The Unbelievable Unteens is a series written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Tyler Crook. It is set in the same universe as Lemire's Black Hammer series.
In Spiral City, Jane Ito has made a name for herself as the creator of the indie comic Unteens, but this comes crashing down one night when she returns home after a convention appearance to encounter Jack Sabbath, one of the characters from her comic. It turns out that the Unteens are real, or were, anyway, and she used to be the light-manipulating heroine called Strobe, but Jack is the only one who seems to remember this. Together, they must find their old teammates and rescue Jack's girlfriend, Snapdragon.
This series contains examples of:
- Affectionate Nickname: Jack used to call Snapdragon "Snappy".
- Amnesia Missed a Spot: Despite their mind-wipes, Jane still subconsciously remembers being an Unteen, and her comics are based off those memories, with the one that haunts her the most being inspired by the incident that led to the team's current situation.
- Artifact Title: Lampshaded by Jane when she points out that the Unteens name isn't very suitable for their team anymore when they're all adults, with she herself being twenty eight and Straka being married with children.
- Big Bad: Jane Ito had intended Whitewraith to be the final villain of her comic, but never knew why. It turns out that it's because she and the other Unteens fought him as a kid, and their failure to defeat him cost them Snapdragon and led to the dissolution of their team.
- The Big Guy: Even as a teenager, Straka was a big hulk. While he's gained a bit of a paunch in the intervening decade, he's not any smaller.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Unteens manage to come together and defeat the Whitewraith, but as Alexis points out, if the others bring her back to the mortal world, Jack would be a ghost again, whereas in Hell, he and Alexis can touch each other, and thus she and Jack stay, while the others return home. With their last adventure concluded, Jane, Karl, and Carlos prepare to go their separate ways, but Jane and Carlos both agree to get coffee sometime.
- Brainwashing for the Greater Good: Dr. Moniker erased most of the Unteens' memories after the Whitewraith incident in the hopes of giving them all a chance at a normal life.
- Death-Activated Superpower: Jack Phantom first got his powers as a teen after a near-death experience caused him to make contact with the other side, and brought back some of that power when he was revived. Now that he's completely dead, his connection to the other side is stronger.
- Death by Despair: It's heavily implied that grief over Snapdragon's fate is what really killed Doc Moniker.
- Demonic Possession: Snapdragon is now the possessed slave of the demon Whitewraith, who uses her as a weapon and shield.
- Dysfunction Junction: Just beneath the surface, the Unteens are filled with dysfunction and internal turmoil, hindering their effectiveness as superheroes.
- Empty Shell: Snapdragon's body is on permanent life support in a special medical facility in the present day, as her soul is trapped in Hell and thus it's just an empty husk. Kid Boom and Moniker keep it breathing mostly in the hope that it'll give Snapdragon a place to go into should her soul ever be freed.
- Expy: The Unteens are rather obvious expies of the X-Men, Teen Titans, and Doom Patrol. Dr. Moniker is based on Professor Xavier and Niles Caulder, Straka is based on Colossus (except Czechoslovakian rather than Russian), Strobe is a mix of Kitty Pryde and Jubilee, Kid Boom is a gender-swapped version of Boom-Boom with traits of Hot Spot, Jack Sabbath is a gender-swapped version of Secret, and Snapdragon is a fusion of Jean Grey and Raven. Their archenemy, Whitewraith, is a mix of Trigon and Shadow King.
- Glass Cannon: Whitewraith is powerful and dangerous, but not that much so and can be defeated fairly easily in a straight fight with the entire Unteens team, which was why he wanted to take Snapdragon as his slave, in order to use her power for himself as an extra defense.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Kid Boom was always jealous of Strobe and Straka's relationship, which created a lot of tension between the three of them when they were kids. In the finale, Karl's marriage and kids mean that he and Jane will likely never get back together, which leaves open the possibility of Carlos finally having a chance with her.
- Happily Married: Straka, now going by his civilian name Karl, has a wife and kids and no desire to leave them.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the past, Snapdragon offered up her soul to the White Wraith in exchange for her friends being left alone and Jack Sabbath's spirit being released from Hell.
- Ignored Epiphany: Despite getting Snapdragon's soul captured by Whitewraith with his first ill-conceived trip into Hell, Jack does it again with the entire team against Doc Moniker's advice to try and rescue her. All he manages to accomplish is getting himself killed, allowing Whitewraith to get an even stronger hold on Snappy, and causing the team to fall apart as a result.
- Kill It with Fire: Jack Sabbath died after Whitewraith burned him alive.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: After the Whitewraith incident, a despairing Moniker wipes most of the team's memories in a misguided attempt to give them a normal life. The only one who keeps his memories is Kid Boom, so he can care for Snapdragon's body as Moniker's health fails.
- Maybe Ever After: Strobe was in a love triangle between Straka and Kid Boom, with her choosing the former. After they're grown up, Straka is happily married, while Strobe goes out for coffee with Kid Boom, which she thinks to herself is awesome.
- Most Writers Are Writers: Jane Ito is both a writer and artist of comics, just like Jeff Lemire.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The Unteens' current situation is the result of them trying to rescue Snapdragon from Whitewraith without proper planning or anything, resulting in Jack getting killed, Snappy becoming the demon's slave, and the rest of the team being thoroughly traumatized.
- Posthumous Character: Doc Moniker is dead by the present day, his health having taken a nosedive after the Whitewraith battle.
- Putting the Band Back Together: Jack Sabbath's goal... but it's easier said than done when you're dead and most of your teammates don't even remember you.
- Refusing the Call: Straka and Kid Boom want nothing to do with Jack Sabbath's plans to rescue Snapdragon's soul, as Straka has his own family to worry about and Kid Boom has already spent most of his adult life caring for Snapdragon's comatose body. Straka changes his mind because he can't handle the guilt and Kid Boom gets talked into it.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Back in the past, Snapdragon's psychic powers made her emotionally unstable. Which made her a juicy target for Whitewraith.
