History Webcomic / FreakAngels

* {{Bishounen}}/{{Bifauxnen}}: Most of the [=FreakAngels=] are fairly attractive, and it can be somewhat hard to tell their exact gender for some of them. Arkady and Karl are even hard to tell apart in a couple of panels, despite being respectively female and male, due to their shaven heads (and Arkady's androgyny in general).

''[=FreakAngels=]'' is a {{webcomic}} written by Creator/WarrenEllis, author of ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}''/''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'', transhumanist and noted Awesome British Person, with art by Paul Duffield.

* AfterTheEnd

* AnythingThatMoves[=/=]{{Polyamory}}: Sirkka

--> '''KK''': - fucking torture chamber, Kait!\\
'''Karl''': You can read fucking minds, Kait, so why are you operating the Whitechapel wing of Abu Fucking Ghraib over there -\\
'''Arkady''': ''It smells of poo!''

* BedmateReveal: The first episode.

* TheBigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:Conner and Arkady.]] SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!

* BrainBleach: This is one among the many [=FreakAngel=] powers. It is applied (usually by Sirrka) to the traumatized people they encounter in Whitechapel. In the case that happens "on-screen" she doesn't even ask if the girl actually ''wants'' her brain bleached. In this case and others, it seems the [=FreakAngels=] apply brain bleach not just out of mercy, but also to keep their powers secret.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Arkady has CloudCuckooLander tendencies and is hard to take seriously, but she's by far the strongest and most skilled user of the [=FreakAngels=] powers.
* ButtMonkey: Luke. In one day, he gets punched and [[GroinAttack crotch-stomped]] by Kirk, pistol-whipped by Jack, and Arkady {{Mind Rape}}s him (see BewareTheNiceOnes above), leaving him crying in the foetal position on the floor in a puddle of his own urine. A week later, he gets whacked in the face by Alice, [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] by Sirkka and Caz, chained up in Kait's dungeon, shot in both legs by Kirk, blasted by Alice's shotgun, and finally [[spoiler:''shot through the head'', which he recovers from.]] [[MoralEventHorizon Not that he didn't deserve it.]]
** After he [[spoiler: comes BackFromTheDead]], [[spoiler: [[ShutUpHannibal KK breaks a chair over his head]], then Miki telekinetically castrates him and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking draws a dick on his forehead while he's unconscious]].]]

* [[CityOfCanals City of Flooded Streets]]: What Whitechapel has become in the wake of its destruction.
* CloudCuckooLander: Arkady, [[JustifiedTrope attributed]] to brain damage from a drug overdose and generally spending her spare time pushing the limits of her brain.

* ComboPlatterPowers: Every [=FreakAngel=] can use telepathy to talk to the others, read minds, see through someone else's eyes, and project their own thoughts and memories. They can use telekinesis in a variety of ways, from deflecting bullets to causing [[StuffBlowingUp explosions]]. They regenerate from serious injury and can go for weeks without food, water, or sleep. Together, they can manipulate time, reshape wood on the cellular level, reverse the chemical reaction of expended gunpowder on the ''molecular'' level and build time moats. They even eventually learn [[spoiler:that they're effectively immortal.]]
** Invoked by Arkady, who apparently spends much of her time [[HowDoIShotWeb developing new tricks]], such as teleportation.
** It's hinted (and possible, within the realm of pseudo-science) that all their powers are simply manipulations of an incredibly potent personal electromagnetic field.

* {{Gorn}}: Forget the below-mentioned YourHeadASplode - we've got Your ''Torso'' A-splode! Not to mention the loving rendition of shattering bones and tearing flesh...
* GroinAttack: [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=387&page=6 Poor, poor Jack...]]

* HeterosexualLifePartners[=/=]HoYay: Kirk and Karl seem to only be able to stand each other, [[spoiler:tried to murder Mark]] and kept the secret to themselves, and despite their many interactions have the rare accomplishment of never fighting with one another. Though they don't get much focus, it's implied they share a strong bond.
** As of episode 139, they're either an item or are at least considering becoming one.
---> '''Karl:''' If you think I'm kissing you in front of this shower of bastards you're fucking insane.

* KatanasAreJustBetter: Summarily [[JustForPun deconstructed]] by [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=285&page=5 Kaitlyn]].
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Mixed with PayEvilUntoEvil and a bit of {{Squick}} - [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=102 this page and the following ones]]. May induce FridgeLogic on Page 4.

* MadOracle: A referenced NoodleIncident in which Arkady randomly predicted three people dying and [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne KK shagging a kid from Lambeth]], then developed short-term amnesia and forgot the entire event.
** An alternative explanation is that this foreshadows a future plot line. In the scene were Arkady says she doesn't remember visiting the market, she also talks about how she's considering the possibility of time travel. The implication seems to be that the Arkady who made the predictions in the marketplace might have been Arkady traveling back from some point in the future.

* MindControlEyes: Not always used - people that [[spoiler:Mark manipulated to kill the [=FreakAngels=]]] don't show this, but the girl that [[spoiler:Luke rapes]] does have them.
* MindOverManners: A recurring and frequent source of drama.
* MindRape: One of the [=FreakAngel=] powers.

* MoralEventHorizon: In the [=FreakAngels=]' minds, brainwashing people; this is discussed in-universe several times. Oddly, they don't have any rules to deal with violence, and [[spoiler:Kait]] is never punished for [[spoiler:torturing people for dubious reasons, nor has anyone been punished for their murder attempts.]]

** Sirkka, due to her...[[AnythingThatMoves amorous ways]], and particularly when her package upgrade occurs with her naked and writhing on her bed.

** Evidently, this is the reason for [[spoiler:Mark's activities. He was responsible for breaking the country as badly as it did, and he went crazy with guilt. Even worse when you remember all his good intentions as a thirteen year old kid.]]

* OhCrap: [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=322&page=4 Teleportation's a bitch]].

* OneWordTitle: Also a {{Portmantitle}} because its a compound word.
* TheOphelia: Arkady.

* PerverseSexualLust: Regarding ''Series/QuincyME'', a detective drama from the 1970s and 80s...
-->'''Kait:''' I fucking loved ''Quincy''. In fact, I would have ''done'' Quincy, so less of your lip.\\

'''Kait:''' ''(lip bite)''...And then Quincy walks in.\\

** Karl later asks Arkady to [[BrainBleach wipe that conversation from his mind.]] He's probably joking.

* ShoutOut: The afterlife apparently does ''not'' include [[Series/BlackAdder Satan and his little wizards]].
* SteamPunk[=/=]OceanPunk: KK has a [[ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines steam helicopter]], not to mention the steam-powered, crank-operated ''[[GatlingGood Gatling gun]]''.

* TotallyRadical

* WrenchWench: KK and Caz.

* YourMom: [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=545&page=5 Kait to Connor]], with [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=545&page=6 an epic follow-up]].

Ellis and Duffield turned out six full-color pages a week; it ended at 144 episodes (six volumes of the paper edition) on August 5, 2011. As well as on the [[http://www.freakangels.com/ ''Freakangels'' page]], the collected editions are available via the Avatar Press website on paper and digitally.

Creator/{{Crunchyroll}} aired an AnimatedAdaptation in 2022.

* MagicSkirt: KK. Her skirt is about twice as wide as a belt and made from some ruffly material, but the panty shot proves elusive.

* MagicSkirt: KK. Her skirt is about twice as wide as a belt and made from some ruffly material, but the PantyShot proves elusive.

* EthnicityObscuringMutation: All of the Freakangels are born with pale skin and purple eyes. While most of them are white anyway, Caz made their connection the most obvious since she's black.

* NotSoDifferent: Connor frequently lampshades that every [=FreakAngel=] is as much of a Jerkass as Luke and Mark.

''[=FreakAngels=]'' is a {{webcomic}} written by Creator/WarrenEllis, author of ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}''/''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'', transhumanist and noted CrazyAwesome British person, with art by Paul Duffield.

* ZettaiRyouiki: Arkady, at 14. Grade A. [[http://www.freakangels.com/comics/FA0091-4.jpg Behold.]]

[[quoteright:328:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/FreakAngels.jpg]]

* AGodAmI: Luke's general attitude towards the package, believing that he is part of the "master race" and that having power means he should be able to use it on "lesser souls". Connor hints that this attitude is the primary reason behind his JerkAss tendencies. [[spoiler:Though after being shot in the head and given a thorough neurological scrubbing, he's dropped the attitude. Still a jerk, though.]]

->23 years ago, twelve [[CreepyChild strange children]] were [[BizarreBabyBoom born in England at exactly the same moment]]. 6 years ago, [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the world ended]]. [[ArcWords This is the story of]] [[AfterTheEnd what happened next]].

* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:Conner and Arkady.]] SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!

* PerverseSexualLust: Regarding ''Series/QuincyME, a detective drama from the 1970s and 80s...

* PerverseSexualLust: Regarding ''Series/{{Quincy}}, M.E.'', a detective drama from the 80s...

* {{Badass}}: Jack and Kait can kick ass without their powers, being a salvager/explorer and policeman respectively.

Ellis and Duffield turned out six full-color pages a week; it ended at 144 episodes (six volumes of the paper edition) on August 5, 2011. Its website has gone down due to Avatar rearranging its online presence (which means most of the linked pages below no longer work), but the collected editions are available via Avatar's website and digitally.

Ellis and Duffield turned out six full-color pages a week; it ended at 144 episodes (six volumes of the paper edition) on August 5, 2011. It can be seen [[http://www.freakangels.com/ here]].

* OnlySixFaces: The [=FreakAngels=] all look a ''lot'' alike. This is a deliberate facet of the story; Ellis has stated that the core idea of the comic is "what if Literature/{{the Midwich Cuckoos}} survived, grew up, and then fucked up?" That being said, some of the character designs have changed noticeably since the beginning. Compare [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=23&page=6 KK here]] with [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=563&page=5 KK here], for instance.

** Lampshaded by Arkady, who apparently spends much of her time [[HowDoIShotWeb developing new tricks]], such as teleportation.

** Arkady also tends to wear see-through clothing.{{Lampshade|Hanging}}d when a character asks Arkady to at ''least'' wear panties. She's been wearing underwear for a good long while now, though they are still visible through her skirt.

''[=FreakAngels=]'' is a {{webcomic}} written by WarrenEllis, author of ''{{Nextwave}}''/''{{Transmetropolitan}}'', transhumanist and noted CrazyAwesome British person, with art by Paul Duffield.

Set [[AfterTheEnd six years after apocalyptic flooding destroys modern civilization]] (at least in Great Britain), the story follows the self-styled "[=FreakAngels=]" - a dozen 23-year-olds born at the exact same moment, all with purple eyes, pale skin and an array of mental powers that include telekinesis, telepathy, mind control, and unique individual gifts.

* [[AscendedFanboy Ascended Fangirl]]: Kait, who grew up on cop shows and has appointed herself the chief of police for Whitechapel.
* [[spoiler:AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence]]: The ending heavily implies that [[spoiler:the Freakangels moved themselves outside of time, and this was where their "future" selves were communicating from whenever one of the "present" selves died. [[MindScrew Or something]].]]

* BadassNormal: Alice gets dubbed an "Honorary [=FreakAngel=]" on her first day in town, mostly for keeping her cool when Whitechapel comes under attack.
** A week later, she proves her badassery when she [[spoiler:takes out Luke with her trusty shotgun, after he's already seriously injured Kirk and nearly killed KK.]]

* BewareTheNiceOnes:
--> '''Arkady''': Do you know what that was, Luke? That was exactly one second of my overdose experience when we were fifteen. If you ever do something like this again, I am going to give you ''five minutes'' of that.
* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler: Conner and Arkady.]] SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!

* BrainBleach: This is one among the many [=FreakAngel=] powers. It is applied (usually by Sirrka) to the traumatized people they encounter in Whitechapel. In the case that happens "on-screen" she doesn't even ask if the girl actually ''wants'' her brain bleached. In this case and others, it seems the FreakAngels apply brain bleach not just out of mercy, but also to keep their powers secret.
** The FreakAngels are often treated to TooMuchInformation from their friends, invoking this trope. See the Perverse Sexual Lust entry below.

** [[spoiler: Luke and Mark]] both get their brains, if not ''bleached'', then at least thoroughly laundered. It makes them less crazy, but not much more pleasant.
* BrickJoke: The comic begins with KK waking up to discover she screwed a kid from Lambeth. In Episode 8, it's mentioned that Arkady had been in the market the previous week predicting the future. One prediction was that KK would shag someone from Lambeth. See MadOracle, below.
** Alice was introduced in the second episode of the comic. In the second-to-''last'' episode, [[spoiler: she is paired with a new supporting character named [[AliceAndBob Bob]].]]
* BullyingADragon: Hunting down a group of teenagers who can blow up stuff with their minds and deflect artillery strikes was bound to end up badly. Especially if said children would love to be left alone. Cue [[spoiler: a disaster that left Great Britain in ruins.]]

* CameBackStrong: [[spoiler:All of the Freakangels have this ability. Every time they "die", the powers they wield are stronger and more finely-controlled when they get back up.]]

* ChekhovsGun: Connor tells Alice in Episode 33 that she'll probably never meet an American. By the end, [[spoiler: the Americans have arrived in Whitechapel and Alice is shown interacting with them.]]
* [[CityOfCanals City of Flooded Streets]]

* ClusterFBomb: Miki, [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=91&page=4 here]].

*** [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion AT Fields?]]

* DeathGlare: Arkady manages an impressive (and terrifying) one [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=449&page=4 here]].

* {{Expy}}: the FreakAngels PsychicPowers being that much stronger when in concert and their eventual [[spoiler: ascension beyond physical form]] to save the world takes more than a little from Ellis' earlier run on ''ComicBook/XMan'', in which a group of villains did the former and the hero did the latter.

* HeelFaceBrainwashing: [[spoiler: Luke, consensually and by request because [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he's ashamed to realize how low he's fallen]].]]

--> '''Karl:''' If you think I'm kissing you in front of this shower of bastards you're fucking insane.

* {{Jerkass}}: Luke in particular, but all of the [=FreakAngels=] to an extent. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Connor, who points out that they really are all a bunch of evil arseholes who can do nothing but yell at each other and fuck up.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Summarily [[IncrediblyLamePun deconstructed]] by [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=285&page=5 Kaitlyn]].

* LetsGetDangerous: A wordless example [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=75&page=4 here]]. In one panel, the [=FreakAngels=] snap from a bunch of bickering kids to the psychic hive mind that punched a hole in reality.

** An alternative explanation is that this foreshadows a future plot line. In the scene were Arkady says she doesn't remember visiting the market, she also talks about how she's considering the possibility of time travel. The implication seems to be that the Arkady who made the predictions in the marketplace might have been Arkady travelling back from some point in the future.

* MindControlEyes: Not always used - people that [[spoiler: Mark manipulated to kill the FreakAngels]] don't show this, but the girl that [[spoiler: Luke rapes]] does have them.

* MoodWhiplash: Luke's rant [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=378&page=5 here]] and [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=378&page=6 here]]. Given a callback of sorts [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=625&page=5 here]].
* MoralEventHorizon: In the Freakangels' minds, brainwashing people; this is discussed in-universe several times. Oddly, they don't have any rules to deal with violence, and [[spoiler:Kait]] is never punished for [[spoiler:torturing people for dubious reasons, nor has anyone been punished for their murder attempts.]]

** Arkady also tends to wear see-through clothing.
*** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when a character asks Arkady to at ''least'' wear panties. She's been wearing underwear for a good long while now, though they are still visible through her skirt.
** Sirkka, due to her...[[AnythingThatMoves amorous ways]].
*** Particularly when her package upgrade occurs with her naked and writhing on her bed.

* OnlySixFaces: The [=FreakAngels=] all look a ''lot'' alike. This is a deliberate facet of the story; Ellis has stated that the core idea of the comic is "what if the Midwich Cuckoos survived, grew up, and then fucked up?" The Midwich Cuckoos are famous for, among other things, all looking ''exactly the same''. That being said, some of the character designs have changed noticeably since the beginning. Compare [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=23&page=6 KK then]] with [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=563&page=5 KK now]], for instance.

* PerverseSexualLust: Regarding ''{{Quincy}}, M.E.'', a detective drama from the 80s...

'''Karl:''' Oh, Christ, Kait! [[TooMuchInformation Too much information!]] Is this my punishment? I have to think about you in an interrogation cell in front of a weeping criminal and rubbing one out?\\

* ShoutOut: The afterlife apparently does ''not'' include [[BlackAdder Satan and his little wizards]].

* ThroatLight: Although the FreakAngels have [[GlowingEyes glowing eyes]] whenever they use their powers, at the times that they're doing something ''really'' powerful, usually together, this trope applies.

* TrueCompanions: FreakAngels before the catastrophe. After this event most of them [[DysfunctionJunction got their own issues]] and the group broke apart. [[spoiler: At the end, they are together again, though perhaps not completely healed. But they have all the time in the world to work on that.]]

* WebcomicTime: In the first thirteen months of its run, the comic covered a grand total of one day. Then there was a one-week TimeSkip, and the following two years have covered another day.
* WeWillUseWikiWordsInTheFuture: Or at least our psychic twenty-something overlords will.
** Also {{LOLcats}} and other internet memes; see TotallyRadical above.
* WhatTheHellHero: Sirkka for her MoreThanMindControl method of helping abuse victims, Kait for keeping a prison/torture chamber, and later [[spoiler: Miki for using her package upgrade to castrate Luke]].
* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys: KK's "bike" helicopter, Jack's steam-boat and the steam-powered Gatling Guns. They built them out of scrounged materials using expertise borrowed from expert brains.

* YourMom: Kait to Connor [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=545&page=5 here]], with epic follow-up [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=545&page=6 here]].

* JackTheRipper: A murder in Book 3 is done seemingly as a tribute to Jack the Ripper, using the same modus operandi (slashed throat, mutilated stomach) in the same location (Whitechapel).

** After he [[spoiler: comes BackFromTheDead]], [[spoiler: [[ShutUpHannibal KK breaks a chair over his head]], then Miki telekinetically castrates him and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking draws a dick on his forehead]].]]
* CameBackStrong: [[spoiler:All of the Freakangels have this ability. Every time they "die", the powers they wield are stronger when they get back up.]]
* CameBackWrong: Mild but still there. [[spoiler:Mark's first "death" saw him tumble face down into a river with a spike in the back of his head. He spent the healing process immersed in filthy water - so he was brain-damaged in addition to being paranoid and megalomaniacal.]]

* [[EmbarrassingFirstName Embarrassing First]], [[EmbarrassingMiddleName Middle]] ''and'' Last Name: KK, or should I say [[spoiler:[[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=41&page=3 Kolfinnia Kokokoho]]]]? It Gets Worse - [[WhoNamesTheirKidDude Who The Fook Names Their Kid]] [[spoiler:[[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=41&page=4 Kolfinnia Kokokoho Titching]]]]?

* FaceHeelTurn: Mark is a rather tragic example. [[spoiler:In flashbacks he's an idealistic fourteen year old boy who wanted to use the package to help mankind. In the present he's a psychopath who got exiled for mind controlling dozens of helpless civilians]]. Luke also seems to have had one sometime in the past (though admittedly he had some JerkAss tendencies in the flashbacks).

* HumansAreWhite: A side effect of the "package" is pale skin and purple eyes, which even Carolyn (black), Miki (Asian), and KK (possibly part Islander) have. They retain other racial characteristics, but people often have to look twice before figuring that out.

*** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when a character asks Arkady to at least wear panties. She's been wearing underwear for a good long while now, though they are still visible through her skirt.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:The [=FreakAngels=] had initially wanted to simply cause a huge, showy, but not really lethal disaster, for the sake of getting the army off their back. Their ''severe'' underestimation of just how powerful they were, plus the amount of pain and frustration they poured into their efforts, along with Mark steering them while his mental state was so unbalanced, caused them to instead bring about an immensely destructive disaster which pretty much ended civilization, at least in Britain.]]

* PersonOfMassDestruction: Any single [=FreakAngel=] can completely dominate a person's mind or tearing them apart telekinetically, and can shield him- or herself against small arms fire. Two or three working in concert can demolish buildings, blast apart small armies, and cause large explosions, as well as protecting themselves from heavy machine guns and artillery. [[spoiler:All twelve of them were able to strike the planet so hard that it caused catastrophic earthquakes, flooded Britain, disrupted the Earth's geomagnetic field and seem to have broken time and space.]]

* SandInMyEyes: In Episode 0122 [[spoiler:Luke]] starts to cry after giving a speech where he admits what a terrible person he's been. Upon realizing this, he comments [[TearJerker "Something's wrong with my eye."]]

* TrueCompanions: FreakAngels before the catastrophe. After this event most of them [[DysfunctionJunction got their own issues]] and the group broke apart. [[spoiler: At the end, they are together again, though perhaps not completely healed.]]

* YourHeadASplode: Another of the [=FreakAngels=]' powers. Presumably the judicious application of telekinesis or a force field. Seen in a recent flashback.