History VisualNovel / HenchmanStory

* DespotismJustifiesTheMeans: This is essentially what Madame Scorpion's motivation amounts to. She'll do absolutely anything she needs to in order to ensure that she's the one who has the power. [[spoiler:After Shining Nova reveals her true identity and gets cornered, Scorpion will point-blank tell Stan that the game of power is zero sum, and that if people like her are to win, others have to lose. This gets brutally deconstructed in the [[ICanRuleAlone Lord Stanley]] ending, where Stan takes this trope to its logical extreme by turning on ''Scorpion herself'' so that he can rule all by himself, and even throws her own words back at her when she tries to talk him out of doing so.]]

* BadLiar: [[spoiler:None of Stan's lies are ever particularly effective, and he often gets exposed pretty quickly. A notable example can be found in the villain route, where Madame Scorpion tasks Stan with lying to Shining Nova during her interrogation to get her to reveal her backup plan. Even though Stan basically says the same thing regardless of whether or not he's lying to her, Nova will see right through his lie and only reveal her true plan if he genuinely turns against Scorpion. However, given that Nova still gets OutGambitted if Stan commits to being a villain, it's implied that the true purpose of Scorpion's test was less about Stan's effectiveness as a liar, and more about his willingness to lie.]]

* DespotismJustifiesTheMeans: This is essentially what Madame Scorpion's motivation amounts to. She'll do absolutely anything she needs to in order to ensure that she's the one in control of the situation. [[spoiler:After Shining Nova reveals her true identity and gets cornered, Scorpion will point-blank tell Stan that the game of power is zero sum, and that if people like her are to win, others have to lose. This gets brutally deconstructed in the [[ICanRuleAlone Lord Stanley]] ending, where Stan takes this trope to its logical extreme by turning on ''Scorpion herself'' so that he can rule all by himself, and even throws her own words back at her when she tries to talk him out of doing so.]]

* LoveRedeems: [[spoiler:What happens with Stan if he pursues a romance with Nova in the hero routes. And even the non-romance paths, Nova's efforts to get Stan to [[HeelFaceTurn defect from his henchman career]] are motivated by a genuine concern for him. Madame Scorpion will lampshade this when you encounter her later in the hero route, coldly mocking him for throwing away his prospects in villainy just because he fell in love. And Scorpion herself is also a clear aversion to this trope; the only way to romance her is to commit to being a villain, and no one even ''considers'' trying to talk her out of the path she's on.]]

** [[spoiler:Speaking of romancing Scorpion, in the routes where Stan does so, she'll emphatically state that she wants him to conduct himself as an equal to her, as she has nothing but utter contempt for the people who've propositioned her solely to fulfill their fantasies of being trampled on and degraded by her. If you botch the climactic confrontation with her in the hero route, Scorpion will go on a sadistic monologue about all the horrible ways she plans to degrade Stan while literally stepping on him.]]

** [[spoiler:Speaking of romancing Scorpion, she'll emphatically state that she wants Stan to conduct himself as an equal to her, as she has nothing but utter contempt for the people who've propositioned her solely to fulfill their fantasies of being trampled on and degraded by her. If you botch the climactic confrontation with her in the hero route, Scorpion will go on a sadistic monologue about all the horrible ways she plans to degrade Stan while literally stepping on him.]]

* PragmaticVillainy: During one of the first major story choices, Madame Scorpion offers Stan a gig via the Hench-Can app as a way to test his mettle. However, said mission also conflicts with a game night [[BlandNameProduct Spells & Swords session]] Stan had arranged with Dave and Kate. And while Scorpion fully approves of Stan wanting to wait and and consider his options, Stan also believes that she will ''not'' take it well if he turns down her offer. [[spoiler:Should you actually choose game night over her offer, however, Scorpion will neither retaliate against Stan, nor write off his potential. Rather, she'll show up to the session ''herself'' and bring Lord Bedlam along in order to turn ''game night itself'' into an avenue for evaluating Bedlam's recruits. In fact, it's even possible to ''improve'' your RelationshipValues with Scorpion during this event.]]

* PragmaticVillainy: During one of the first major story choices, Madame Scorpion offers Stan a gig via the HenchCan app as a way to test his mettle. However, said mission also conflicts with a game night [[BlandNameProduct Spella & Swords session]] Stan had arranged with Dave and Kate. And while she fully approves of Stan wanting to wait and and consider his options, Stan also believes that she will ''not'' take it well if he turns down her offer. [[spoiler:Should you choose game night over her offer, however, Scorpion will neither retaliate against Stan, nor write off his potential. Rather, she'll show up to the session ''herself'' and bring Lord Bedlam around just to see how things play out. In fact, it's even possible to ''improve'' your RelationshipValues with Scorpion during this event.]]

** Madame Scorpion is a far more ambitious and dangerous villain than Lord Bedlam. While Bedlam himself would be content to do petty operations that never amount to anything and don't even put anyone but his own henchmen at risk, Scorpion is a former assassin who has already built a formidable power network and exploits Bedlam's resources for considerably more deadly ends. This extends to their influence on Stan; while under Bedlam, Stan was a harmless and ineffectual PunchClockVillain, under Scorpion he can become a dangerously effective operator who poses a major threat to the superheroes.

** [[spoiler:In the villain routes, Stan actually sees some of the benefits her sadism can bring, as she quickly browbeats his SitcomArchNemesis Chef Antonio, as well as Dave, who turned on Stan for not following protocol after Shining Nova's break-in, into giving him actual food and apologizing to him respectively. Stan himself adopts a sadistic attitude towards Dave in particular, repeatedly rubbing his newfound status in Dave's face, knowing that it's killing him inside.]]

* EvilPaysBetter: A major reason why Stan became a henchman in the first place was to get some job security and health insurance after his law-abiding early life ended up saddling him with mountains of debt. When Madame Scorpion enters the picture, she eagerly tempts him with lucrative opportunities to advance his career that could leave him both incredibly wealthy and powerful. [[spoiler:By contrast, Shining Nova asks Stan to completely abandon his career path solely by appealing to his morality, and outright admits that she can't guarantee his prospects from the outset. Though Stan ''can'' make a decent living in the hero endings, the substantial risks associated with pulling a HeelFaceTurn can be reason enough for him to reject Nova's pleas.]]

** [[spoiler:Speaking of romancing Scorpion, if Stan does so she'll emphatically state that she wants him to conduct himself as an equal to her, as she has nothing but contempt for the people who've propositioned her solely to fulfill their fantasies of being trampled on and degraded by her. If you botch the climactic confrontation with her in the hero route, Scorpion will go on a sadistic monologue about all the horrible ways she plans to degrade Stan while literally stepping on him.]]

* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:After critically wounding Crimson Dynamo in the villain route and forcing her to retreat, Madame Scorpion says that even if she somehow recovers, she'll always live in fear of Scorpion's shadow, knowing that she could be vanquished at any moment, which in some ways is even more satisfying than killing her. Though Dynamo does survive thanks to Nova's intervention, the fact that the heroes never pose a serious threat again (with the [[ICanRuleAlone Lord Stanley]] ending explicitly showing how Nova's still worried about Dynamo's safety) suggests that Scorpion's analysis was on point.]]

* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Should Stan successfully pursue a RelationshipUpgrade with Madame Scorpion in the villain route, she'll threaten him with dire consequences if he ever betrays her. Gameplay-wise, pursuing a romance with Madame Scorpion is a surefire way to get locked out of the option of later turning on her, meaning that the only time Madame Scorpion considers the possibility of Stan backstabbing her is when he's already abandoned the notion completely.]]

* {{Sadist}}: Madame Scorpion, ''in spades''. Her very first scene has her taunting Crimson Dynamo with a surprise attack, and the vicious grin on her face clearly shows that she ''relishes'' how Dynamo immediately loses her composure upon seeing her. She generally reserves her sadism for her enemies, but still finds ways to toy with the feelings of even those who work for her, especially Stan. [[spoiler:Shining Nova, of course, is on the receiving end of her vicious urges should she be captured, as Scorpion fakes an attempt to kill Stan just to mess with her, and then ''immediately'' pretends to proposition Stan just to mess with her ''again''. If Stan commits to being a villain and romances Scorpion, she will admit that even her feelings for him are partially motivated by sadism, as she relishes the idea of claiming someone Nova cared about so dearly as hers. And if Stan has a HeelFaceTurn in the A Real Dynamo route, he sees another instance of Scorpion's sadism that is played much more darkly; Nova being subjected to ColdBloodedTorture.]]

* {{Sadist}}: Madame Scorpion, ''in spades''. Her very first scene has her taunting Crimson Dynamo with a surprise attack, and the vicious grin on her face clearly shows that she ''relishes'' how Dynamo immediately loses her composure upon seeing her. She generally reserves her sadism for her enemies, but still finds ways to toy with the feelings of even those who work for her, especially Stan. [[spoiler:Shining Nova, of course, is on the receiving end of her vicious urges should she be captured, as Scorpion fakes an attempt to kill Stan just to mess with her, and then ''immediately'' pretends to proposition Stan just to mess with her ''again''. If Stan commits to being a villain and romances Scorpion, she will admit that even her feelings for him are partially motivated by sadism, as she relishes the idea of claiming someone Nova cared about and wanted to redeem as hers. And if Stan has a HeelFaceTurn in the A Real Dynamo route, he sees another instance of Scorpion's sadism that is played much more darkly; Nova being subject to ColdBloodedTorture.]]

** [[spoiler:In the villain routes, Stan actually sees some of the benefits her sadism can bring, as she quickly browbeats his SitcomArchNemesis Chef Antonio, as well as Dave, who turned on Stan for not following protocol after Shining Nova's break-in, into giving him actual food and apologizing to him, respectively. Stan himself adopts a sadistic attitude towards Dave in particular, repeatedly rubbing his newfound status in Dave's face, knowing that it's killing him inside.]]
** [[spoiler:In most villain endings, Stan softens up and never relishes sadism as much as Scorpion, but in the [[ICanRuleAlone Lord Stanley]] ending, he become far more sadistic than she ever was, starting with subjecting her to a brutal MindRape so that he can take over himself. He then starts picking off the superheroes one by one while knowing how Nova and Dynamo are utterly terrified of him, and doles out vicious, [[EvilIsPetty and petty]] punishments to the superheroes he captures.]]

* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: [[spoiler:This becomes a major FatalFlaw of Shining Nova if she fails to convince Stan to make a HeelFaceTurn. She tries to appeal to Stan's better nature by telling him that just because circumstances pushed him into villainy, he doesn't have to stick with it and can make a new future for himself. However, she fails to understand just how legitimately tempting a career in villainy would be for someone like Stan, who has little reason to respect the law-abiding lifestyle after it saddled him with student debt and medical bills. This becomes especially true after Madame Scorpion enters the picture and genuinely offers Stan some enticing incentives to advance his career in villainy. When Nova sees the hold Scorpion has on Stan, she warns him about the dangers of staying around someone as AxCrazy and [[{{Sadist}} sadistic]] as her and seems utterly convinced that doing so can only end with Scorpion tossing him aside on a whim, despite her EvilVirtues showing that she genuinely values competent subordinates. She repeatedly implores Stan to live for himself and not be subject to the whims of the supervillains lording over him, never realizing that Stan might genuinely share their ambitious nature, something that Scorpion directly calls her out on. If Stan does finally decide to commit to villainy, Nova at the very least ''does'' see through his lies and realizes the choice he's made, but she just assumes she was wrong about him and he was rotten all along, not realizing that he had genuine incentives and reasons to choose such a path.]]

* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: [[spoiler:This becomes a major FatalFlaw of Shining Nova if she fails to convince Stan to make a HeelFaceTurn. She tries to appeal to Stan's better nature by telling him that just because circumstances pushed him into villainy, he doesn't have to stick with it and can make a new future for himself. However, she fails to understand just how legitimately tempting a career in villainy would be for someone like Stan, who has little reason to respect the law-abiding lifestyle after it saddled him with student debt and medical bills. This becomes especially true after Madame Scorpion enters the picture and genuinely offers Stan a way to advance his career in villainy. When Nova sees the hold Scorpion has on Stan, she warns him about the dangers of staying around someone as AxCrazy and [[{{Sadist}} sadistic]] as her and seems utterly convinced that doing so can only end with Scorpion tossing him aside on a whim, despite her EvilVirtues showing that she genuinely values competent subordinates. She repeatedly implores Stan to live for himself and not be subject to the whims of the supervillains lording over him, never realizing that Stan might genuinely share their ambitious nature, something that Scorpion directly calls her out on. If Stan does finally decide to commit to villainy, Nova at the very least ''does'' see through his lies and realizes the choice he's made, but she just assumes she was wrong about him and he was rotten all along, not realizing that he had genuine incentives and reasons to choose such a path.]]

* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: [[spoiler:This becomes a major FatalFlaw of Shining Nova if she fails to convince Stan to make a HeelFaceTurn. She tries to appeal to Stan's better nature by telling him that just because circumstances pushed him into villainy, he doesn't have to stick with it and can make a new future for himself. However, she fails to understand just how legitimately tempting a career in villainy would be for someone like Stan, who has little reason to respect the law-abiding lifestyle after it saddled him with student debt and medical bills. This becomes especially true after Madame Scorpion enters the picture and genuinely offers Stan a way to advance his aceer in villainy. When Nova sees the hold Scorpion has on Stan, she warns him about the dangers of staying around someone as AxCrazy and [[{{Sadist}} sadistic]] as her and seems utterly convinced that doing so can only end with Scorpion tossing him aside on a whim, despite her EvilVirtues showing that she genuinely values competent subordinates. She repeatedly implores Stan to live for himself and not be subject to the whims of the supervillains lording over him, never realizing that Stan might genuinely share their ambitious nature, something that Scorpion directly calls her out on. If Stan does finally decide to commit to villainy, Nova at the very least ''does'' see through his lies and realizes the choice he's made, but she just assumes she was wrong about him and he was rotten all along, not realizing that he had genuine incentives and reasons to choose such a path.]]

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler:Madame Scorpion's contempt for the concept of heroism bites her ''hard'' in the routes where Stan has a HeelFaceTurn. This is not because she's ''incapable'' of comprehending virtuous concepts such as trust, camaraderie, love or compassion. [[EvilVirtues Indeed, she displays many of them in her own routes.]] However, her [[TheSocialDarwinist social darwinist beliefs]] have convinced her that superheroes must have only amassed so much renown through manipulation and ruthlessness, just like she did, and she's therefore completely blindsided when they genuinely put themselves at risk for those they care about, or show [[{{Determinator}} unstoppable determination despite all odds]], or when Stan [[ShutUpHannibal refuses to buy into her characterization of Nova as a self-absorbed manipulator]] despite the fact that she ''did'' deceive him. As a result, she ends up outmatched despite having a clear advantage in terms of resources and manpower.]]

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler:Madame Scorpion's contempt for the concept of heroism bites her ''hard'' in the routes where Stan has a HeelFaceTurn. This is not because she's ''incapable'' of comprehending virtuous concepts such as trust, camaraderie, love or compassion. [[EvilVirtue Indeed, she displays many of them in her own routes.]] However, her [[TheSocialDarwinist social darwinist beliefs]] have convinced her that superheroes must have only amassed so much renown through manipulation and ruthlessness, just like she did, and she's therefore completely blindsided when they genuinely put themselves at risk for those they care about, or show [[{{Determinator}} unstoppable determination despite all odds]], or when Stan [[ShutUpHannibal refuses to buy into her characterization of Nova as a self-absorbed manipulator]] despite the fact that she ''did'' deceive him. As a result, she ends up outmatched despite having a clear advantage in terms of resources and manpower.]]

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler:Madame Scorpion's contempt for the concept of heroism bites her ''hard'' in the routes where Stan has a HeelFaceTurn. This is not because she's ''incapable'' of comprehending virtuous concepts such as trust, camaraderie, love or compassion. [[EvilVirtue Indeed, she displays many of them in her own routes.]] However, her [[TheSocialDarwinist social darwinist beliefs]] have convinced her that superheroes must have only amassed so much renown through manipulation and ruthlessness, just like she did, and she's therefore completely blindsided when they genuinely put themselves at risk for those they care about, or show [[Determinator unstoppable determination despite all odds]], or when Stan refuses to buy into her characterization of Nova as a self-absorbed manipulator despite the fact that she ''did'' deceive him. As a result, she ends up outmatched despite having a clear advantage in terms of resources and manpower.]]