Line #54 Webcomic/Zodiac2011


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zodiac_comic_6700.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:250:Super-Anthro-What now?]]
3
4	''[[https://www.deviantart.com/eggplantm/gallery/4025126/zodiac-webcomic Zodiac]]'' is a superhero UsefulNotes/{{Furry\|Fandom}} Webcomic. Those who have "Extraordinary Powers and Abilities" are required to register with the government; these persons are then often hired by major corporations to protect their interests, with the caveat that they must also perform [[{{Superhero}} public service]].
5
6	The New Dawn corporation is one such business, who are branching out into hiring supers for the first time. Lead by an enigmatic, probably insane board, Zodiac is a team still learning to work together, while many of the established heroes are finding that going public only has drawn their old enemies to them once more.
7
8	Also branches off into two other comics, ''Quetzalcoatlus'' featuring the Zodiac team and ''Second Chance'' featuring Saurus.
9
10	After a ten-year long hiatus, the comic returned in 2024 and has begun updating again.
11
12	!!Tropes:
13
14	%% * ActionGirl: Scorpio, Taurus, Aquarius and Sagittarius on the hero side. On the villain side, the female ones are more crafty and seem to prefer to act behind the lines (such as Slaver and Legion), but Nightmare, Basilisk and Razor are straight examples.
15	%% * AddictionDisplacement: Lesonne, one of the board members of New Dawn, who acquired a sweet tooth after he quit smoking.
16	* AffablyEvil: Jigsaw. He's one of the villains with the more monstrous appearance, but also very polite and suave, and he praises his foes while fighting them.
17	* AGodAmI: Nightmare considers herself and other superpowered individuals to be gods because of their powers.
18	* AppendageAssimilation: Jigsaw is an interesting case, as he doesn't particularly ''have'' to do this - he simply ''wants'' to.
19	%% * AscendedExtra: Leo's daughter Imani was very popular in her first visit.
20	* BadassNormal:
21	** Sagittarius is just a very talented soldier.
22	** Gemini would qualify as a EmpoweredBadassNormal if his special technique, briefly appearing to be two rabbits, counted as a power.
23	%% * BarrierWarrior: Virgo.
24	%% * BerserkButton: If you value your health, DO NOT call Taurus fat.
25	* BetterThanSex: [[spoiler: Hell Hound finds burning someone to death, quote, "Better than any drug or sexual act."]]
26	* BigDamnHeroes: Leo showing up to save Capricorn from Basilisk.
27	%% * BigNo: Id in Second Chance, [[spoiler: prior to his death]].
28	* BilingualBonus: [[http://eggplantm.deviantart.com/art/VENGEANCE-OF-INCUBUS-PG7-299784980 Near the end of the Vengeance of Incubus]] mini-arc thingy-jobber the "magic chant" Imani recites evidently translates to "This is a bunch of nonsense written just to fill up space."
29	%%* BlackMagic: Ghoul seems to be a master in this discipline.
30	%%* BloodKnight: Razor.
31	%%* BreakingSpeech: [[spoiler:Ramas to Ghoul.]]
32	%%* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: Razor, you ''really'' shouldn't have stabbed Pisces...
33	%%* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler:Ghoul attempts to do this to Ramas... Who put him back to his place.]]
34	%%* CainAndAbel: Part of Ghoul's backstory.
35	* CaptainPatriotic: Aries, and not just for his costume.
36	%%* CharacterDeath: Hellhound, [[spoiler: at the hands of Virgo.]]
37	%%* TheChessmaster: Ramas.
38	%%* ChestInsignia: Celsius.
39	* ChekhovsGun: Cancer puts a hidden camera on Libra's sunglasses as part of an elaborate scheme to get a... erm... "look," at Taurus. [[spoiler: It's how he eventually discovers that a group of super-villains is attacking Chops' club.]]
40	%%* CodeName:
41	* CleavageWindow: Taurus to compliment her MostCommonSuperpower and MsFanservice status.
42	%%* CrystalDragonJesus: Virgo's religion, the Holy Light.
43	%%* CurbStompBattle: Saurus vs Libra. Almost literally.
44	%%** Ghoul totally dominated Aquarius during all their fight, until he was distracted by the stars. Aquarius managed to rip off his left arm, and punched through his body, but he didn't seem worried at all, and left, having other business to attend to.
45	%%* {{Cyborg}}: Leo.
46	* DamselInDistress: Imani in the current arc, being one of the hostage of the villains.
47	* DarkActionGirl: Basilisk, Nightmare and Razer are evil action girls.
48	%%* DeadpanSnarker: Leo, Sagittarius.
49	* DisproportionateRetribution: Ghoul's big on these. According to his bio, he's killed more people for doing something he considered rude than he has from them attacking him. In the actual comic, [[spoiler: he killed one of the bouncers at Chops' bar for making a pass at Nightmare.]]
50	%%* EccentricMentor: Ramas.
51	* EldritchAbomination: Pisces. Turns out the DNA he gained doesn't really belong to a "prehistoric sea creature". It is more likely that it came from an alien origin. And, slowly but steadily, this DNA is beginning to take over him, Pisces having troubles controlling his powers.
52	* EvilIsPetty: The primary reason Nightmare decided to attack Zodiac ahead of schedule was because Taurus stole a guy she was flirting with.
53	* {{Expy}}:
54	** Gemini used to be a ComicBook/{{Punisher}} style vigilante, right down to the skull on his shirt.
55	** The band at Chop's club, Guns 'n Rodents, is practically a ShoutOut to a [[Music/GunsNRoses similar-sounding band]]. [[MeaningfulName They are indeed rodents. All that's missing are the guns]].
56	%%* ExtremeOmnivore: Don't let Libra choose pizza toppings.
57	%%* EyeBeams: Basilisk.
58	%%* FantasticRacism: Nightmare is of the "Supers vs {{Muggles}}" variety.
59	* FauxAffablyEvil: Nightmare talks a good game, but she makes no secret of the fact that she's a psychotic bitch who thinks she's a god compared to {{Muggles}}.
60	* FauxtivationalPoster: There are two of them in Leo's office. One depicts a nuclear explosion, with the caption "'''Patience''': Don't expect any. Ever." The other shows a grumpy-looking lion, and is captioned "'''Humor''': [[BrickJoke See notes on Patience]]."
61	%% * FingerSnapLighter: Hell Hound when he first appeared.
62	* FlyingBrick: Taurus, with super strength and flight.
63	%% * FogOfDoom: Wraith.
64	* ForegoneConclusion: Reading any of the spin-off comics can result in one:
65	** In ''Quetzalcoatlus'', [[spoiler: the Zodiac team enlists Jigsaw's expertise to get some info on the BigBad. He's been imprisoned, meaning that the Zodiac team defeated the other villains in the bar, and that all of them except Jigsaw were either captured or managed to escape]].
66	** ''Second Chance'' begins with Saurus having been recently released from prison, meaning he loses his fight with Aries.
67	* ForTheEvulz: By his own admission, pretty much the only reason [[spoiler: Hell Hound killed a bunch of bystanders during the fight between Zodiac and the bad guys.]]
68	* FourIsDeath: The team can be split up into four "elemental" teams (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water). Leo hates the fact that this makes no sense.
69	* FreakLabAccident: Taurus gained her powers in a freak factory accident.
70	* FridgeLogic: InUniverse example, when [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/johnmann/zodiac/series.php?view=single&ID=172900 Virgo wonders how Cancer knew about the band at the club]] when he was "grounded" by the team leader.
71	* FullFrontalAssault: The reason Saurus [[DefiedTrope hid his]] SizeShifter powers was because his clothes don't grow with the rest of him. Luckily Nightmare knows people who make MagicPants for supers.
72	%% * FunnyBackgroundEvent: [[http://eggplantm.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d48jbxq Poor Morris.]]
73	* TheFundamentalist: Virgo. Played quite seriously - Virgo has a hard time dealing with the fact that her powers do not come directly from God, and she has a harder time working with her teammates, who range from agnostic to anti-religious, but she has so far shown no signs of becoming a [[TheWarOnStraw even admonishing herself at one point for being overly judgmental of the others' choices.
74	* FunetikAksent: Hell Hound has an Irish accent.
75	%% * GeniusBruiser: Jigsaw and Nightmare.
76	%% * GenkiGirl: Taurus.
77	* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Taurus' eyes glow blue when she gets angry.
78	%% * {{Gonk}}: Before gaining her powers, Taurus.
79	* GoodGuyBar: ''Deconstructed''. The BigBadEnsemble attack Chops' club essentially ''because'' the Zodiac Team happened to be there.
80	* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Pisces.
81	-->'''Libra''': Dude! I mean I know he's got regeneration but did you have to break his '''arm'''?!
82	-->'''Gemini''': He can regenerate?
83	%% * HardHead: Aries, [[JustifiedTrope the ram.]]
84	%% * HealingFactor: Pisces.
85	%% * TheHeart:
86	%% ** Imani, as [[http://eggplantm.deviantart.com/art/ZODIAC-240-295342648 comic 240]] shows.
87	%% ** Leo says he can see this role for Aries in the future.
88	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Saurus, after the events in Second Chance. This is an interesting example since Saurus was originally trying to stop Id because his evil plan would result in Saurus' cessation of existence; however by the end, he has earned the respect of three supers willing to help him become a full-time superhero. The very end implies that Saurus is about to happily accept the offer.]]
89	%% * HeroesRUs: Just what ''does'' the New Dawn Corporation do besides fund an incredibly expensive superhero team?
90	%% * HurricaneOfPuns: Morris and Libra, all the time.
91	%% --> '''Leo:''' One more like that, Morris, and I will end you.
92	* ICannotSelfTerminate: Pisces' main reason for joining Zodiac is this; in case he ever loses control of his powers, he's surrounded by a team capable of taking him down.
93	%% * IJustWantToBeNormal: Capricorn.
94	* ImmuneToBullets: Nightmare. [[spoiler: Notably, the Chest Shots Only rule is averted, as Saggitarius shoots her in the face.]]
95	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Aquarius managed to do this to Ghoul with her ''own arm''... Though Ghoul didn't seem that much annoyed by this.
96	* ItsAllAboutMe:
97	** Nightmare's primary reason for attacking Chops' in the main comic was that Taurus had stolen a guy from her.
98	** It's suggested that Ghoul also used to have this attitude in the past, but not anymore.
99	* JackOfAllStats: Jigsaw is big, cunning, powerful, and seems to be quite fast, as Cancer observes. WordOfGod mentions that while he is not the strongest, fastest or toughest of the villains, his performances in all those categories are above-average, and he seems to have some hidden abilities up his sleeve.
100	%% * KidHero: Cancer, who's in his early teens.
101	* LegacyHero:
102	** Sort of. Aquarius is a shaman who inherited her powers from her parents when they died and her successor(s) will inherit them when she goes. It's implied this is a pretty old tradition.
103	** She also played with the trope more directly, as she casually mentioned selling the rights to her previous identity as a superhero called Tempest, meaning that somebody else is now Tempest while she became Aquarius.
104	%% * LetsGetDangerous: [[http://my.deviantart.com/messages/#/d5g2sgj Taurus gonna whoop some ass.]]
105	%% * LoadBearingHero: [[spoiler: Saurus, during Second Chance.]]
106	* LovecraftianSuperpower: Capricorn and Pisces. Both are CursedWithAwesome and [[BadPowersGoodPeople good people, despite the source of their abilities]].
107	%% * LovecraftLite: Id, the antagonist of Second Chance.
108	%% * MagicalNativeAmerican:
109	%% ** Played to the hilt by Aquarius.
110	%% ** Though he doesn't appear to be as close as Aquarius, [[spoiler: Sunspear in Second Chance also qualifies.]]
111	%% * MassOhCrap: [[http://eggplantm.deviantart.com/art/ZODIAC-223-272813425 '''YOU STINK OF FEAR!''']]
112	%% * MiniMecha: Cancer's Crab-bot.
113	%% * MixAndMatchCreatures: Jigsaw.
114	%% * MoralityChain: Imani is one for Pisces.
115	%% * MostCommonSuperpower: Taurus. Lampshaded by Nightmare, who's quite busty herself.
116	%% * {{Muggles}}: All non-supers.
117	%% * MySuitIsAlsoSuper: Saurus' pants can grow along with him and shrink when he returns to normal size.
118	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown:
119	** Nightmare to Taurus. Though others team members have a rough time, this is nothing compared to the humiliation Taurus is suffering, who is completely unable to protect herself from Nightmare, and is so paralyzed in fear that the idea to fight back or flee Nightmare doesn't even cross her mind.
120	** Ghoul's magical abilities severely outclass Aquarius'. Good thing for her he buggered off to do something else.
121	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Taurus exaggerates her ditziness to mess with others.
122	* OhCrap:
123	** The Celsius phantasm in Second Chance #3, and Saurus in Second Chance #17.
124	** Aquarius did '''not''' expect Ghoul to talk back at her after she punched him through his body.
125	** Slaver when she discovers that Gemini's multiple personalities are more complicated that she thought, and that she unwillingly released the ''one'' personality which should have been left asleep.
126	** Libra, upon seeing Cancer’s robot, but before anyone else knew that’s what it was:
127	---> Aries: Is there a problem bud?\
128	---> Libra: Could be… There is a damn big robot in the hallway. Is that a problem? ‘Cause if it is, [[FearIsTheAppropriateResponse I’m totally prepared to start freaking out anytime]].
129	%% * OmnicidalManiac: Wraith.
130	%% * TheOmniscient: Ramas tends towards this.
131	%% * PeoplePuppets: Slaver's powers.
132	%% * PoweredArmor: Master Blaster
133	%% * PsychicPowers: Nightmare.
134	%% * PyroManiac: Hell Hound in spades. He's even called a pyromaniac in his official bio.
135	* RedEyesTakeWarning: In this case, the ''[[JustifiedTrope justification]]'' is subverted: Gemini, being an albino, would naturally have red eyes, but he's ''also'' the kind of character where this trope takes full effect. [[spoiler:Especially when his ''true'' evil side is released by Slaver: his pupils and iris disappears, and his eyes become completely red.]]
136	%% * SayItWithHearts: Scorpio occasionally, particularly around Gemini. Taurus uses this more notably.
137	%% * SelfDuplication: Gemini. Bi-Polar as well, who incidentally could have been Gemini as revealed in a flashback.
138	* SelfMadeOrphan: Capricorn. Her biological parents involved her in a occult ritual, and [[GoneHorriblyWrong it apparently didn't go too well.]] Some foster parents are also suggested to have met a similar fate.
139	* SilverFox: Libra immediately takes quite a liking to Natalia. Learning she is Cancer's grandmother does little to stop him.
140	%% * {{Sizeshifter}}: Saurus.
141	* SpitTake: Aries, upon Scorpio's sudden appearance. She ''[[LampshadeHanging even calls the trope by name]] on the next page!''
142	%% ** [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/johnmann/zodiac/series.php?view=single&ID=121777 And later]] [[BrickJoke does it herself]].
143	* StockSuperheroDayJobs: Subverted; many were government agents, some worked for New Dawn in a non-powered capacity, one was military (Pisces), and one was a graphic artist (Libra). Played straight with the career superhero Aquarius and the student Cancer.
144	%% * SuperMode: Capricorn's demonic form.
145	* SuperpowerLottery: Libra can have every power he can think of, but he is limited by energy & effort, and the fact he's a bit of a ditz.
146	* SuperRegistrationAct: As mentioned above. So far it hasn't been portrayed in a negative way at all aside from Nightmare's probably biased description.
147	* SuperSerum: Subverted with Pisces. In trying to create a SuperSoldier formula, they injected him with the DNA of an EldritchAbomination from outer space.
148	%% * SuperSenses: Pisces can ''smell'' fear in others.
149	%% * SuperStrength: Aries, Nightmare, Saurus, Taurus. Just to name a few.
150	* SymbolSwearing:
151	** “No #@$%&’n way!” which about as close as it gets to a PrecisionFStrike from Sagittarius.
152	** Leo then proceeds to echo it ''on the same page.''
153	%% * TeamPrimaDonna: Scorpio, and Gemini early on.
154	%% * TeleFrag: Scorpio's way of attacking people. Sadly for her, it's useless against Jigsaw, who doesn't have a "normal" body, so to speak.
155	* TermsOfEndangerment: Ghoul is very, ''very'' polite. It's quite disturbing to see him call Aquarius "dear" while fighting her.
156	%% * TheChewToy: Morris seems to be headed in this direction.
157	%% * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Nightmare to Taurus, again. The poor girl clearly is ''badly'' outclassed here.
158	%% * TwinMaker: Invoked [[spoiler: in Second Chance. Id's EvilPlan boils down to him making a dark twin of Saurus]].
159	%% * WalkingShirtlessScene: Saurus, though his first appearance is NoShirtLongJacket.
160	* WesternZodiac: The team theme. [[spoiler:For all characters who know their birthdays, their team insignia is also their birth sign. Virgo and Sagittarius find this [[ContrivedCoincidence highly suspicious]].]]
161	%% * WizardDuel: Aquarius vs Ghoul.

Context Webcomic / Zodiac2011