History WesternAnimation / SpiralZone

''Spiral Zone'' is a [[FirstRunSyndication syndicated]] SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon from 1987, based on Tonka Toys' Americanization of a [[Toys/SpiralZoneBandai Japanese action figure line]] by Bandai. It has an unusually dark storyline for an 80s MerchandiseDriven action cartoon, complete with nods to the AfterTheEnd and ZombieApocalypse genres.

* WellIntentionedExtremist:
** The show [[DependingOnTheWriter occasionally]] attempts to depict Overlord as a sympathetic villain who only wants to rule the world so he can bring peace and order to it, but most of the time his supposed motivations tend to go ignored by the writing staff.

%%** Colonel Conrad in "Zone of Darkness."

* NoEnding: As was typical of many 80s action cartoons, the 65 episode order never wrapped up the ongoing plot, with the final produced episode "Countdown" being another "thwart Overlord's newest scheme" plot.

* SixthRanger: Ned Tucker and Ben Davis for the Zone Riders, Crook and Rawmeat for the Black Widows. The characters are added to the cast roughly midway through the series,

* RockBeatsLaser: After the The Zone Riders still save the day even after the Black Widows disable all their equipment, thanks to a group of Australian aborigines who teach them how to use primitive weaponry. However, they end up doing so with a fresh allotment of working weapons and vehicles.

* CrazyCulturalComparison: One of the Black Widows is captured but appears to be organizing his fellow inmates. The Zone Riders plan to send someone undercover to learn what he's up to, and Katarina volunteers. Dirk appreciates her enthusiasm but has to gently explain to her that American prisons aren't coed.

%%* EvilBrit: Duchess Dire.

%%* FrenchJerk: Crook of the Black Widows.

%%* MasterOfDisguise: Bandit of the Black Widows.

%%* MultinationalTeam: Both the Zone Riders and the Black Widows.

* RockBeatsLaser: The Zone Riders still save the day even after the Black Widows disable all their equipment, thanks to a group of Australian aborigines who teach them how to use primitive weaponry. However, they end up doing so with a fresh allotment of working weapons and vehicles.

%%* SixthRanger: Ned Tucker and Ben Davis for the Zone Riders, Crook and Rawmeat for the Black Widows.

Also notable for having a theme song that ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO2Cd9tyUvY freakin' kicks.]]''

* EspeciallyZoidberg: Used in "Small Packages".

* EvilBrit: Duchess Dire.

* FogOfDoom: The Spiral Zone itself.
* FrenchJerk: Crook of the Black Widows.

* HotScientist: Katerina Anastasia of the Zone Riders.

* MasterOfDisguise: Bandit of the Black Widows.

* MindControl: The entire premise of the series.

* MultinationalTeam: Both the Zone Riders and the Black Widows.

* {{Plaguemaster}}: Overlord is a high-tech variation of this trope.

* SixthRanger: Ned Tucker and Ben Davis for the Zone Riders, Crook and Rawmeat for the Black Widows.

* TheSquad: The Zone Riders.
* SyntheticPlague: What the Spiral Zone boils down to.

* VillainExclusivityClause: Overlord trying to TakeOverTheWorld.

** Colonel Conrad in "Zone of Darkness."

* YouCantMakeAnOmelette: Ned uses this exact phrase in "Oversight."

* AwesomeMcCoolname: The main character went by the name of Dirk Courage, which is seriously RatedMForManly.

* KnifeNut: Razorback of the Black Widows.

ExtyYearsFromNow (specifically, the far-flung future of 2007), a MadScientist[=/=]DiabolicalMastermind code-named Overlord covers much of the planet with his Spiral Zone, a dense, fog-like atmosphere which envelops about half the Earth in a spiral pattern. Inside the Zone, any unprotected person becomes a yellow-eyed, disfigured "Zoner" with no free will. Overlord and his enforcers, a motley crew of hardened criminals called the Black Widows, effectively [[MindControl control the minds]] of millions of Zoners, and they won't stop until they've enslaved the entire world.

* ExtyYearsFromNow: As noted above, the show is set exactly 20 years after it was released.