DC/RWBY is a 2023 mini-series by DC Comics crossing over the iconic web animation series RWBY with the various aspects of the DC Universe.
In the dark shadows of Gotham City, the mysterious beasts known as the Grimm have invaded the city and Batman is trying to figure out where they're coming from. However, his investigations lead him to encounter our group of heroic Huntresses that is Team RWBY. Can our young heroines pump the brakes on any sort of clashes before the Grimm overrun Earth and the rest of the DC Universe?!
Tropes involved in this series:
- Adaptational Badass: The Nuckelavee is treated as a renowned and feared, almost mythical, monster, when in canon it was known only to those that had faced it previously.
- Adaptational Wimp: There's no mention made of Aura, the ubiquitous ability native to all living beings on Remnant. Instead, the only powers shown being used by team RWBY are their Semblances. This is especially prevalent when Cheetah impales Yang. Normally something like that would have glanced off their Aura, especially since they saw it coming and were relatively fresh. Not to mention that it takes Wonder Woman unlocking a Healing Hands Semblance to save her, when it's been shown that Aura is perfectly capable of healing wounds like that on its own.
- Alternate Continuity: While it's not exactly stated where in the RWBY timeline it takes place in, outside of being set in the Mistral Arc era by the looks of their clothes before they suddenly change (though Blake still has the bow in her hair, which she ditched early in Volume 4), this is certainly not the normal DC Universe, since James Gordon is Commissioner here where he's been out of that in the main universe for quite awhile.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Catwoman discovers she's gained the Semblance of Duplication. However, being a cat burglar, it just takes all the fun out of stealing and would really only be useful for crashing the economy by duplicating valuables.
- The Beastmaster: Upon arriving at Arkham, Team RWBY are horrified to see that Joker, Scarecrow, and Two-Face have taken control of the Grimm in the area and are using them to cause more chaos. Then Joker merges with the Nuckelavee... Cheetah is later shown controlling dozens of Grimm against the heroes when she attacks the Amazonian Library.
- Blown Across the Room: When Batman snags Ruby in his cape, this proves to be a big mistake when big sis Yang punches him.Yang: Hey, mister. That was my sister.
- The Cameo: Salem's eyes can be spotted in the final page of issue #2, suggesting she has a role in this event. It's later revealed that she and Lex Luthor made a Deal with the Devil to merge their worlds together.
- Combat Clairvoyance: Batman gains a Semblance that seemingly lets him predict how to win fights.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Once Batman gains a Semblance, he easily takes out Team RWBY.
- Curse Cut Short: When Batman calls in Zatanna and Constantine, the latter tries to say that he needs help getting his "head out of his—" before Zatanna shouts at him.
- Demonic Possession: Superman is possessed by The Chill.
- Didn't Think This Through: Once more, one of Luthor’s multiversal schemes goes off the rails because he decided to make a Deal with the Devil. He also believes that, by giving people superpowers, they would willingly follow him. Instead, he ends up getting attacked by young Gothamites who are quite tired of rich men telling them how to live.
- The Dreaded: The Nuckelavee was already the most feared Grimm in the world of Remnant, and scares Team RWBY to stillness when it suddenly shows up in the middle of Arkham Asylum. Things only get worse when Joker willingly offers himself to the creature and fuses with it.
- Empowered Badass Normal: Batman gains a Semblance near the end of issue #1 but spends half of issue #2 trying his damnedest to not use it. Blake gives Batman "The Reason You Suck" Speech over that refusal.
- Fisher Kingdom: Being stuck in the DC Universe, Team RWBY's looks suddenly change when in combat with Batman, dumping the anime aspects of their looks and looking more like they belong in the DC Universe, complete with outfits themed around certain people and caked up in makeup. They react in shock upon realizing what has just happened to them.
- Healing Hands: Wonder Woman’s Semblance is this, which arrives just in time to save Yang’s life.
- Hope Bringer: Nightwing's Semblance is Inspiration; people are highly receptive to his encouragement.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Lex Luthor claims in issue 4 to have been the one to establish a connection with Remnant and cut a deal with Salem to bring elements from it over to Earth. He had hoped that the Grimm would target every superhuman and possess them, including the heroes which he believed were as filled with selfish negative emotions as the villains. There's also him trusting Salem of all people, which Yang lampshades.
- Hydra Problem: Blake's summary of a faunus fairy tale about a city called Gotham. An orphaned prince defended it from a monstrous dragon, but everytime he cut one head off, two more grew back and it grew stronger. Eventually, it got so big that it supported the entire city on its back, and the two became stuck in a stalemate; the prince couldn't kill the dragon without destroying the city, while the dragon couldn't kill him or it'd stop growing stronger and the city on its back would crush it.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Issue 3 ends with Cheetah chucking a spear through Yang's chest.
- Inexplicable Cultural Ties: Discussed as Zatanna and Wonder Woman express interest in the fact that many of the names and themes from the RWBY universe match up with stories and historical figures, in particular matching up Pyrrha Nikos with King Pyrrhus, Jaune Arc with Joan of Arc and Team RWBY with the fairy tales they're based off of. Blake replies that the name Gotham matches up with the setting of a faunus fairy tale, with a hero and antagonist that, unbeknownst to her, parallels Batman's backstory.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Team RWBY tussles with Batman as they mistakenly believe that the GCPD and Batman are working together to suppress people while Batman hunts them down thinking they released the Grimm.
- Multi-Armed Multitasking: Alfred's Semblance is to conjure whatever he needs whenever he wants, including as many arms as he needs to hold it.
- Phlebotinum Breakdown: Inverted; Along with people gaining semblances, technology in Gotham starts changing to run on Dust instead of electricity, causing rolling blackouts, including the Batcomputer after Batman puts a sample of grimm in it. When the heroes drive to Arkham, the Batmobile breaks apart completely just before they arrive.
- The Power of Love: Superman and Lois use their love for each other to force the Chill to hop between them, allowing Ruby to strike it down.
- Psychometry: The Semblance Batgirl gains, demonstrating it on Crescent Rose and detailing when and who Ruby built it with.
- Reality Bleed: Gotham City's fear and despair is so bad that the Grimm were able to sense it and cross over. This is causing people in the DC Universe to develop Semblances while Team RWBY's looks and weapons are changed to match how it would be if they acted in the DC Universe. Upon seeing Joker and the Nuckelavee fuse with each other, Ruby comes to the conclusion that it's not just a bleed between worlds, it's a full-on merger.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Blake comes to realize that Batman is afraid of getting used to his Semblance and having the help of Team RWBY and that, despite having the help of Commissioner Gordon, Nightwing, Batgirl and Catwoman, he keeps pulling his Aloof Ally shtick that I Work Alone. She tells him that that fear is going to do the work they're trying to stop the Grimm from doing and accept what he has.
- Ship Tease: As it was written before "Confessions Within Cumulonimbus Clouds", we have the standard affectionate touches with Yang and Blake that went on since Volume 6.
- Wretched Hive: When Ruby tells Batman what's going on, she explains that the Grimm smelt so much anger and despair in Gotham that they were able to cross over.
