: Cindy is literally this once she gets a fire ax. Psychoslinger is a much darker version of this.
* BaitAndSwitchDeconstruction: Despite being from the perspective of a troubled man who idolizes supervillains while disdaining superheroes, it becomes very clear that villains are bad people and superheroes are (generally) good.
* BigBad: Tom Terror is the likeliest candidate. Subverted as he doesn't appear until the final third of the book [[spoiler: and is summarily defeated by Ultragod once Gary removes his superpowers.]]
* BigGood: The Society of Superheroes fills this role in the setting. Which sucks for Gary when he draws their ire.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Gary is a supervillain-in-name-only who fights evil superheroes and even more evil villains. Averted with the arrival of Ultragod, Ultragoddess, and the Society of Superheroes who are every bit as good as they are believed to be.
** WhiteAndGrayMorality: Gary's conflict with the Society of Superheroes is this as he's clearly in the wrong but they're a little too repressive for their own good.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Gary rapidly develops into one of these amongst supervillains. He's shockingly dangerous despite being an enormous dork.
* {{Capepunk}}: Why would someone ever want to be a supervillain?
* CardCarryingVillain: Gary proudly proclaims himself to be a supervillain. Other villains find this quite weird.
* CityOfAdventure: Falconcrest City is certainly full of this, even if it's also a WretchedHive.
* CurbStompBattle: Ultragod just flies down, puts Gary in a bubble, and takes him off into space and there's not anything he could do about it. [[spoiler: Given the way Gary fights Magog, it's entirely possible he COULD have but didn't want to hurt Ultragod.]]
** The way [[spoiler: Tom Terror]] is defeated.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Gary is revealed to be suffering from one of these. [[spoiler: His brother was murdered in front of him by Shoot-Em-Up despite the former having reformed. Gary then tracked down the villain and killed him--at the age of fourteen.]]
** Cindy has one of these too, which is only alluded to. [[spoiler: At one point, having been forced to serve as a prostitute in high school.]]
* DarkChick: Cindy fills this role in most of the supervillain teams she's on. Also qualifies as a NotSoHarmless villain when she reveals she's closer to TheLancer of the group.
* DatingCatwoman: Both Mandy and Ultragoddess consider their relationships with Gary to be this way.
* DeadpanSnarker: Gary is this in ''spades.'' Almost every word out of his mouth is unaudulterated pure sardonicism.
** Qualifies as a full-on SnarkKnight once you realize Gary's opinion of himself isn't much higher than his opinion of anyone else. Mandy, Ultragod, El Diablo, and Ultragoddess are about the only people he seems to respect.
* TheDragon: El Diablo settles into a combination of this role and TheMentor.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Tom Terror appears to be a WickedCultured mentor-like figure to Gary. He's closer to being a CompleteMonster.
* GenreSavvy: This is why Gary is able to get out of the majority of his predicaments along with the variety of powers he gets from the Nightwalker's cloak. Qualifies as DangerousGenreSavvy to the Extreme.
* HappilyMarried: A first in superhero literature as both Gary and Mandy seem to be quite content in their relationship.
* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: It's implied Gary suffered this as a child, reading much-more advanced books than is normal for his age while hanging around his supervillain brother instead of kids his age.
* JackOfAllTrades: Gary has a number of minor (by comparison to the setting) abilities. Minor fire, ice, levitation (not flight), durability (not invulnerability), and insubstantibility powers. He can also see ghosts. Gary turns these all into a massive advantage.
** Subverted when he [[spoiler: makes a pact with Death]] and becomes a master of fire and ice throwing.
* JewishAndNerdy: Gary is a definite example of this. Cindy is definitely Jewish and UN-Nerdy.
* {{Kaiju}}: Enough of a problem the Nightwalker had a special gun for dealing with them.
** Gary has to deal with two at the end of the book.
* KarvorkaMan: Gary is an unemployed oddball who wants to be a supervillain. No less than three stunningly attractive women have been revealed to have been in relationships with him. He's also off-handedly mentioned to be with many more.
** Played with when Gary reveals the secret of his success with women was to treat all of the ones he wants to date with respect while giving complete honesty about his intentions. [[WordOfGod It helps the author has also said Gary bears a striking resemlance to]] [[ComicBookFantasyCasting Wentworth Miller.]]
* KnightTemplar: The Extreme are a collection of these. As is Shoot-Em-Up and other in-universe antiheroes.
* TheMentor: El Diablo plays this role to Gary. As does Cloak to a certain extent.
* MissionControl: Mandy takes on this role with Gary, providing him valuable intelligence through the power of the internet.
* MsFanservice: Cindy Wakowski a.k.a. Red Riding Hood deliberately cultivates this role as a henchperson.
* NinetiesAntihero: The book shreds these mercilessly (no pun intended). Shoot-Em-Up is the first and he inspired Gary to become a supervillain by murdering his brother after he reformed. The Extreme, an entire team of them, are even worse.
** Gary is deeply troubled when he starts to realize, after killing numerous villains and getting praise for it, he's morphed into one of these himself.
* NominalHero: The Extreme and Shoot-Em-Up don't do anything good but kill supervillains. Reformed or harmless or not.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Most supervillains assume Gary is this due to his laid-back demeanor, CardCarryingVillainy, and rambling. He really comes off more as a demented cosplayer than a supervillain. Then the bodies start dropping.
* OneOfUs: Gary is an enormous geek who references everything from Star Wars to video games to comic books.
* PoliceAreUseless: Gary thinks so. Given there's 400 supervillains in the city and many have superpowers or super-tech, it's more like, "police are completely outmatched."
* PopCulturedBadass: A very very nerdy pop-cultured badass.
* PsychoForHire: Psychoslinger is, apparently, this. He's a spree-killer, serial killer, and all round lunatic the other villains use.
* RefugeInAudacity: A large part of why Gary is so successful. People can't compartmentalize Gary more or less just walking up to people, announcing he's a supervillain, and then carrying out his plan without hurting anyone but fellow villains.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Mandy was intended to have the Cloak, not Gary.]]
** [[spoiler: Cloak was the Nightwalker's ghost all along.]]
* ServileSnarker: Cloak has this relationship to Gary, constantly pointing out the flaws in his very twisted logic.
* ShoutOut: The streets in Falconcrest City are named after famous comic book writers.
** Ultragoddess is playing a clear homage to VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs while wearing a Star Wars t-shirt.
** Mandy is wearing a 'Slaughtermania' t-shirt at one point.
** The phone to the Chief of Police's office is an homage to the 60s Batman tv series.
** Gary makes frequent references to the Franchise/{{Alien}} movies when fleeing an extraterrestial predator.
** Gary says his costume looks like a combination of a Sith Lord and Ring Wraith's outfit.
** Sunlight is said to have done a lot of drugs with Creator/HunterSThompson.
* RidiculouslyAverageGuy: Gary appears to be this but turns out to have a startling number of relationships to many superheroes and villain.
* SpicyLatina: Averted with Ultragoddess who is both black as well as Latina but the most sensible woman in the cast aside from Mandy.
* {{Transexual}}: The Human Tank is a male-to-female one. She's also TheAtoner for her past as a supervillain and now a superheroine.
* ThouShallNotKill: Revealed to be a code of ethics most superheroes follow. It's {{Justified}} when Ultragod points out it avoids a lot of problems both legally, ethically, as well as practically. Furthermore, it can be bent if there's absolutely no other resort. Those superheroes who don't care about murder are called antiheroes in-universe.
* ThoseWhackyNazis: Gary, being Jewish, doesn't find a superhero who incorporates their iconography the least bit funny.
* UnskilledButStrong: Gary isn't a very powerful supervillain but he has a lot of very versatile abilities he makes intelligent use of. He also then becomes MUCH more powerful once he [[spoiler: makes a pact with Death.]]
* VillainDecay: In-universe. El Diablo used to be one of the most feared villains in the world but health problems have reduced him to being a D-Lister's sidekick. Gary offers him a position as his Dragon and El Diablo never looks back.
* VillainProtagonist: It's in the title. Gary is a supervillain and proudly so. [[spoiler: He, eventually, becomes an antihero instead.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: This starts happening with both the public and superheroes when they start to note Gary's "victims" are all evil.
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: How Mandy stays in touch throughout the story.
* WomenAreWiser: Mandy has elements of this, especially in comparison to the complete lunacy of Gary and his crew. As does Ultragoddess. Subverted by the fact it's really just Gary and his crew who are insane. We just see more of them (plus Cindy is arguably more deranged than Gary).
* WhatTheHellHero: A bank teller when he robs the bank within minutes of saving the employees from being killed.
** And then does it again the next day.
* WorldOfBadass: Gary lives in a world where four hundred supervillains in ''one city'' is just really-really high.
* WorthyOpponent: Gary seems to have this sort of feeling for the Society of Superheroes. They seem more confused why a non-psychopath like himself wants to be a supervillain.
* ZombieApocalypse: What will happen if Gary doesn't use his powers often enough. He thinks it's a minor disadvantage.
----
