History WebAnimation / MonkeyWrench

* TheAssimilator: The Cataclysm caused by the terrans is revealed to be this, and it's overtaken a quarter of the galaxy by the time the story begins. Not only can it [[TheVirus corrupt organic life and turn entire planets and species into extensions of itself]], but it can also take control of technology just as easily.

* CosmicHorrorReveal: A fairly early one, but Episode 3 explains that the goofy sci-fi galaxy of ''Monkey Wrench'' is currently in the process of being devoured by a nameless Cataclysm, a voracious black-and-green mass that [[TheVirus turns everything it touches into an extension of itself]]. A whole ''quarter'' of the galaxy has fallen, with the infected area so thoroughly overrun that it looks like a gargantuan cloud of dark green smog.

** [[Creator/{{Sr. Pelo]] voices El Bandito alongside another Vinesauce member Joel as the duende in the the third episode.

** [[Creator/{{Sr. Pelo}}]] voices El Bandito alongside another Vinesauce member Joel as the duende in the the third episode.

* TheCameo: Vinethop, the Lythop who chiseled out the prophecy foretelling of the 'Mother Crystal' is voiced by [[WebVideo/Vinesauce Vinny of Vinesauce fame]], has a green mushroom growing out of his head, and has Vinny's hair and facial hair.

* HowWeGotHere: Episode 3, "Us and Them," begins chaotically, with the Bucket on a collision course with a blazing sun or star. Most of the episode tskes place "2 Hours Earlier," when we can see what events led up to the beginning.

''[[https://www.newgrounds.com/series/monkey-wrench Monkey Wrench]]'' ([[https://www.youtube.com/@MonkeyWrenchSeries also available on YouTube]])is a web animation series by Joshua Palmer, better known online as Zeurel, following the misadventures of [[HiredGuns cut-rate mercenary]] [[BashBrothers duo Shrike and Beebs]] as they cruise the galaxy in search of decent-paying contracts. Unfortunately for them, there's plenty of heavily-armed psychopaths standing between them and their next big payout, not to mention hints of nefarious happenings going on way above their paygrade.

* ProductionThrowback:
** The toys Nobert plays with in "Ghost Egg" are Spoiler and Black Ace, early characters of Zeruel's known for participating in {{Original Character Tournament}}s (including ''WebOriginal/LawOfTalos'') on Website/DeviantArt.
** [[TheVirus The Cataclysm]] is all but stated to be the same lifeform as the Beast from ''[[WebOriginal/WalkingCityOCT The Walking City]]'', a 2015 OC tournament Zeruel participated in with characters said to hail from the ''Monkey Wrench'' universe.

* {{Retool}}: Shrike and Beebs were characters that Zeurel frequently used in Website/DeviantArt's [[OriginalCharacterTournament Original Character Tournaments]], which followed their own canon. ''Monkey Wrench'' does away with the previous stories and much of the cast while reinterpreting the duo, particularly Shrike.

* FasterThanLightTravel: Ships can achieve FTL by jumping into "blue space". It's basically hyperspace, but it leaves a blue residue smeared all over the ship when you come out.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxresdefault_1_791.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The intrepid crew of the Bucket. [[note]]Shrike Sanchez on the left, Bulldog "Beebs" Browns on the right[[/note]] ]]

!!Tropes regarding ''Monkey Wrench'' are:

* ProductionThrowback: [[TheVirus The Cataclysm]] is all but stated to be the same lifeform as the Beast from ''[[WebOriginal/WalkingCityOCT The Walking City]]'', a 2015 OriginalCharacterTournament Zeruel participated in (using characters said to hail from the ''Monkey Wrench'' universe). Both entities are amorphous {{Hungry Menace}}s with a green-on-black coloration, [[TheAssimilator assimilating]] any organic life and technology they come in contact with.

* CosmicHorrorReveal: A fairly early one, but Episode 3 explains that the goofy sci-fi galaxy of ''Monkey Wrench'' is currently in the process of being devoured by a nameless Cataclysm, a voracious black-and-green mass that [[TheAssimilator turns everything it touches into an extension of itself]]. A whole ''quarter'' of the galaxy has fallen, with the infected area so thoroughly overrun that it looks like a gargantuan cloud of dark green smog.

* DressedToPlunder: Ricket and the Fodders dress like stereotypical shirtless buccaneers, and even their guns look like they came out of the Age of Sail.

* ProductionThrowback: [[TheVirus The Cataclysm]] is all but stated to be the Beast from ''[[WebOriginal/WalkingCityOCT The Walking City]]'', a 2015 OriginalCharacterTournament Zeruel participated in (using characters said to hail from the ''Monkey Wrench'' universe).

* TheVirus: The Cataclysm seems to be an energy-based form of this trope -- it turned the once-peaceful agari into a HordeOfAlienLocusts, and a tiny shred of it is able to [[spoiler:corrupt systems on the ''Bucket'' and turn them hostile, hijacking the ship outright once it bonds with the remains of Them to gain physical mass]]. The quarantine zone installed by L.A.W. to keep the contagion at bay spans nearly a ''quarter'' of the galaxy.

* HumansThroughAlienEyes: Humanity, or [[HumansByAnyOtherName "terrans"]], was responsible for creating the Cataclysm, a corrupting force that has since consumed a quarter of the galaxy. While the exact circumstances of the Cataclysm are unknown, L.A.W. considers terrans extremely dangerous and has a standing bounty on their entire race ([[HumanitysWake whatever remains of it]]). Despite this fear, pre-Cataclysm terran artifacts are considered valuable enough to attract salvage hunters and smugglers to the quarantine zone, and Shrike enjoys [[KlingonsLoveShakesphere terran pop culture]] and cuisine (particularly [[TrademarkFavoriteFood pizza]]).

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Terrans were responsible for [[spoiler:the Cataclysm that infected the Agari and turned them into assimilative, corruptive monsters]]. This is why L.A.W. considers them extremely dangerous.
* HumansThroughAlienEyes: L.A.W. considers terrans extremely dangerous, and a wanted poster warns citizens to contact the authorities if they see one.

* NoodleIncident: According to Shrike, the reason humans (or "Terrans") are so reviled across the universe is due to a "galactic-wide cataclysm" they caused--when and what this cataclysm was isn't elaborated on.

* TheVirus: The Cataclysm seems to be an energy-based form of this trope -- it turned the once-peaceful agari into a HordeOfAlienLocusts, and a tiny shred of it is able to [[spoiler:corrupt systems on the ''Bucket'' and turn them hostile, hijacking the ship outright once it bonds with the remains of Them to gain physical mass]].

* HumansAreBastards: Terrans were responsible for [[spoiler:the Cataclysm that infected the Agari and turned them into assimilative, corruptive monsters]].

''[[https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/911606 Monkey Wrench]]'' ([[https://www.youtube.com/@MonkeyWrenchSeries also available on YouTube]])is a web animation series by Joshua Palmer, better known online as Zeurel, following the misadventures of [[HiredGuns cut-rate mercenary]] [[BashBrothers duo Shrike and Beebs]] as they cruise the galaxy in search of decent-paying contracts. Unfortunately for them, there's plenty of heavily-armed psychopaths standing between them and their next big payout, not to mention hints of nefarious happenings going on way above their paygrade.

''[[https://www.youtube.com/@MonkeyWrenchSeries Monkey Wrench]]'' is a web animation series by Joshua Palmer, better known online as Zeurel, following the misadventures of [[HiredGuns cut-rate mercenary]] [[BashBrothers duo Shrike and Beebs]] as they cruise the galaxy in search of decent-paying contracts. Unfortunately for them, there's plenty of heavily-armed psychopaths standing between them and their next big payout, not to mention hints of nefarious happenings going on way above their paygrade.

Episode 1, "The Ghost Egg", released in July 2022. Episode 2, "Lythop Liberation", released in April 2023.

* BittersweetEnding: Lythop Liberation [[spoiler:ends with Dr. Agness arrested for her crimes and L.A.W. giving a Monkey Wrench 400K for the bounty and a new job, but the Lythops are all still dead with only one last survivor. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And Shrike and Beebs didn't get paid for the job]].]]