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Fanfic / Calvin & Hobbes: The Series

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Calvin and Hobbes: The Series is a Fan Fic series co-authored by Swing123 and garfieldodie. It is perhaps the main installment in what is unofficially known as the Calvinverse.

As you can imagine, the idea came about when the authors couldn't help but wonder what the original comic strip would be like if it had been animated. Of course, with Watterson's very strict policy against licensing his work, that likely will never happen in real life, but making fanfiction on the other hand...

The series is best described as a fake Calvin and Hobbes television show, and though it doesn't use traditional Script Fic styling, it has all the hallmarks of one otherwise - in fact, it's incredibly thorough in this regard, with everything from animation notes, a Lemony Narrator, plenty of Medium Awareness, and bonus chapters that collect fake trailers and other such promos.

Its writing style starts out shaky in the first season, but by the second season it crystallizes into its current form - a snarky, troperiffic little series. It also introduces a buttload of Adaptation Expansion.

After a lengthy absence on Swing's page, garfieldodie took over story-posting in Season 5 Part 2, announcing the return of a regular schedule (every Thursday, as of present) and that Season 5 will be the last season. As such, the final story, "Black Rain", concluded on December 3rd, 2013, about eight years after the series began.

The various seasons are as follows:

Has a work-in-progress Recap page.

This fanfic contains examples of:

    open/close all folders 

    Tropes # - F 
  • 20% More Awesome: The very name of the episode "62 Percent More Evil".
  • 555: Calvin's parents' phone number, as shown in "Birth of a Friendship", is 555-7186, but "Help Wanted" presents it as 555-6846.
  • Abusive Parents: "Have You Seen This Tiger?" has Calvin's mom beating him with a broom for ruining her laundry, much like Tom and Jerry - the shift from pet owner to mother ends up making things a lot less amusing.
  • Accidental Hero: Calvin, having prevented an Alien Invasion via one of his fireworks in "Naughty Fireworks!".
  • Acid Reflux Nightmare: Discussed when the duo talk about Hobbes Dreaming of Things to Come in "The Black Turning Funnel Part 2".
  • Acid-Trip Dimension: The Hypercube's interior.
  • Actionized Adaptation: In the strip Calvin had a larger-than-life imagination, but fantasy and action sequences were all in his head. In the fanfic, there's real danger for him to face.
  • Actionized Sequel: To the original strip.
  • Actually a Doombot: The clones in "Electronic Invasion".
  • Adaptational Badass: Calvin.
  • Adaptation Expansion:
    • Aside from the expansion shared with the rest of The 'Verse, the first episode ("Birth of a Friendship") is partly adapted from the first two strips of the original comic.
    • The former example was lampshaded in one of the marathon framing segments:
    Socrates: In fact, we weren't even in the comic strip, so we probably shouldn't even be here.
  • A Dog Named "Dog": Monkey, from "Monkey See, Monkey Mayhem".
  • Adults Are Useless: At the very least, they're really unobservant.
  • Advanced Tech 2000: The Mega-Shrinker 5000 (briefly upgraded to 6000 in "Attack of the Monsters").
  • Affectionate Parody: "Tracer Bullet in Color!" is this to the Film Noir genre.
  • Agent Mulder: "Full Moon: Full Baloney!" has Calvin assuming this role. Hobbes also becomes this after it turns out Calvin was right.
  • Agent Scully: In the same episode as above, Hobbes assumes this role. Subverted at the end of the episode, when it turns out Calvin was right.
  • Air Vent Escape: Inverted: Andy and Sherman are actually captured this way in "The Night of the Living Television II".
  • Alien Invasion:
    • Calvin accidentally stops one in "Naughty Fireworks!"
    • "Invasion" revolves around aliens invading another alien planet.
  • Alliterative Name:
    • The Monster Maze. Lampshaded:
    Hobbes: Nice touch.
    • Most of the things Calvin sells at his stand in "Help Wanted" as well.
  • All That Glitters: Subverted in "Help Wanted" - after failing to get the Videonow, Hobbes tells Calvin that there's more to life than just that. Calvin realizes that he's right; there are bathtub TV's now!
  • All There in the Manual: Season Two's bonus chapter reveals Andy is homeschooled, and that both he and Klein are [[The Danza named for their voice actors (Andrew Lawrence and Robert Klein, respectively).
  • All There in the Script: In the Netflix parody commercial in the first season's bonus chapter, the generic man is actually named "Some Guy".
  • Always Someone Better: Robin serves as this to Calvin when the former confronts Two-Face's minions.
  • Amusing Injuries:
    • Among others, Calvin runs into a closed door head-first in "Help Wanted".
    • His later No-Holds-Barred Beatdown, delivered onto Socrates, exaggerates this.
  • Anachronism Stew: In the earlier episodes, several (relatively) modern conveniences are referenced alongside Garfield and Friends in the same timeframe.
  • And I Must Scream:
    • Hobbes being captured by robots in "The Electronic Invasion".
    • Happens to Socrates during "Invasion" when his transmitter chip in his brain malfunctions, causing him to collapse to the floor in agony, much to Calvin and Hobbes' shock.
  • And the Adventure Continues: The exact phrasing is used in the final story's epilogue.
  • Angry Guard Dog: Spike from "Eggs for Calvin!".
  • Answer Cut: From "Help Wanted":
    Hobbes: How do many six-year-old kids get money?
    Calvin: Lemonade stand, why?
    Woman at Calvin's stand: And what do we have here?
  • Anti-Climax: Subverted in "The Black Turning Funnel Part 2": the tornado appears to simply have been sucked back up into the clouds, but Hobbes points out that it merely touched down elsewhere.
  • Anti-Villain: Dr. Brainstorm is a Type I. Discussed in "Thunderstorm":
    Dr. Brainstorm: Because I want to be the heroic villain, okay? There's got to be at least one time where I'm the one who has a victory!
  • Apocalypse How: In "The Yellowstone Monster", Calvin fears Old Faithful would blot out the sun for more than 50 years and maybe make a new ice age (causing a Class 2 and eventually a Class 3b to Class 6).
  • Apocalyptic Log: Dr. Brainstorm records something similar to one while trapped in his flaming lab in "Robot's Day Out".
  • Apologizes a Lot: Inverted in "Have You Seen This Tiger?", wherein Socrates flat out refuses to apologize for creating virtually all the conflict of the episode.
  • April Fools' Plot: "Let Us Prank the Fool", which revolves around Calvin trying to prank Socrates before April 1st.
  • A Rare Sentence: From Earl in "The Yellowstone Monster Part 2":
    "Thanks, Earth Potentate!"
    Beat
    "Boy, there's three words I never thought I'd say in a row."
  • Arc Villain: Holographic Retro in Season 4.
  • Arc Welding/Offstage Villainy: Holographic Retro orchestrated some of the events during Season Four.
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:
    • From "Confessions of a Prank-Loving Tiger":
    Calvin: WHAT IF HE'S A MURDERER! WHAT IF HE'S A WEREWOLF! WHAT IF HE'S A VAMPIRE! WHAT IF HE'S A ROBBER! WHAT IF HE'S A GOBLIN! WHAT IF HE'S A MIME!
    • This bit from "Dr. BrainChill":
    Lenny: Uh, bad news, boss! It would appear that Dave blew up the navigation console, and Biff knocked off the steering wheel. And Jeff just broke a window!
    • From "Pranking the Ghosts":
    Andy: Where do you suppose that (a door) leads to?
    Sherman: I dunno. Dungeon, torture room, bloodthirsty zombie, the mansion's balcony.
    • And from "SHEILA'S BACK!":
    Mother Brainstorm: YOU'LL MOW THE LAWN! YOU'LL DO THE GROCERY SHOPPING! YOU'LL SCRUB THE FLOORS! YOU'LL CLIP MY THICK YELLOW TOENAILS! YOU'LL BE WATCHING DAYTIME TALK SHOWS WITH ME!
    • "Pharaoh Andrew":
    Sherman: (translating hieroglyphics) Let me see here, curse... curse... another curse... insurance guarantee... ah, here we go.
  • Artistic License – Geography: Lampshaded in regards to time zones in "Eggs for Calvin!" (among other possibilities):
    It was Easter Morning in the town that Calvin and Hobbes live in.
    Is it Easter Morning where you are?
    Probably not, but go ahead and watch the show anyway.
  • Ash Face: Calvin and Andy after yet another one of Sherman's experiments fails.
  • Ask a Stupid Question...: From "The Yellowstone Monster Part 2":
    Rupert: IS THIS THE LAVA?
    Jack: No, it's cotton candy.
  • As You Know: Used when Calvin describes Planet Zok's weird alien biology in "The Yellowstone Monster Part 2".
  • Attack Pattern Alpha:
    • In "Electronic Invasion":
    Calvin: Engage Emergency Protocol #5557490!
    MTM: Whatever.
    • And from "The Genius Hamster":
    Calvin: MTM, initiate emergency protocol number 2235!
    MTM: I can't believe you can remember all these numbers.
  • Back from the Dead:
    • Everyone but Hobbes in "RIP Calvin" through Time Travel.
    • The MTM gets this a lot, being a machine.
  • Badass Boast: Calvin tries to do one in "Calvin's Batman Adventure".
    "I am Batboy! Defeater of all evil and evil like things. The new form of bat super hero mutant things! The new form of humans who have bat DNA! And you can not possibly..."
  • Bad Liar: Socrates, as "Mission: Socrates" shows.
  • Badly Battered Babysitter:
    • The main cast takes on this role in "Two Loons and a Kid", climaxing in a water park.
    • Also happens to Rosalyn in "Attack of the Vampire Babysitter" when she goes for an involuntary ride with Calvin and Hobbes in their wagon.
  • Bad News, Irrelevant News: The former Trope Namer (GEICO) is referenced in one of the fake commercials in Season 1's bonus chapter.
    Calvin: ARGH! Land hoe! Throw out the anchor!
    Hobbes: We don't have an anchor.
    (Beat)
    Calvin: ARGH! There be a man here who destroyed me anchor! Sniff out the culprit 'n' make 'em walk the plank!
    Hobbes: We don't have a plank.
    Calvin: There be mutiny on me ship! This be really bad news, matey!
    Hobbes: Uh-huh.
    Calvin: However, there be some good news!
    Hobbes: And what might that be?
    Calvin: I just saved a ton of money on me car insurance by switching to Geico!
    (another Beat)
    Hobbes: Is this some kind of pathetic attempt at humor?
    (yet another Beat)
    Narrator: Geico. Fifteen minutes can save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.
  • Bag of Holding: The Hypercube.
  • Bag of Kidnapping: Calvin and Hobbes are on the receiving end of this trope from Dr. Brainstorm in "An MTM Episode".
  • Bait-and-Switch Comment: After Socrates pretends to have given up his pranking ways in "Eggs for Calvin!":
    Calvin: Well, all I can say to that is ... you already tried that one last week. Nice try.
  • Bald of Evil: Electro.
  • Balloon Belly: "Forecast for Disaster" shows Mother Brainstorm demolishing an entire buffet, resulting in one of these.
  • Batman Cold Open: Shortly after getting in their costumes in "Calvin's Batman Adventure", the duo (fittingly) find themselves in this situation.
  • Batman Gambit: In "It Will Build Character", Dad gets Calvin to get in the canoe by hooking Hobbes on his fishing pole, knowing that he'd instantly go after him.
    Calvin: Gotta say, that was pretty clever.
  • Batter Up!:
    • One of the two aliens in "Naughty Fireworks!" does this to their partner.
    • Calvin also uses one against Electro in his first appearance.
  • Beachcombing: Done by Calvin to get the final egg in "Eggs for Calvin!".
  • Beardness Protection Program: Mentioned in "Calvin's Batman Adventure"
    Calvin: Do you know what [being exposed] means, Hobbes? We'll have to change our names, move to another state, grow a beard and shave it off, then start all over again! From now on, we're no longer Calvin and Hobbes!
  • Bears Are Bad News: "Have You Seen This Tiger?" and "Camp Blues".
  • Beat: One is mentioned by name in one episode.
  • Beauty Equals Goodness: Inverted with Electro, who is explicitly described as ugly (which is odd, as the other villains are never described as bad-looking).
  • Bedsheet Ladder: Used in "Naughty Fireworks!" and "Camp Blues".
  • Better than a Bare Bulb: A good amount of tropes are lampshaded.
  • Be Yourself: Subverted: Calvin seems to be headed in this direction... until he proclaims that millions of people's suffering was completely justified by his own existence.
  • Big Damn Heroes: The characters tend to become rather sarcastic versions of this trope.
  • Big Eater:
    • Sheila and her mother.
    • And Socrates, if "That's MISTER Sherman to You!" is any indication.
  • Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: A Yeti attacks Socrates and Stupendous Man in "The Five Calvins".
  • Big "NO!":
    • When Electro is defeated in his first appearance.
    • Also, Calvin does one upon learning that Rosalyn is coming.
    • "Camping on a Deserted Rock is FUN!" starts with one.
  • Big Red Button: One in Dr. Brainstorm's ship fires bombs in "SHEILA'S BACK!".
  • Big "SHUT UP!":
    • From Socrates, of all people, to Calvin in "Personality Test".
    • And another one from Jack to the alien crew in "Dr. Brain Chill".
    • And one more from almost all the main cast to Socrates in "That's MISTER Sherman to You!".
    • And yet another one from Hobbes and Socrates to Sherman in "Pharaoh Andrew".
    • And from Socrates again during "Remember" when even he can't stand Hobbes and Sherman's arguing anymore.
  • Big "WHAT?!": A very common reaction from Calvin.
  • Bill... Bill... Junk... Bill...: "Chains"
  • Black Comedy Burst: From "Thunderstorm":
    Dr. Brainstorm: Now if you'll excuse me, I have an idiot to kill!
    Jack: You're committing suicide?
  • "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: Nilvac and Sebboh react this way to being called "evil" (they prefer "dark").
  • Blah, Blah, Blah:
    • During Calvin's epic rant against the We Will Meet Again trope in "Night of the Living Television".
    • And justified in "Personality Test":
    Andy: Dear Andy, thank you for purchasing my test, blah blah blah... That's what it says. "Thank you for purchasing my test, blah, blah, blah".
  • Blatant Lies: From "Mission: Socrates":
    Socrates: (upon being questioned as to why Hobbes can't go inside his house) Uh... we're... stinky.
  • Blood Sport: The Death Zone in "The Five Calvins" functions something like this.
  • Body Horror: Calvin uses the Transmogrifier Gun to fuse The Riddler's hands and feet together in "Calvin's Batman Adventure".
  • Bottle Episode:
    • Among others, "Confessions of a Prank-Loving Tiger" and "Gasping for Air" are rather short on characters.
    • "Hypercube" has a handful of characters and about two locations, tops.
    • "Roughin' It" only has two characters, and seems rather shorter than the other episodes.
  • Bound and Gagged:
    • Dr. Brainstorm in "The Yellowstone Monster".
    • Calvin's parents in "The Return of Dr. Brainstorm", though they were asleep the whole time.
  • A Boy and His Tiger: As in the original strip.
  • Bragging Theme Tune:
    WHO HAS THE GRAND SENSE OF AD-VEN-TUUUURRE? (CAL-VIN AND HOBBES!)
    WITH A CARDBOARD BOX WITH A TIME SEN-SOR? (CAL-VIN AND HOBBES!)
    A VIVID IMAGINATION THAT'S A MAGNET FOR TROUBLE? (CAL-VIN AND HOBBES!)
    GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE AND PRAISE THEM ON THE DOUBLE! (CAL-VIN AND HOBBES!)
  • Brain in a Jar: The true nature of Future Calvin.
  • Brainwashed:
    • Electro tries it on Calvin in his debut appearance, which the latter refuses.
    • Several people in "The Alien Huntress": see Mass Hypnosis for more details.
    • Calvin eventually falls for it in "The Five Calvins".
  • Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs:
    • From "The Yellowstone Monster Part 1":
    Calvin: That's a dumb name. Why not something interesting? Like Doctor Doom, or Doctor Chaos, or Doctor Chaotic Doom?
    • Also, this line from "Gasping for Air":
    Dad: Oh no! A gray hair! Oh no! A wrinkle! OH NO! A WRINKLED GRAY HAIR!note 
  • Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick:
    • Calvin describing the "lady things" his mom would shop for:
    "You know, makeup, lipstick, whips; that sort of thing."
    • And from "A Day in Your Shoes":
    Calvin: Nice day today for a game of Calvinball.
    Hobbes: Yep, the sun is shining, the grass is soft, the birds are singing, Dr Brainstorm and Sheila have a giant pile of inventions at either end of the field…
  • Breather Episode:
    • "Roughin' It", given the insanity that goes on in the next episode note .
    • Same with "Robot's Day Out".
  • Brick Joke:
    • Checkerless Checkers in "Have You Seen This Tiger?"
    • The lady with the clipboard recording anything related to Brainstorm in "Robot's Day Out".
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: Calvin - he can create a large plethora of inventions, and yet he'd rather complain than just do his homework.
  • Broken Aesop: "RIP Calvin", according to Word of God, was supposed to teach that "no one is immortal." However, the characters come Back from the Dead through time travel.
  • Broken Pedestal: Hobbes initially idolized Socrates, but after suffering through a Humiliation Conga at his hands in "Have You Seen This Tiger?" this is no longer the case.
  • Buffy Speak: The Book Transporter gains a paint job and the words "bat-thingy" written on it in "Calvin's Batman Adventure".
  • Burping Contest: Between Calvin and Klein in "The Insane Road Trip".
  • …But He Sounds Handsome: Played With in Electronic Invasion - Calvin thinks his robotic duplicate isn't bad looking.
  • Call-Back:
    • "The Mighty School Escape" references two other instances where Calvin has tried to escape school.
    • The series as a whole tends to reference the original strips.
    • Within Swing 123's canon, "A Calvin and Hobbes Christmas!" has an error message similar to the one in Calvin and Hobbes III: Double Trouble.
    • "Have You Seen This Tiger?" has Socrates taunting the bears in a very similar manner as Hobbes did in "The Night of the Living Television".
  • Calvinball: Given that the original strip was the Trope Namer, it's obviously included here as well.
  • Can't Stand Them, Can't Live Without Them: Calvin's relationship with Socrates.
  • Captivity Harmonica: Socrates does this while jailed in "Time Terror".
  • Casanova Wannabe: Andy's first appearance shows him like this. This is never mentioned again (aside from "Insanity is In The Air").
  • Cassandra Truth:
    • Calvin's parents react this way whenever Calvin describes his previous escapades.
    • So does Miss Wormwood when grading Calvin's report on Egypt (which he completed by going there himself).
  • Casual Danger Dialogue: From "Pharaoh Andrew":
    Calvin: How many people are in this pyramid?
    MTM: Hmmm, let me see. Counting you, Hobbes, Socrates, Andy, that hamster and the five dead people following you down the hallway... ooooh... about ten.
  • Catapult Nightmare: Calvin's nightmare about being stranded on an island during "Camping Trip Part 2".
  • Cat Scare: Done with a rat in "Home UnAlone".
  • Cats Have Nine Lives: Referenced in "Attack of the Vampire Babysitter":
    Hobbes: Yeah, I already lost five of my nine lives on that trip.
  • Cerebus Syndrome: Downplayed - the series gets a bit more adventurous, but nothing quite drastic.
  • Chain Letter: "Chains" revolves around Calvin and Susie receiving these. Susie rips hers up, causing her to have bad luck for the rest of the episode.
  • Chainsaw Good:
    • Sheila's murder attempt on Calvin has her using this.
    • Calvin also uses the MTM as one in "Electronic Invasion".
  • Character Development: Outright lampshaded in Season 3's bonus chapter.
    • Calvin... well, the fic says it best: "When the series started, Calvin was essentially the same intensely immature little weirdo he was in the comic strip. Between the middle of season one and the beginning of season two, he began calming down. In the middle of season two he had begun making more inventions and he became a lot more mature. His IQ seemed to raise a bit also, and he began handling dangerous situations more responsibly. In the upcoming season, he will become a little more darker and manipulative, making things just slightly more difficult for his enemies." And boy, they aren't lying.
    • Hobbes loses his cowardly nature through an Awesome Moment from Calvin in "Thunderstorm".
    • Socrates, notably, is the only static character of the bunch.
    • Andy has the second most prominent example - he starts out with zero personality, but gradually becomes the Only Sane Man.
    • Sherman merely strikes up a friendship with Calvin by Season 3.
  • Character Exaggeration: Calvin's inventiveness and Hobbes' tendency to avoid danger have been upped significantly here. The latter gets toned down during Season Four, though.
  • Chekhov's Gag: In "The Falling Sky", Calvin at one point uses the MTM to absorb some lightning in an attempt to stop a storm from doing any further damage. He later uses it for revenge on Socrates.
  • Chekhov's Gun:
    • Calvin's poker winnings from "The Night of the Living Television II".
    • And the 10th Anniversary Double-Length Special Edition Captain Napalm issue in "Hypercube".
    • And Jack's auto-repair system in "Robot's Day Out".
    • Then during "Part Three", the episode starts with the characters mocking a B-Movie. When the same movie begins playing the next day with their made-up dialogue playing over it, it's a sign that an old villain has returned.
  • Chekhov's Skill: Jack's ability to memorize fingerprints on things to distinguish them from similar things helps him put out a fire at Dr. Brainstorm's lab in "Robot's Day Out".
  • Cheshire Cat Grin: Calvin had been wearing one for a good while around the time of "The Time Pauser".
  • Christmas Episode: "A Calvin and Hobbes Christmas!"
  • Circling Birdies:
  • Clear My Name: "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon". The titular attack(s) was perpetuated by Hobbes.
  • Cliché Storm:
  • Cliffhanger:
    • "The Black Turning Funnel Part 1" ends with the tornado headed straight for the duo.
    Calvin: "Help. Cry for help."
    • The first part of "Calvin's Batman Adventure" ends with the man himself bursting in.
  • Cloudcuckooland: Calvin's hometown has seen a Mad Scientist and his robot exit their Yellowstone Park lair, had its citizens replaced by Creepy Monotone clones, attacked by a monster...
  • Cloud Cuckoolander: Socrates, who listens to heavy metal music to get to sleep and can spend several days at a time planning his next prank.
  • Close-Call Haircut: Played With in "Calvin's Batman Adventure": Calvin's cape gets shredded by Joker's metal card, and the former lampshades it:
    "HEY! Now I have to sew that back before the next scene!"
  • Cobweb of Disuse: In Thunderstorm's ice cave.
  • Comically Missing the Point:
    • After returning home and finding the house almost perfect after an alien attack at the end "The Insane Road Trip":
    Calvin: What have you done? You scratched some paint off of the house! Do you have any idea how long it took Dad to paint this place?
    • Upon discovering an arm in a tree in "Tracer Bullet in Color!":
    Tiger Eye: (glancing at its watch) Wow! It's later than I thought..
  • Contemplate Our Navels:
    • Despite being more action-packed than the comic strip, it still maintains a slight philosophical tone.
    • Bits like the beginning of "Wild Movie" definitely fit this tone.
  • Continuation: Of both the authors' previous fan fics and the original strip.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • Whenever a new invention comes up, Hobbes will usually reference the previous inventions from both the strip and fic.
    • In-series, Calvin references the evil doll incident and Checkerless Checkers in "Eggs for Calvin!"
    • Also, when Andy lists all the bad things that have happened to Socrates in "Personality Test":
    "Well, let's see. Your voice has been switched into that of a duck's, you've been electrocuted by the MTM, you've been trapped in the hypercube, a transmitter has been inserted into you, you've been ejected into the clou..."
  • Continuity Snarl: See the Analysis page for details.
  • Conversational Troping: Lots of it in "Hypercube". Among the subjects discussed include some Fridge Logic about the Borgs, the origin of scotch tape's name, and a restaurant in Los Angeles advertising both doughnuts and chinese food in the same sentence.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: Socrates considers living with Calvin's dad this.
  • Cool Starship: Plucked straight from the future in "RIP Calvin".
    It was sort of roundish ship with red and blue wires running all across it. It had circular windows all around the front, and it had one of those escalators that futuristic ships have.
  • Courtroom Episode: "A Day at the Office": Calvin sneaks into a courtroom with his dad and ends up solving a case.
  • Covered in Gunge:
    • Played for Laughs with Calvin dropping food glops on every student's head with the Time Pauser in its eponymous episode.
    • Sherman ends up covered in baby food in "Two Loons and a Kid".
  • Crazy Enough to Work:
    • Subverted pointedly in "The Yellowstone Monster Part 2":
    "I can use the kid's inventions to control the volcano, and when it erupts, I'll have the lava destroy all the capitals in the world, and then I'll take over!"
    Jack stared some more.
    "That plan…may just be crazy enough…," he said.
    There was a pause.
    "Well…?" asked Dr Brainstorm.
    "Well what?"
    "Aren't you going to say that it's crazy enough to work?"
    "No, I just mean that it's crazy enough."
    Mom: Well, that's nice, but you don't need to broadcast it coast to coast! Just look for him (Hobbes) quietly.
    Calvin: Of course! If I continue to shout for him to show up, he'll know where I am and get farther away from me! On the other hand, absolute silence means absolute secrecy! It's so crazy it just might work!
  • Crazy-Prepared:
    • Miss Wormwood has every encyclopedia ever published just in case Calvin tries to cheat.
    • Calvin himself also counts, especially as Batboy:
    Hobbes: He has everything in there except for the Kitchen sink.
    Calvin: Actually I have the kitchen sink in the third pocket to the left of the right glove by spike number two in category five in subcategory ten in subsubcategory thirteen in compartment six.
    Hobbes: Where's the bathroom sink?
    Calvin: I stuffed it in bat ear number one.
  • Create Your Own Villain: Calvin's attempt to upgrade the TV ends up summoning Electro.
  • Creepy Monotone: The clones in "Electronic Invasion".
  • Critical Psychoanalysis Failure: As revealed in "Calvin Gets Professional Help", Calvin once drove his school psychiatrist mad.
  • Crossover: "Calvin's Batman Adventure"
  • Darker and Edgier: Certain episodes, like "Dark Laughter" and especially "Black Rain", certainly fit this.
  • Dark Horse Victory: Elliot is elected class president in "CALVIN FOR PRESIDENT!"
  • A Day in the Limelight:
  • Deadly Upgrade: The titular "Super Calvin" will die if he uses his powers too much.
  • Death Glare: Lampshaded by the narrator:
    "My goodness, that face Miss Wormwood had would've made trees burst into flame."
  • Deconstruction Fic:
    • "Have You Seen This Tiger?" deconstructs The Prankster - when Calvin finally gets revenge on Socrates for his pranks, he's not at all amused by this and eventually runs away from home.
    • "White Noise" deconstructs Make Me Wanna Shout: Calvin has to shout constantly to record for the Scream Horn's new power settings, and it results in laryngitis.
  • Deflector Shields:
  • Department of Redundancy Department:
    • This gem from "Wild Movie":
    Hobbes: (acting in a Stupendous Man movie) Stupendous Man, we need to stop The Evil And-EE from sucking out all the drinking drinkable drinking water that people drink!
    Socrates: CUT! Hobbes, it's drinkable drinking water that's being drank by people.
    • Also, from "Personality Test":
    Socrates: Greetings, citizen! Can I interest you in a personality test that will perhaps test your very personality?
    • And from "Thunderstorm":
    Dr. Brainstorm: (defying the Enemy Mine trope) Oh, no. Oh no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Absolutely not! Negative! No way! Never! And in case you didn't pick on that, NO!
  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Hobbes does this against Electro:
    "You couldn't catch a flee on a grandpa's knee! And, ha, ha, ha! And, ho, ho, ho! And I'll bet your mother wears overshoes!"
  • Dissimile:
    • Lampshaded in "The Photo Man":
    Hobbes: Calvin, let's put this into perspective. One book with about 50 pages is light. Fifteen thousand books, each with 50 pages, are impossible to pick up. It took a lot of snowflakes to build those four snowmen.
    Calvin: You're comparing my snowmen to books? You're crazy. Go get the wagon.
    • From "The Five Calvins":
    Spiff: Hmmm, a Hall of Mirrors. This is kind of like one of those things they have in fun houses. If fun houses had pieces of broken jagged glass all around and forcefully bring you to them, then sure. A fun house.
  • Dinner with the Boss: It's never shown, but Calvin's mom does this with her husband's boss in "It Will Build Character".
  • Fantastic Racism: Lions have this, according to Hobbes and Socrates. Caesar from "That's MISTER Sherman to You!" thinks rather highly of his species.
  • Fat Bastard: Future Socrates is a jerk, along with the other future protagonists
  • Felony Misdemeanor:
    Calvin had arrested three old ladies for "illegal poodle ownership", bagged four bull dogs saying that they broke the fire hydrant law of America, and turned in ten shocked people who had "illegally thrown candy wrappers into a trash can".
  • Film Noir: Happens whenever Tracer Bullet turns up.
  • First-Person Smartass:
    • Hobbes narrates like this in "The Time Pauser".
    • Calvin also fits for the first part of "The Transmitter Conspiracy".
  • Flashback: Lampshaded in "Thunderstorm":
    Jack: It's a long story and should probably be done with a flashback...
  • Flashback Cut: How the Critical Psychoanalysis Failure situation is revealed in "Calvin Gets Professional Help".
  • Flat Joy: From "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon":
    Hobbes: I said, h joy. Wonder. Uncontrollable excitement.
  • Flying Broomstick: Referenced as Calvin is attacked by a woman with a broom in "Two Loons and a Kid":
    "OW! HEY! YEEK! HEY GET AWAY! YOU SHOULD BE RIDING THAT THING INSTEAD OF SWINGING IT!"
  • Food as Bribe: Calvin often uses this to get Hobbes to follow along with his plans.
  • Food Fight: Done in "Camp Blues", and mentioned to be one tactic Calvin uses to try and get out of school in "Chaos to My Ears".
  • Forced Transformation: Calvin transmogrifies Hobbes into a rabbit in order to get Sherman to his house safely in "The Genius Hamster".
  • Foreshadowing:
    • In "Eggs for Calvin!", the villains' brown Chevy shows up before their debut.
    • One of the largest hints in "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon" to the identity of the perpetrator is that Hobbes always shows up right after a water balloon attack.
    • Lampshaded in "The Return of Dr. Brainstorm":
    Calvin: Ya know Hobbes, it's times like this that I wish that Mom and Dad would go away for at least a day! Gee, that little phrase built the plot up didn't it? I get a kick out of messing with the reader's mind.
    • There's also a pretty blatant example in "The Night of the Living Television II":
    Socrates: (after finding out that two villains had teamed up) Who teamed up? Rupert Chill and Dr. Brainstorm?
    Calvin: No, we're saving that for next season.
    • When the protagonists escape Socrates' mind in "Socratesland", they find a locked door that stays where it is even as everything else around it crumbles. A number of episodes around that timeframe also make mention of Socrates' lack of animal behavior (in comparison to Hobbes, who nigh always pounces on Calvin as a greeting). Both of these things get resolved later in The Collective, as Socrates performs a Split-Personality Merge with his darker self and starts acting like an actual tiger.
  • For Halloween, I Am Going as Myself:
    • Played with in "Full Moon: Full Baloney!", as a Call-Back to the original strip.
    Calvin: Trick-or-treat!
    Adult: Where's your costume? What are you supposed to be?
    Calvin: I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Madison Avenue and Hollywood, poised with my ironic and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak!
    • Also done in "New Year, New Disasters":
    Calvin: Aren't people going to freak out when they see a robot here?
    Someone at the party: Hey dude! Great costume!
    Jack: Nope.
  • For Science!: The reason Dr. Brainstorm lets Jack swap places with Jacqueline in "A Day in Your Shoes".
  • Freak Lab Accident: Calvin's attempt to combine all his inventions ends up giving him their powers.
  • From Beyond the Fourth Wall: Hobbes tries to invoke this at the end of "The Time Pauser".
  • Future Loser: Future Socrates.
  • Futureshadowing: "Time Terror" shows statues of Calvin, Hobbes, Socrates, Andy, and Sherman labeled "Our World's Heroes".

    Tropes G - M 
  • Gag Dub: In-Universe - the main characters do this as a hobby. It ends up becoming a Chekhov's Gun in "Part Three".
  • Gainax Ending: "Naughty Fireworks!". It turns out that Calvin accidentally stopped an Alien Invasion with a firecracker. This could be considered a precursor to the series' later World of Weirdness s setting.
  • Gang of Bullies: Moe leads one, introduced in "The Time Pauser".
  • The Generic Guy: Andy. This actually becomes a plot point in "New Year, New Disasters": he's upset that he hasn't had many exciting experiences.
  • Genre Blind:
    Hobbes: Wait a minute... There's a can of tuna fish on the sidewalk? Should I be suspicious?
    (beat)
    Hobbes: Nope.
    • Something similar happens with the roller coaster operator in "The Genius Hamster".
  • Get Back to the Future: "Time Terror"
  • Gilligan Cut:
    • From "Naughty Fireworks!":
    Calvin: OK, Hobbes. All we have to do is buy a couple of fireworks, and then, set them off tonight. We'll say to Mom and Dad we didn't do it, and Kabaam! A wonderful 4th of July.
    Fireworks seller: Sorry Kid, you have to be 18 or older to make a purchase.
    • From "Chains":
    Calvin: (trying to figure out if a Chain Letter is true to its word) Oh man, my problems are solved! Precious hamster will definitely know what to do!
    Sherman: I don't know.
    • And from "Pharaoh Andrew":
    Calvin: [...] My report is an A plus guarantee.
    (later) Calvin: D MINUS? THIS KIND OF WORK DESERVES THE PULITZER PRIZE!
  • Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Rosalyn does this at Calvin in "Attack of the Vampire Babysitter".
  • Glad I Thought of It: Between Jack and Sheila in "A Day in Your Shoes".
  • Grappling-Hook Pistol: Calvin and Hobbes use these in "Calvin's Batman Adventure".
  • A God Am I: From Calvin's epic tirade against everything in "Personality Test":
    "I SWEAR ON ALL THAT IS HOLY THAT I SHALL HAVE MY REVENGE! I WILL! I'M THE GOD! I'M THE GOD! AAAAAAHHH—"
  • Good is Not Nice: The five main characters may not be evil, but they are definitely not always nice.
  • Gratuitous Spanish: Calvin says "Si?" when the lady at the desk taps him on the shoulder in "Tonsil Terror".
  • Green Aesop: "The Yellowstone Monster Part 2"'s aesop is "never tamper with nature."
  • Groin Attack: Rather un-subtly implied in "Eggs for Calvin!":
    Bill started to run across the shovel, but Tom stepped on the blade, and the handle popped up and nailed Bill right in the…
    Well, let's just say it made Calvin burst out laughing.
  • Hey, That's My Line!: Calvin says this when Robin says "Watch and learn, junior!" to him in "Calvin's Batman Adventure".
  • High-Pressure Emotion:
    • "Attack of the Vampire Babysitter" gives what is possibly the most eloquent description of this trope in action:
    My goodness, her eyes had turned red, fangs began to grow out of her teeth, smoke bellowed out of her nose... Uh... She didn't look too happy about the state of the world.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard:
    • Calvin ends up getting caught in his own traps in "Home UnAlone".
    • Socrates ends up falling into one of his own pranks in "An MTM Episode".
    • Happens again when Calvin tricks him with the classic "Your shoelace is untied" gag, resulting in him getting done up in a net covered in peanut butter.
    Sherman: I can't believe he fell for that.
    Andy: It's worse. Socrates doesn't even wear shoes.
  • Horrible Camping Trip:
    • "Camping on a Deserted Rock is FUN!" manages to be much more horrible than normal, even by Calvin and Hobbes' standards.
    • "It Will Build Character" is slightly better, though it does have a mountain lion.
  • Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday: Referenced in this Missing Trailer Scene about Halloween:
    Hobbes: You gonna call?
    Calvin: GHOST BUSTERS!
    Hobbes: YOU FOOL! IT'S THEIR BUSIEST NIGHT!
  • Human Popsicle:
    • Parodied in "Dr. BrainChill", as the protagonists are frozen for a short period of time. When they awake, Jack tries to delude them into believing they'd been frozen for hundreds of years (complete with a Shout-Out to Red Dwarf).
    • Thunderstorm was trapped in stasis for a good while. Twice, in fact.
  • Humiliation Conga: Hobbes suffers one in "Have You Seen This Tiger?" thanks to Socrates, which causes the former to stop idolizing him:
    Suddenly, a water balloon splashed into Hobbes' head.
    "ACK!" Hobbes yelled.
    It was then that Hobbes realized that Socrates hads pushed Hobbes over sending him tumbling down the hill.
    He landed in the creek.
    However this wasn't enough for Socrates.
    Socrates rolled the garbage barrel over to the hill, and dumped it.
    Over a ton of garbage colapsed onto Hobbes, just as he was climbing out of the creek.
    Then, Socrates grabbed a barrel full of mustard, and sent it tumbling down the hill, screaming in anger.
    It hit Hobbes, and he went tumbling back into the creek, now covered in mustard.
  • Hurt Foot Hop:
    • Tracer jumps up and down when he hurts his foot after attempting to kick a door down.
    • Socrates hops in pain in "Surge" while tripping over stuff in the dark.
  • Hypocritical Humor:
    • Hobbes dismisses the "scaredy cat" stereotype right before being startled by Jack's sudden appearance.
    • Another instance is lampshaded:
    Sherman: (on Underdog) I'm just not in the mood to see another movie about talking animals.
    Socrates: Hypocrite.
  • I Am Not Weasel:
    • Dr. Brainstorm believes Hobbes and Socrates are robots.
    • And Sheila thinks Calvin's an alien.
  • I Can't Hear You: Calvin and Hobbes have a conversation like this in "The Black Turning Funnel Part 1", but the former confesses in the second part that he was just toying with the latter.
  • Idiot Ball: The protagonists, who are usually quite clever, don't always realize that one of Calvin's inventions could completely avert a conflict. Particularly egregrious is "Nighty Shut Up!", where the solution to Calvin's insomnia is to use the Time Pauser to sleep as long as he likes. This only comes at the end of the episode, while it probably wasn't very hard to figure out at all!
  • I Don't Like the Sound of That Place:
    • The Death Zone and the Dark Tower in "The Five Calvins".
    • And the Doom Satellite from "Thunderstorm".
  • I Have No Son!: Mrs. Brainstorm yells this during her tirade in "SHEILA'S BACK!".
  • I Have This Friend: Andy uses this in "Insanity is in the Air". Socrates thinks he's referring to him.
  • I Have to Wash My Hair: Rupert and Earl do this in "Dr. BrainChill".
  • I Know Kung-Faux: Hobbes claims to know "Tiger-Kaun-Dou" in "The Five Calvins".
  • Imagine Spot: As in the original, though less prevalent here.
  • I Meant to Do That: Calvin claims this after Socrates scares him in "Full Moon: Full Baloney!"
    "I knew it was you all along, Socrates! I was just playing along with your game."
  • Immortality: Rassilion has it...
  • Immortality Seeker: ... and John Howard Chill (not Rupert Chill!) wants it.
  • Incredible Shrinking Man: The Mega-Shrinker 5000 invokes this.
  • Incendiary Exponent: Hobbes sets Calvin's Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs on fire in "Tonsil Terror".
  • Inevitable Waterfall: Encountered several times at the zoo in "Two Loons and a Kid".
  • Ink Blot Test: In "Calvin Gets Professional Help". All Calvin sees are TV's, Dracula, Rupert and Earl Chill, a Utahraptor, and himself.
  • Innocent Bystander: Provides the page quote.
    Hobbes: Hey, I'm just an innocent bystander innocently standing by!
  • Insane Troll Logic: In "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon", Calvin claims that since one of the water balloons was the same color as the ones Socrates had attacked him with last week, then he must be the culprit.
  • Insult Backfire: From "Have You Seen This Tiger?":
    Calvin: You're a twisted feline!
    Socrates: Why thank you, Calvin.
  • Ironic Episode Title: Quite possibly the least subtle example of this trope is "Camping on a Deserted Rock is FUN!"
  • Ironic Nursery Tune: The ghost sings one of these in "Full Moon: Full Baloney!":
    "Oh we are very happy where we are.
    We have many things to do.
    This song is the result of very hard work
    Listen to the song, from very far.
    We have eyes and ears and toes.
    We have quite a lot of foes
    Beware us when we are mad.
    For what will happen will be bad.
    We have brothers, sisters, and Mothers.
    We have also a many Fathers.
    Oh we are very happy where we are.
    We have many things to do.
    This song is the result of very hard work
    This has been the song, from very far."
  • Insane Troll Logic: Calvin believes Child's Play is child-friendly because it's rated R for Rainbow.
  • Insistent Terminology: The elder hawk from "The Black Turning Funnel Part 2" refuses to call tornadoes by their name, only referring to them as "cyclones". This ends up becoming a downplayed and Played for Laughs version of Poor Communication Kills.
  • The Insomniac: Calvin has a brief stint as this in "Nighty Shut Up!".
  • Insufferable Genius: All the characters, in their own respective ways.
  • Insult to Rocks: From "Electronic Invasion":
    Mom: Calvin, I really wish you'd stop trying to sneak boxes of cereal and cookies into the cart.
    Calvin: Mom, stop doing that! You'll offend the groceries!
  • Invisibility Cloak: The MTM can make one.
  • I Surrender, Suckers: Calvin does this in "The Night of the Living Television", promising to make Electro a better power strip which actually saps his power instead.
  • I Think You Broke Him: After Socrates releases several turkeys into the streets in the Thanksgiving Episode:
    Hobbes: Uh... Socrates?
    Socrates: Yes, Hobbo?
    Hobbes: Why'd you do that?
    Socrates: Simple: to wind him up!
    Hobbes glanced at Calvin, who was beet red and steam was leaking from his nostrils.
    Hobbes: I think you did a little more than winding. I think you cranked him up.
  • It Makes Sense in Context: In-Universe example when Calvin's parents arrive home to several farm animals standing in their front yard in "The Black Turning Funnel Part 2".
  • It's the Best Whatever, Ever!: "That was the best Easter Egg hunt ever, Hobbes!"
  • It Won't Turn Off: The TV in "The Night of the Living Television".
  • I Warned You: From "An MTM Episode":
    MTM: (referring to Sherman's project) Oh, don't do that. The box is too compacted. With the amount of energy you're pumping into it, it's going to burst at any second.
    Sherman: I think I know what I'm doing. And besides, I don't take advice from media players!
    MTM: It's going to explode on you.
    Sherman: Shut up!
    MTM: Very well.
    (beat)
    (BLAM!)
    MTM: I suppose this would be a bad 'I told you so' moment.
  • I Will Show You X!: From "Gasping for Air":
    Dad: Come on, Calvin! Feel the burn!
    Calvin: I'll give you burn!
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
    • Calvin has fleeting instances where he is actually very empathetic to others. His biggest example of this was when he came to the aide of his alien friends when their planet was invaded.
    • Socrates is not totally without redemption either. He does come to the aid of his friends from time to time.
    • Several characters actually apply for this.
  • Jingle: Calvin quotes the McDonald's jingle in "Eggs for Calvin!"
  • Just Here for Godzilla: In-Universe - Socrates only attends the fancy party in "That's MISTER Sherman to You!" for the refreshments, which he will not shut up about.
  • Justified Trope:
    He whipped out a metal detector.
    Yeah, I know the egg's made of plastic, but it's also in a treasure chest, which should have some metal on it.
  • Just Toying with Them: Calvin reveals in "The Black Turning Funnel Part 2" that his I Can't Hear You exchange with Hobbes from Part 1 was just him toying with the latter.
  • Kids Are Cruel: A flashback in one episode shows that Calvin once drove his school psychologist mad.
  • Kids Shouldn't Watch Horror Films: This take place with Child's Play and Jeepers Creepers 2 in "Home UnAlone", though it takes an interesting twist...
  • Kill and Replace: What Holographic Retro intended to do with the Calvin clone in "Electronic Invasion".
  • Kill It with Fire: The MTM's Emergency Protocol #5557490 turns out to be a large blast of fire.
  • King of Beasts: Hobbes and a lion named Caesar argue about this in "That's MISTER Sherman to You!". Calvin ends it by beating him up and proclaiming himself as king of the jungle.
  • Kitchen Sink Included: From "Calvin's Batman Adventure":
    Hobbes: He has everything in there except for the Kitchen sink.
    Calvin: Actually I have the kitchen sink in the third pocket to the left of the right glove by spike number two in category five in subcategory ten in subsubcategory thirteen in compartment six.
    Hobbes: Where's the bathroom sink?
    Calvin: I stuffed it in bat ear number one.
  • Knockout Gas: Used by Evil Jack on Calvin and Hobbes in "62 Percent More Evil". It comes in a deodorant can.
    "Designed to render unconscious and keep you smelling like pine for at least two hours."
  • Know Your Vines: From "Camping on a Deserted Rock is FUN!":
    Mom: I'm not smelling anymore poison sumac!
    Dad: I showed you one sumac plant, and you just can't let it go, can ya?
  • Lame Rhyme Dodge: From "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon":
    Hobbes: The one millionth time you've failed a water balloon attack.
    Calvin: What?
    Hobbes: I said, dinosaurs lived a million years ago, but McDonald's still fail to make water balloon Big Macs.
  • Lampshade Hanging:
    • Constantly. A notable example from "CALVIN FOR PRESIDENT!":
    Calvin: (on the titular political campaign) I don't know about this… Maybe I shouldn't even be running in the first place! I don't even know the name of my school!
    Hobbes: Your school has a name?
    • Another one from "Hypercube":
    Calvin: (after repeatedly jumping in and out of hypercubes trying to get home) Am I the only one in the world with just one hypercube?
    Hobbes: Yes. And I thank you for it.
  • Large Ham:
    • The Brainstorm family, oh so much.
    • Calvin also has his moments, as demonstrated here:
    "HEY, EVERYBODY! LOOK AT ME! MY NAME IS CALVIN, AND I LIVE WITH A TERRIBLE EVIL THIN MAN WITH BIG GLASSES AND LITTLE HAIR! HE'S RUNNING ME RAGGED! I'VE BEEN WORKING FOR ALL OF THREE HOURS, AND I'M ONLY SIX! I'M NOT GETTING PAID FOR THIS! THERE ARE CHILD LABOR LAWS! SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING! ALL CHILD KIDNAPPERS IN THE GENERAL AREA PLEASE KIDNAP ME NOW!"
    • Lampshaded in "Roughin' It":
    Hobbes: (doing a mosquito check) We're in the clear... supposedly.
    Calvin: Good boy, Shatner.
  • Last Chance to Quit: Calvin offers Socrates a final chance to apologize to him for his pranks in "Have You Seen This Tiger?". He refuses.
  • Lemony Narrator:
    • The narrator remarks "Gad! This show would be BORING if it was about Susie!" in the opening of "Calvin Gets Professional Help" (which revolves around Susie).
    • The narrator does this a lot. Among the more notable examples include this quip from "The Night of the Living Television II":
    The inventions began glowing a bright yellow, combined back into one, and then split up going after our four heroes.
    And Sherman.
  • Let Me Get This Straight...: In "Mission: Socrates":
    Calvin: So let me get this straight, Socrates. We've spent this whole time wondering what you were doing, and all you were doing was obsessing over a stupid DVD?
    • And from "Pharaoh Andrew":
    Andy: OK, so let me get this straight. You've just brought a bunch of people back from the dead and now they're after you?
  • Let's Mock the Monsters: Happens a lot to Jark in "Attack of the Monsters".
    Jark: I WILL DESTROY YOU! And I WILL take over the planet!
    MTM: Did your mummy tell you that?
  • Let's Split Up, Gang!:
    • Accidentally done in "Full Moon: Full Baloney!" between Calvin and Hobbes.
    • "The Great Halloween Heist" also does this.
    • Calvin's possessed inventions also do this in "The Night of the Living Television II".
    • As do just Calvin and Hobbes in "Department Store Horrors".
    • And the whole group does it again in "Pranking the Ghosts".
  • Lightning Can Do Anything: Lightning from Calvin's failed attempt to combine his inventions gives him their powers.
  • Literal Cliff Hanger: Dad ends up in this situation on a mountain hike in "Gasping for Air". Calvin saves him using his box-plane thing.
    • Both of Calvin's parents find themselves in this in "The Insane Road Trip".
  • Literal-Minded: From "Trader Bullet in Color!":
    Tracer: (narrating) That night, when I got home, I received a call from Mimi Dejour. She said she wanted to meet me at the club right away. Since I had no idea where the Club Right Away was, I suggested the Club Flamingo. She agreed.
  • Living Crashpad: Calvin ends up as one for Hobbes in "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon", prompting him to say this:
    "It's my world, Hobbes! And I'll stand wherever I want! We have an entire planet, here, and you're welcome to land anywhere on it, but my head! Got it!"
  • Living Macguffin:
  • Living Toys: Evil ones attack Hobbes in "Department Store Horrors".
  • Love Makes You Crazy: Andy during "Insanity is in the Air". This was really the episode where he became a real character.
  • Love Triangle: Calvin, Andy, and Maria in "Insanity is in the Air".
  • Luck-Based Search Technique: Socrates leans on a stray block in a pyramid and triggers a secret door in "Pharaoh Andrew".
  • Ludicrous Precision: This bit from "CALVIN FOR PRESIDENT!":
    Socrates: "Everything is in place. Susie will be coming around that corner in 32 seconds. When she gets here, tell her you signed up, and I'll set the operation in motion."
    (Socrates leaves)
    Calvin: How did he...
    Hobbes: He plans every prank out, mathematically.
    Calvin: Oh.
  • MacGuffin Super-Person: In a way, Socrates is one of these, due to the alien transmitter embedded in his head. He's Locked Out of the Loop about it, but it comes up as a plot device occasionally.
  • Mad Scientist:
    • Dr. Brainstorm.
    • "Mirror rorriM" shows Sebboh to be this.
  • Magic Mirror: One acts as a gateway to a Mirror Universe in "Mirror rorriM", thanks to one of Dr. Brainstorm's inventions.
  • Make Me Wanna Shout:
    • The Scream Horn runs on this.
    • Also, the "Stupendous Scream" in "Wild Movie".
    • One of Brainstorm's trademark shouts in "Thunderstorm" actually knocks Jack off his feet.
    • Deconstructed in "Hear My Voice", when Calvin's constant screeching results in laryngitis.
  • Make Wrong What Once Went Right: Calvin's plot to eliminate turkeys from Thanksgiving in "Calvin, Hobbes, and the Pilgrims" ends up killing most of the Pilgrims and making ducks the holiday's bird instead.
  • Maniac Monkeys: "Monkey See, Monkey Maim" - just look at the title!
  • Mass Hypnosis: Most anyone who is even lightly associated with Calvin is brainwashed by Sheila in "The Alien Huntress".
  • Medium Awareness: Now has its own page! Also notable, as it's the first work to have one.
  • Metaphorgotten:
    • Socrates' sign for Calvin in "CALVIN FOR PRESIDENT!":
    SUSIE DERKINS: LOCAL STUDENT AND SPITTING CAMEL!
    NOT THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB OF PRESIDENT!
    VOTE FOR CALVIN!
    WHO IS DEFINITELY NOT A CAMEL!
    • And from "Let Us Prank the Fool":
    The MTM: Mark my words, time is a great healer... unless you've got a rash, in which case you're better off with ointment.
  • Milestone Celebration: Done In-Universe in "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon", as G.R.O.S.S. celebrates both its second anniversary and its millionth water balloon attack.
  • Mind Screw:
    • The titular "Personality Test", written by Socrates, has questions like "If the world's supply of hot dogs ran low, what would you do?" and "If giant mutant canaries were emerging from the sewers, how many would have three eyes?"
    • Parts of "Our Solemn Hour" have this.
    • As does "Socratesland", which takes place inside Socates' mind.
    • The box's error message in "A Calvin and Hobbes Christmas":
    Hi, we can't come to the foam right now. Just leave a mess, and we'll go back to sleep.
    Disregard previous message.
    Preparing coordinates.
    PLEASE STAND BY.
    three...
    two...
    one...
    Two...
    Three...
    Seventeen...!
    Four and Twenty Blackbirds baked in a pie.
    WARNING! DISC FULL!
    Drive slow, old cats
    burp.
    Two equals three.
    Have a good day good day good day good day.
    SYSTEM FAILURE!
    SFJDIRNDEJGEJ!
    SJDUTK!
    FNBVKJDVVTRGGJDBFGYEBDIRB!
    ZJHE!
    SFJ
    Y
  • Mirror Universe:
    • "Mirror rorriM", in which Nilvac and Sebboh have to keep their parents out of trouble. They're certainly glad to get to the "normal" universe so they can be obedient and Take Over the World, respectively.
    • Also taken literally, as everything is mirrored.
  • Missing Trailer Scene: One scene from an ad for a holiday DVD (with episodes from the first season) has a scene purported to be from a Halloween Episode, but is nowhere to be found in "Home UnAlone" or "Full Moon: Full Baloney!":
    Hobbes: You gonna call?
    Calvin: GHOST BUSTERS!
    Hobbes: YOU FOOL! IT'S THEIR BUSIEST NIGHT!
  • Mistaken for Special Guest: Calvin is mistaken for an elf at the North Pole in "A Calvin and Hobbes Christmas!"
  • Mocking Music: In "Tonsil Terror", as Hobbes tries to relax with the radio while Calvin has his operation, the three songs he hears are So Long Old Friend, Yesterday, and Missin' You.
  • Moral Guardians: Discussed in "Roughin' It":
    Hobbes: (after mentioning The Bible) And speaking of the bible-
    Calvin: Be careful. We've got censors. (gestures to the camera)
    "We probably ticked off so many people by saying that."
  • Movie-Making Mess: "Wild Movie"
  • Mr. Exposition: Calvin's alter egos in "The Five Calvins" explain the nature of the Death Zone.
  • Mummy: Five of them attack the main cast in "Pharaoh Andrew".
  • Mundane Made Awesome: The doctor in "Tonsil Terror" describes tonsillitis to Calvin as if they were soldiers that had defected.
  • Mundane Utility: Calvin's inventions are often used for things like chilling a soda rather than anything of economic use. This gets turned into a plot point on two separate occasions: "Time Terror" (where Sherman gets annoyed by this and tries to one-up him with his own time machine, which goes horribly wrong) and "That's MISTER Sherman to You!" (which shows that Calvin doesn't really care about mass-producing his inventions).
  • My Friends... and Zoidberg: From "The Black Turning Funnel Part 2":
    Calvin: Well. We've saved our home from total havoc.
    Hobbes: What about everybody else?
    Calvin: Uh... Yeah. Them too.
  • My Future Self and Me: The basic plot of "RIP Calvin".
  • Mythology Gag: A whole lot of them.

    Tropes N - R 
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Spike.
  • Narrative Profanity Filter: Downplayed in "Eggs for Calvin!":
    Bill started to run across the shovel, but Tom stepped on the blade, and the handle popped up and nailed Bill right in the…
    Well, let's just say it made Calvin burst out laughing.
  • Never Split the Party: For an extremely brief time in "Pranking the Ghosts".
  • New Job Episode: "Help Wanted", even though Calvin is far too young for a job.
  • New Year Has Come: "New Year, New Disasters"
  • New Year's Resolution: "New Year, New Disasters": Calvin's is to upgrade his inventions, Hobbes' is to break the current tuna-eating record, Socrates' is to prank four million people, Sherman's is to invent something useful, and finally Andy's is to pay Calvin's bond should he land in jail.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Tom foils his partner Bill's getaway attempt via Rake Take in "Eggs for Calvin!"
  • The Nicknamer:
    • Socrates. This line from "New Year, New Disasters" sums it up best:
    "Gang's all here! Cally! Hobbo! Ando and Vermin!" note 
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: "Tornado Sharks", Calvin's idea for a movie.
    • In that same episode ("Wild Movie"), Socrates' ideas for improving Calvin's ''Stupendous Man" movie includes adding several ninjas and martians.
  • Nobody Can Die:
  • No Fourth Wall:
    • Aside from all the Medium Awareness, there's "The Night of the Living Television": After Calvin leaves to test his newest invention, Hobbes turns to the audience and says:
    "You know what's going to happen, and I know what's going to happen."
    • Socrates turns to the audience to lampshade his Rapid-Fire Typing in "Personality Test":
    "I have 1,200 words per minute."
    • After Calvin finds Hobbes curled up in the water heater in "Pranking the Ghosts":
    (to audience) "It's amazing what you find when you just clam up."
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: "Calvin, Hobbes, and The Pilgrims": After Socrates releases several turkeys on the streets, Calvin beats him to a pulp.
  • No Indoor Voice:
    • The Brainstorm family. Lampshaded by Jack:
    "I always figured you Brainstorms lost your vocal cords generations ago, and they were replaced with air horns."
    • Calvin in "Personality Test", complaining about anything and everything that crosses his path for several days.
    • He does it again (though slightly nuanced) in "Pharaoh Andrew".
    • It comes to a head in "Hear My Voice", when, in upgrading the Scream Horn, he has to scream into it constantly. It results in laryngitis.
  • Noir Episode: "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon" and "Tracer Bullet In Color!".
  • Non Sequitur, *Thud*: Happens when Calvin and Hobbes crash their sled in "Hypercube":
    Hobbes: How much cluck could a good duck cluck if a good duck could cluck good?
    Calvin: Darkness? It is I, Pajama Sam! I have come to vanquish you!
  • Noodle Implements: In "Sherman Goes to the Vet":
    Andy: "Let's see… Iodine, band-aids, gauze, bullwhip, small strait-jacket, helmet, pan, shampoo, gloves, tranquilizer, chloroform, tennis racquet, ice cubes, banana peel, cage, snare trap, baloney, modem…"
  • Noodle Incident:
    • "Calvin's Batman Adventure" wasn't the first time the Book Transporter's been used - Hobbes mentions going into A Series of Unfortunate Events and a Far Side book.
    • "Camp Blues" references a "soda can incident".
    • And "Chaos to My Ears" does likewise for a "peanut butter incident".
    • This bit from "The Alien Huntress" certainly implies something:
    Sheila: Now what are you doing? You aren't abandoning me like you did in 1987, ARE YOU?
    • Calvin apparently trampled Roselyn's mom's garden in "Chains".
  • Nose Nuggets: One of Calvin's jack-o-lanterns in "Full Moon: Full Baloney!" is picking its nose.
  • No Sympathy: Socrates, who merely groans when Hobbes starts bawling his eyes out in "Tonsil Terror". Though there is this excerpt:
    Socrates sighed and glanced at the lifeless Calvin lying on the table.
    And although he'd never admit it, he felt like crying himself.
  • Not Me This Time: The water balloon attacks in "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon" were not done by Calvin, and he spends the whole episode trying to figure out who did it.
  • Not So Above It All:
    • Andy goes pretty bonkers in "Insanity is In The Air".
    • Sherman attempts to keep a rabbit he names "Mr. Wiggles" in "Let Us Prank The Fool".
  • Not the Fall That Kills You…: Outright quoted by Holographic Retro in "The Genius Hamster".
  • Numbered Sequels:
    • "The Night of the Living Television II" and more subtly "Part Three".
    • "Mirror rorriM Two".
    • In-Universe, there's "Tornado Sharks 2: I Think Things Just Got A Little More Windy".
  • Obviously Evil: Dr. Brainstorm. His appearance and name are suspicious, people routinely witness him and/or Jack exiting his hidden lair, and he always shouts.
  • Odd Couple: Most of the characters fit this: Calvin and Hobbes, Andy and Sherman, even Dr Brainstorm and Jack become this when they're not out to rule the world.
  • Oddly Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo: Parodied; the In-Universe sequel to The Incredible Hulk (2008) has the subtitle "Electric Boogaloo".
  • Offscreen Teleportation: Socrates somehow gets to his room before his elevator opens.
    "I have a super fast elevator."
  • Oh, Crap!: Dr. Brainstorm and Jack upon getting a recording from Thunderstorm.
  • Old, Dark House: Dr. Brainstorm attempts to scare Calvin and co. with one in "The Great Halloween Heist".
  • Only Sane Man: Usually Andy and Jack.
  • Only One Name: Most everyone - the few aversions are Sherman J. Hamster, Jack T. Robot, Susie Derkins, and the Brainstorm family (sans Thunderstorm).
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
    • Dad actually tries not to get Calvin in band class in "Chaos to My Ears".
    • Lampshaded in "Sherman Goes to the Vet":
    Sherman: GAH! NO! I AIN'T GOING TO NO DOCTOR!
    Andy: Hmm, your dialect is crumbling. You're nervous alright.
    Socrates: It's Andy and Sherman. I'm at their house right now. They're just sitting at the TV doing nothing!
    Hobbes: Isn't that what Andy usually does?
    Socrates: Yes, but this time, there's no video game! And Sherman hasn't insulted me in over fifteen minutes! I'm beginning to worry!
    Hobbes: You show worry for somebody else? Goodness, Socrates! This must be serious!
    • Also lampshaded in "Robot's Day Out": after Jack abruptly stands upright and leaves, Dr. Brainstorm asks if he's turned evil again.
    • See Oh, Crap! for yet another example with Jack.
    • Hobbes is the first one to pick up a weapon during the climax of "Thunderstorm". Needless to say, it's on.
    • Dr. Brainstorm in particular has a lot of moments where he's serious and driven. It disturbs the other characters quite a bit.
  • "Open!" Says Me:
    • Calvin tries to do this in "Full Moon: Full Baloney!" and "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon". It doesn't work.
    • Calvin's mom has more success with Calvin's room's door in "Robot's Day Out".
  • Operation: [Blank]: Operation Spy on the Slimy Girl.
  • Original Character: Loads of them.
  • Origins Episode: "Confessions of a Prank-Loving Tiger" shows how Socrates came to meet Calvin and Hobbes.
  • Our Ghosts Are Different: Subverted in "Full Moon: Full Baloney!", where one turns out to be Hobbes. Double subverted when the singing, floating ghost shows up.
  • Our Time Machine Is Different: Calvin's is still a cardboard box; Sherman's is made from a washing machine.
  • Out-of-Character Moment: Socrates spends a good portion of "Have You Seen This Tiger?" very angry. Swing 123 admits this in the opening of Chapter 5, promising not to do it again.
  • Outside Ride: Hobbes briefly rides the Derkins' car into a ditch in "The Night of the Living Television".
  • Overly Long Gag:
    Calvin: I'M GOING INTO THE HOUSE! AND IF YOU WANT TO STAY HERE, AND BABBLE LIKE A MORON ABOUT POURING MICE INTO A POWER BOX, BE MY GUEST!
    • Sheila hypnotizing people in "The Alien Huntress". This is lampshaded:
    "OKAY! DOES ANYONE ELSE WANNA TRY AND STOP ME? BECAUSE THIS IS GETTING REALLY OLD!"
    • The first Visual Pun in "Tracer Bullet in Color!". See below for more details.
    • And Klein's Motor Mouth moment, noted above.
    • And another Klein's stating the rules of the theater in "Attack of the Monsters".
  • Overly Long Scream: Calvin does one in "Tonsil Terror" despite having tonsillitis.
  • Painful Rhyme: Done intentionally with Calvin's love poem from "Insanity is in the Air":
    "Roses are red, violets are violet. Just thought I'd mention that, since Spongebob isn't violent."
  • Palette Swap: Socrates, to Hobbes. And the only thing changed is his tail!
  • Paranoia Fuel:
    • In-Universe, Calvin insists that Hobbes go up to his room before he reveals the Time Pauser in its eponymous episode, and even when they're there he barricades the door and checks for people listening.
    • Also, Hobbes is unsettled by the fact that Socrates has a security camera in his room (which he later disposes of) in "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon".
  • Parental Bonus: Calvin's rant against having kids in "Two Loons and a Kid" is more or less incomprehensible to anyone in the (proposed) target demographic.
  • Parental Neglect: Falsely declared to be the cause of Calvin's Mr. Imagination tendencies in "Calvin Gets Professional Help".
  • Parody Product Placement: * Though Calvin and Hobbes: The Series is a non-commercial work, and it often plays this trope straight, it still manages to lampshade it:
    Narrator: A season of... product placement?
    Hobbes: Who's up for the What About Bob? movie!
    Calvin & Socrates: I AM!
  • Parrot Exposition: Done in "Calvin's Batman Adventure". "Itwasawhat?"
  • Pass the Popcorn:
    • Hobbes does this at the end of "Camp Blues".
    • Also invoked by him in "Insanity is in the Air":
      "Hello? Socrates? Meet me down at the park. And bring popcorn."
  • Perfectly Cromulent Word: "The Night of the Living Television" gives us "hypnopotomize".
  • Perpetual Smiler: Calvin becomes one for a while in "The Time Pauser".
  • Person as Verb: Played With in "Calvin Gets Professional Help": Dr. Sam describes Calvin as "Calvinish" (an adjective).
  • Perverse Puppet: Socrates tricks Calvin into believing this is true in "Home UnAlone".
  • Pilot: "Birth of a Friendship", an adaptation of the first two strips of the comic.
  • Poor Communication Kills: Played for Laughs in "The Black Turning Funnel Part 2", where Wallace refuses to call "cyclones" by anything but that.
  • Portal Comic Book: The Book Transporter, used in "Calvin's Batman Adventure".
  • Portrait Painting Peephole: Jack and Dr. Brainstorm use one in "The Great Halloween Heist".
  • Power Fist:
  • The Prankster: Socrates.
  • Precision F-Strike: Downplayed quite a bit in "Dr. Brain Chill":
    "DOCTER FREAKIN' BRAINSTORM!"
  • Prehensile Tail: In "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon", Calvin demands to see Hobbes' tail for this reason - he's hiding a water balloon with it.
  • Previously on…: "The Black Turning Funnel Part 2", "The Night of the Living Television II" and "SHEILA'S BACK!"
  • Product Placement: Lampshaded in the trailer for the second season:
    Narrator: A season of... product placement?
    Hobbes: Who's up for the What About Bob? movie!
    Calvin and Socrates: I AM!
  • Protagonist and Friends: Referenced in "A Day in Your Shoes" - Jaqueline notes that if the show gets any more Brainstorm-centered, it would have to be renamed "Dr. Brainstorm and Friends".
  • Punch-Clock Villain: Jack, who regularly chats with the heroes and doesn't really care much for Dr. Brainstorm's schemes.
  • Pun-Based Title: "Alien Nation".
  • Puppy-Dog Eyes: Calvin and Hobbes pull these out on Andy and Socrates in "Two Loons and a Kid". Sherman is unaffected.
  • Pyramid Power: "Pharaoh Andrew" has the gang going to the Pyramids of Giza for Calvin's school report. They end up having to fight off some mummies.
  • Quip to Black: "Another day, another dollar."* 
  • Race Against the Clock:
    • "Eggs for Calvin": Hobbes and Socrates have Calvin find five eggs hidden throughout town in an hour or else he gets pranked. He ends up getting two crooks arresting trying to win.
    • "Our Solemn Hour": Holographic Retro sets up an extremely hazardous maze that Calvin and Hobbes must escape from within an hour, or else they'll be crushed by the ceiling. They just barely make it, and then Calvin and Retro have their showdown...
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The main characters. This is remarked upon in "Two Loons and a Kid" (the first appearance of Andy and Sherman in the series):
    And the five sort-of friends went upstairs.\\
It's a weird friendship they all have.\\But they have it.
  • Rake Take: Tom accidentally does this to his partner Bill in "Eggs for Calvin!". It's heavily implied it was a Groin Attack.
  • Rapid-Fire Typing: Lampshaded by Socrates to the audience:
    "I have 1,200 words per minute."
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning:
    • Parodied in "Mirror rroriM": Nilvac and Sebboh's eyes are red because they got soap in them while showering.
    Sebboh: It's still burning.
    • Played straight with Electro and Jack's evil form in "62 Percent More Evil".
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Dr. Brainstorm and Jack, respectively.
  • Read the Freaking Manual:
    • Almost used by name on two separate occasions in "Super Calvin".
    "He/I should have read the manul [sic]."
    • This also sets up a Brick Joke: after Calvin stops making the machine that sets up the plot, Dr. Brainstorm barges in:
    "Alright, Calvin! I've gone over that manul [sic], and now I'm all ready for you and your precious little powers! GIVE ME YOUR WORST!"
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
    • From "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon":
    Calvin: IT…WAS…YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! MY OWN BEST FRIEND WENT AND GOT ME FRAMED! YOU TRAITOR! BENEDICT HOBBES! I'LL NEVER SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN!
    Hobbes: Uh…Calvin?
    Calvin: HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME! I WELCOME YOU INTO MY HOME! I LET YOU EAT MY TUNA! I LET YOU POUNCE ME AND ATTACK ME! I LET YOU BE FRIENDS WITH SOCRATES! I EVEN LET YOU BE PRESIDENT OF G.R.O.S.S! AND YET…YOU DO THIS! YOU'RE LUCKY I DON'T THROW YOU OUT ON YOUR FURRY BUTT ON THE SIDEWALK FOR THIS!
    Hobbes: Okay, calm down.
    Calvin: YOU KNOW WHAT? EVER SINCE I LET YOU INTO MY HOUSE, YOU'VE GIVEN ME NOTHING BUT TROUBLE! I USED TO HAVE A NORMAL LIFE! BUT NOW MY LIFE IS COMPLETELY TOPSY-TURVY, FILLED WITH POUNCES, FIGHTS, CUTS AND BETRAYALS!
    Hobbes: Take it easy.
    Calvin: BUT THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE! YOU DELIBERATLY TRIED TO GET ME INTO TROUBLE! I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY BEST FRIEND! BUT I WAS WRONG! YOU'VE CROSSED THE LINE, STRIPES! YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE, HOBBES! I AM GOING TO TEACH YOU A LESSON YOU'LL NEVER REMEMBER: NEVER BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU!
    • Near the end of "Thunderstorm", Hobbes mocks the recently deceased MTM as being useless, and Calvin replies as follows:
    "All MTM ever did was try to help us. He always fired his lasers on time, and he always tried to lighten the mood. And what did you do during all those adventures? You were always running off. You were always hiding. You never helped us. What happened when we were attacked by a monster under my bed? You ran off. What happened when Socrates and I were attacked by a mountain lion? You ignored us. What happened when we were all trapped by that ghost? You deserted us. What happened when Socrates was lost and cornered by two bears? You feigned injury and made me do all the work, AND I DON'T EVEN LIKE SOCRATES! YOU STAND HERE COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW USELESS MY INVENTIONS ARE, WHEN IN REALITY, YOU'RE THE USELESS ONE! I DON'T KNOW WHY I BOTHER WITH YOU! I SHOULD'VE KICKED YOU OUT ON SORRY FURRY BUTT YEARS AGO!"
  • Reed Richards Is Useless: Calvin uses his potentially world-changing inventions for things like duplicating a pizza.
  • Repeating So the Audience Can Hear: Hobbes does this in "Personality Test" when on the phone with Socrates.
  • Repeat What You Just Said:
    • Calvin does this when trying to get rid of the doll in "Home UnAlone".
    • From "Personality Test":
    Andy: (describing all the times Socrates has been injured) Well, let's see. Your voice has been switched into that of a duck's, you've been electrocuted by the MTM, you've been trapped in the hypercube, a transmitter has been inserted into you, you've been ejected into the clou...
    Socrates: Wait a minute, what was that last one?
    Andy: Uhhh... electrocuted by the MTM?
  • Reset Button: Time Vortexes tend to act this way. It becomes significantly more impressive in "Invasion".
  • The Reveal: "Alien Nation": Calvin's surprise return. Socrates faints!
  • Revenge: Calvin's primary motive for the first part of "Have You Seen This Tiger?".
  • Reverse Psychology:
    • Dr. Brainstorm's Servant Ray only works when told to do the opposite of what he wants it to do.
    • This is lampshaded in a completely unrelated incident in "Electronic Invasion":
    Calvin: (after a Self-Destruct Mechanism fails to go off) So there you have it. If Brainstorm wanted the place to blow up, it wouldn't blow up. If he didn't want it to blow up, it would blow up. It's called "Brainstorm psychology".
  • Rhymes on a Dime: Lampshaded in "Confessions of a Prank-Loving Tiger":
    Calvin scrambled up the stairs and dove into a door on the top floor.
    Hey, that rhymes! Door. Floor.
    Heh, heh. Maybe I could write a poem for my next story.
  • Riddle Me This: Calvin finds himself on a very large easter egg hunt in "Eggs for Calvin!", and each egg contains a clue as to where the next one is hidden.
  • Ring-Ring-CRUNCH!: Hobbes does this with a doorbell in "Electronic Invasion".
  • Roadside Wave: Susie gets this in "Chains" after destroying the chain letter.
  • Road Trip Plot: "The Insane Road Trip".
  • Rogues Gallery: Calvin himself has one, and when he goes into a Batman comic it's lampshaded:
    Hobbes: Gosh, Batman certainty has quite a collection of unrealistic villains.
    Calvin: Yeah I know! Did that Bob Kane guy come up with a great idea, or what?
  • Roof Hopping:
    • Lampshaded by Calvin:
    "Come! Let us dramatically jump from building to building!"
    • Further lampshaded by Hobbes:
    "Your mom's not going to like the idea of you jumping across buildings like this."
  • Round Robin: Swing 123 and garfieldodie take turns writing the TV movies.
  • Rouge Angles of Satin:
    • Pops up occasionally.
    • This is actually lampshaded in "Attack of the Monsters":
    Calvin: Yeah right, and we've been getting "your" and "you're" switched on this show all the time as well. note 
  • Rube Goldberg Hates Your Guts: Downplayed and Played for Laughs: Most of Socrates' pranks come off as this, usually targeting Calvin.
  • Rule of Three: Susie getting splashed by a mud puddle (even when there wasn't even one) in "Chains".
  • Rummage Fail: In "Calvin's Batman Adventure", Calvin attempts to save Hobbes from Killer Croc, but he ends up in this situation with his utility belt.
  • Running Gag:
    • Hobbes running away from danger.
    • Everyone calling Dr. Brainstorm "Frank".
    • Hobbes calling Sherman "Vermin".
    • Every time something odd happens, the same guy will always witness it and comment "Mm-hmm".
    • Calvin dressing himself by climbing inside the top drawer of his dresser, going down, and emerging from the bottom drawer fully clothed.
    • In Season 1, Calvin and Hobbes would often argue about some minuscule thing that Calvin had done (possible padding, or a homage to Hank the Cowdog, which had a similar running gag). This didn't return in the second season.
  • Running Gagged: See above.

    Tropes S - Z 
  • Saving Christmas: The "Vising the North Pole" variation occurs in "A Calvin and Hobbes Christmas!".
  • Say My Name:
    "IT'S DOCTOR BRAINSTORM!"
    • In "Thunderstorm", one of these manages to knock Jack off his feet.
    • In a non-Brainstorm example, Calvin screams "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBBBBBBBBBBEESSSS!" when he figures out that he's the culprit in "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon".
  • The Scream: Hobbes when he first learns he's going to be watching Sherman in "The Genius Hamster".
  • Space Station: The Doom Satellite from "Thunderstorm".
  • Special Edition Title:
    • "A Calvin and Hobbes Christmas!" has a new theme song, written much like the one for Christmas Who?.
    • "Dr. BrainChill" has them overlaid on various shots of space.
    • "Tracer Bullet in Color!" also has them, styled after a film noir show.
    • As does "Pranking the Ghosts", which gives some grim backstory to Socrates' mansion.
    • "The Five Calvins" has a rather mind-screwy one, involving the Peter Davison-era Doctor Who theme.
    • "Thunderstorm" uses The Teaser.
  • Spoof Aesop: "Attack of the Vampire Babysitter" has Calvin declaring that though he may be locked up in his room, he still lives on, which is good.
  • Spoonerism: Done twice in "Home UnAlone" and "Attack of the Vampire Babysitter", and both times it sets off a long argument between Calvin and Hobbes.
    "We're dealing with greater horses, Fobbes!"
    "She may have locked up our hodies Bobbes, but she can't lock up our soul!"
  • Spy Satellites: Downplayed: Calvin seems to be trying to make his camera into one in "The Photo Man".
  • Spy Speak: Calvin and Hobbes during Operation Spy on the Slimy Girl.
  • Stable Time Loop: Calvin defies this when Hobbes tries to do something that'll start one, telling him the consequences:
    "If you do that, then you'll have to relive everything that happened after that. Then when we go back in time, you'll rope ugly again, and we might make time stuck on that one event forever!"
  • Staring Contest: Socrates has one with the Andy clone in "Electronic Invasion". Because the clone doesn't blink, he loses.
  • Static Electricity: Briefly mentioned by the narrator as a possible reason to Calvin's Anime Hair.
    • It's also used to defeat Retro and Electro in "The Night of the Living Television II".
  • Stealth Pun: Calvin & Klein, anyone?
  • The Stoic: Jack is almost always calm. Always.
  • Stuff Blowing Up: Dr. Brainstorm's inventions do this a lot.
    • Also, the Control Orb from "62 Percent More Evil". Anything inside it that's discarded will blow up.
  • Sucky School: Calvin imagines a school with Susie as class president as this.
    "She'd keep us there all day and all night! We'd have to sleep in sleeping bags on the classroom floor, and be waken up by a drill sergeant at three in the morning to do laps around the school! She'd have us wear horrible itchy uniforms and ban recess! Homework would double! No, TRIPLE!"
  • Summer Campy: Camp Pine, the titular place from "Camp Blues" (which was formerly featured in an earlier C&H fic by the same author).
  • Sunglasses at Night: Elliot wears his sunglasses in his own house, which the narrator lampshades.
  • Superhero Episode: "Super Calvin"
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial: From "The Alien Huntress":
    Radio Shack employee: Welcome to Radio Shack. How may I help you?
    Sheila: SPY EQUIPMENT! IT'S FOR MY SON'S BIRTHDAY! NOT FOR ME! MY SON! NOTHING SUSPICIOUS ABOUT BUYING SPY STUFF!
  • Swapped Roles: "A Day in Your Shoes" for Jack and Jaqueline.
  • Swiss-Army Appendage: Evil Jack has these.
  • Talking Appliance Sidekick: By Season Three, the MTM, which is made from a CD player.
  • Talking in Your Sleep: Socrates does this in "It Will Build Character". It's filled with Shout Outs and weirds a nearby mountain lion out.
  • Take Over the World: The ultimate goal of Dr. Brainstorm.
  • Take That!: In "Home UnAlone", Hobbes (actually Socrates) expresses dislike for Jeepers Creepers 2.
    • Among the scary things Calvin is shown in "The Return of Dr. Brainstorm" include Dora.
    • "Wild Movie" starts with Calvin being disgusted by the mere prospect of a sequel to The Incredible Hulk (2008).
    • When terrifying Sherman in "Sherman Goes to the Vet":
    Hobbes: The vet shall attack you, young Vermin! Be afraid! Be very afraid! Think of that 1997 Batman movie with George Clooney! Terrifying! Not terrifying entertainment! Just terrifying!
    "Alternative title: Star Wars III: A Trip to the Dentist."
    • After encountering the clones in "Electronic Invasion":
    Hobbes: Are you all going to become Ben Stine stand-ins?
    "...no pagers, no iPods, no iPhones, no iTunes, no PDA, no laptops, digital cameras, no video cameras, no mini-DVD's… In fact, no technology that essentially does the exact same thing, but Apple says are each incredibly different in a scheme to make money."
    • A few to Windows 8 in Black Rain, likely because of the new Start interface.
  • Taking You with Me: With both of them fighting over a lake of molten lava in an alternate dimension, Calvin and Holographic Retro manage to do this to each other as they both go over the edge, ending Season 4 on a cliffhanger.
  • The Teaser: "Thunderstorm"
  • Technopath: Electro.
  • Teleporters and Transporters: Both Jack and the MTM have one.
  • Tempting Fate: Dad says there won't be a landslide in one episode. It shouldn't need to be said what happens afterwards.
  • Thanksgiving Episode: "Calvin, Hobbes, and The Pilgrims" revolves around Calvin trying to eliminate turkeys from Thanksgiving. It doesn't go well.
  • There Was a Door: Attempted by Calvin in "Full Moon: Full Baloney!". It doesn't work.
  • They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: In-Universe - Calvin thinks Batman stopped being good when Robin's identity was changed.
  • Thing-O-Matic: The Defeat-O-Matic from "A Day in Your Shoes".
  • Time-Compression Montage: Lampshaded in "Camp Blues".
    Narration: Let's just have a nice little montage showing what happened during the week with music playing, shall we?
  • Time for Plan B: Holographic Retro pulls this in "Electronic Invasion".
    • Calvin's done it several times earlier in the series.
  • Time Stands Still: "The Time Pauser" deals with the titular invention and the fun that comes with it.
  • Time Travel: Used regularly.
  • Titled After the Song: "Our Solemn Hour".
  • Title Drop:
    • "The Black Turning Funnel" has one each in its two parts, from the narrator and Hobbes respectively:
    "There seemed to be [a] black turning funnel swirling across the landscape."
    "I was just thinking. Remember that dream I had this morning? It was about a funnel, remember? We actually saw and fought against a funnel! A Black Turning Funnel!"
    • From the end of "Two Loons and a Kid":
    It was truly a magnificent day for the two loons and the kid.
    • "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon":
    Calvin: Huh. I could have sworn we were on a very important mission...
    Hobbes: I'm drawing a blank.
    Calvin: NOW I remember! We were on The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon.
    • "Mission: Socrates":
    Calvin: Come on guys! Mission: Socrates is now in effect!
  • Title: The Adaptation
  • Toilet Humour: One of Calvin's nicknames for Batman is "Guano-man".
  • Too Dumb to Live: From "Tracer Bullet in Color!"
    Tiger Eye: Everyone get back! You're all in danger! Run to safety!
    (The crowd moves into the street, where they're immediately hit by a truck)
  • Took a Level in Badass: Calvin gets a lot more serious during the fourth season. His manipulating of the titular "Invasion" is a little eerie to behold.
    • It gets even more impressive during the Season Five premiere, where he manages to orchestrate events so that Rupert Chill will become trapped in his human disguise for the police to find, mistaking him for an escaped convict.
  • The Tonsillitis Episode: "Tonsil Terror"
  • Too Dumb to Live: Calvin attempts to fix a satellite dish when a tornado is coming.
  • Totem Pole Trench: Double subverted in "Naughty Fireworks!": Upon a tall man in a suit walking up to the fireworks stand, the worker recognizes him as Calvin and snatches his hat... revealing a very angry man's face. Later, another tall man in a suit comes up, and the worker exposes the head as a stuffed tiger.
    • Played straight when Calvin uses a singular variant using stilts to get on an amusement park ride in "The Genius Hamster".
    "That was easy. Those kids on TV should try stuff like that instead of those silly growth machines and potions."
  • To the Tune of...: The opening theme starts with a homage to the intro of Garfield and Friends (quoted at the top of the article), then segues into the SpongeBob SquarePants theme.
  • Tough Room: Averted with Klein's standup act in "The Genius Hamster": the audience is quite amused by him.
  • Tractor Beam: Brainstorm uses one to capture Calvin and Hobbes in "The Yellowstone Monster Part 1".
  • Trademark Favorite Drink: Soda and lemonade for Jack and Jacqueline.
  • Trailers Always Spoil: The trailer for "Super Calvin" spoils the Deadly Upgrade nature of Calvin's powers. Downplayed, since said trailer was part of a bonus content chapter that came after the episode itself.
  • Transformation Ray: The Transmogrifier Gun.
  • Trap Door: Andy and Sherman fall in one in "Pharaoh Andrew".
  • Trapped in TV Land: The Movie Transporter invokes this.
  • Travel Montage: "The Insane Road Trip Part 1" has this, set to "Life is A Highway".
  • Trial Balloon Question: From "Chains":
    Calvin: Andy, quick! If you got a chain letter mailed to you saying you were going die a horrible death if you didn't forward it, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
    (beat)
    Andy: Uuuuuh..
    Calvin: Hypothetically, of course!
  • Trojan Horse: Dr. Brainstorm suggests doing it in "Thunderstorm". Lampshaded by Jack.
  • Troperiffic: The fic uses a lot' of tropes from several genres: adventure, Science Fiction, the occasional film noir...
  • Tropey, Come Home: "Have You Seen This Tiger?" (Socrates, not Hobbes)
  • Turned Against Their Masters: Calvin's inventions in "The Night of The Living Television" by way of Electro. This is taken up to eleven in its sequel.
  • TV Genius: Sherman.
  • Understatement: From "Mission: Socrates":
    MTM: (after Socrates' overly long security measures go off) I think we could classify this as mildly curious.
    • From "Attack of the Monsters":
    MTM: The Mega-Shrinker 6000 malfunctioned and opened a hole in the universe, causing a monster from under his bed to escape, destroy his room and take off to find him. How's that then?
    (beat)
    Andy: Hmmm... Yeah, I guess that qualifies as being bad.
  • Twitchy Eye: A common reaction to various things.
  • Two-Part Episode: Too many to list.
  • Upper-Class Twit: Socrates.
  • Unfortunate Names: Calvin thinks this of Brainstorm.
  • Unsound Effect: "Socrates Squared" has UN-BOINK! for the Duplicator's effects being reversed.
  • Unusually Uninteresting Sight: While house-sitting for Calvin in "The Insane Road Trip", Socrates, Andy, and Sherman are visited by Dr. Brainstorm and Jack, then Dave, Lenny and Biff, then Retro's Hard Light hologram, and finally Rupert and Earl. They're only surprised by the last two.
  • Unwilling Roboticisation: Evil Jack attempts to invoke this.
  • Valentine's Day Episodes: "Insanity is in the Air", which brings lots of Character Development for Andy.
  • Viewers Are Morons: The Season 5 bonus chapter rather specifically addresses this: the reason for the MTM getting speech abilities was because garfieldodie realized that, if it were an actual TV show, the studios would force one of the other characters to read the MTM's holographic text out loud.
  • Villain: Exit, Stage Left: In "Calvin's Batman Adventure", Two-Face escapes with the help of an unspecified device, and Calvin lampshades it:
    "Oh darn it! I hate it when that happens!"
  • Villain Team-Up: Retro's hologram and Electro in "The Night of the Living Television II".
    • Rupert Chill and Dr. Brainstorm in "Dr. BrainChill".
  • Visual Pun: Actually more of an audio pun, but it still works: in "Tracer Bullet in Color!", the titular detective has this little gem:
    Tracer: (going through names) Here's one. Casabas.
    (an egg timer goes off)
    Tracer: Wait a minute. That name rings a bell.
    (the egg timer goes off again)
    Tracer: Casabas?
    (the fire alarm goes off)
    Tracer: Casabas?
    (the doorbell goes off)
    Tracer: Casabas...
    (Big Ben rings)
    • From the same episode:
    Tiger Eye: Oh, the Toe Truck's arrived.
    (A truck shaped like a toe comes to tow a wrecked car)
    • And another one:
    Club Flamingo employee: May I check your coat?
    Tracer: Please.
    (She draws a check mark on his coat)
    Tiger Eye: Okay boys, run her in.
    (The cops lead Lana to a starting line. Tiger Eye fires a starting pistol, and they start racing to prison)
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: "The Case of the Rogue Water Balloon" ends with the narrator remarking on Calvin and Hobbes' friendship.
    But Calvin and Hobbes were still best friends, and that would never change.
    No matter how much one ticked the other off.
  • Volcano Lair: Dr. Brainstorm and Jack reside inside one.
  • Waking Non Sequitur: In "Tonsil Terror", Socrates screams "TWO PICKLES ATE A CHEESE SANDWICH IN FRANCE!" as he wakes up.
  • Wasn't That Fun?: After falling off a roller coaster and being saved by the MTM, Calvin remarks:
    "That... was... so... COOOOL!"
  • Wall Crawl: Jark uses his Wolverine Claws to do this.
  • Waxing Lyrical: From "Roughin' It":
    Calvin: Right, and so long after our sun goes kaput, and the rest of the living Earth dies out, those lobsters will still be kicking around, livin' la vida loca.
  • Weakened by the Light: The monsters under Calvin's bed, except for Jark because he's partly absorbed Calvin's DNA. It doesn't last, though.
  • Weaksauce Weakness: Retro's hologram can be defeated by standing too far away from it. At least, until "The Night of the Living Television II"...
  • We Could Have Avoided All This: After the main cast spends a lot of time trying to feed Dana, Sherman simply suggests she's not hungry.
    Calvin: Why didn't you say that earlier?
    Sherman: Nobody asked me.
  • Weirdness Censor: From "Department Store Horrors";
    People would enter the elevator every once in a while.
    They found a six-year-old boy sticking a screwdriver into a CD player and a stuffed tiger with a magazine sitting in the corner.
    They chose not to do anything about it.
    • This is taken up to eleven in "The Genius Hamster", where no one notices Calvin falling from nowhere and being saved by a CD player.
    (later on) "The most unobservant town on the planet."
  • We Will Meet Again: Electro in "The Night of the Living Television". Epically lampshaded by Calvin:
    "Blah, blah, blah! This is the most boring part of the episode! Hero defeats villain, and villain threatens to come back, more powerful than ever! We've heard it all before, Charlie!"
    • And outright parodied in "SHEILA'S BACK!"
    Dr. Brainstorm: (to Calvin and Hobbes, who did little to harm him in that episode) Oh right. DARN YOU and stuff.
  • Wham Episode: "Thunderstorm" brings in a competent and serious villain, along with Hobbes finally getting some Character Development.
    • "Our Solemn Hour" begins by revealing the Arc Welding with Holographic Retro and ends by making ambiguous if Calvin or Holographic Retro survived.
    • "Alien Nation" reveals that Holographic Retro didn't make it.
  • What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: In-Universe, Calvin initially thinks this of Child's Play.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: We never find out what happened to Calvin's snowmen in the opening of "The Photo Man".
    • For a brief moment in early Season 1, Calvin uses an invention that can extrude large walls from chalk lines on the ground. It's never mentioned again for almost a decade until The Final Grade, where Hobbes lampshades its lack of use.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Socrates does a Spit Take on Dana (an infant), causing this reaction from the other four.
    • Hobbes is a main character, yet is more than willing to abandon his friends at the slightest hint of trouble. This is slowly but surely increased in seasons two and three before Calvin finally calls him out on it in "Thunderstorm", and he helps in a big fight in the climax as a result.
  • Who Dares?: From "The Night of the Living Television"
    Electro: You dare insult me? No person shall insult me!
  • Whole Costume Reference: Downplayed in "Department Store Horrors", wherein Calvin briefly dresses as Pajama Sam, though it is never explicitly referenced.
  • Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: Occasionally.
  • Wild Teen Party: Hobbes and Socrates have one in "Tonsil Terror".
  • Wolverine Claws: Jack's evil form has these in "62 Percent More Evil".
  • World of Weirdness: Despite containing aliens, mad scientists, and a whole lot of technology, it's still set in the present day.
  • Word Association Test: Combined with Literal-Minded and You Say Tomato in "Calvin Gets Professional Help".
  • Would Hurt a Child: Though Calvin is easily able to fend the villains off, this line is still rather chilling:
    Electro: I wouldn't do that, Calvin, unless you want five million volts of electricity surging through you.
    • Also, Bill (a one-time villain from "Eggs for Calvin!") briefly attempts to strangle Calvin before the police arrive.
    • The final story, "Black Rain", has Socrates almost being kidnapped by a strange man in a masknote who'd invaded his mansion. Things only get worse when it's revealed he had a knife the whole time and is still in his house. Then Socrates points out that he could still be around when Elliot (his owner, a young boy) and his family return...
  • Written-In Absence: Socrates isn't present in "62 Percent More Evil" because Andy and Sherman simply decided not to pick him up.
  • You Are Grounded!: This often happens to Calvin, usually at the end of an episode.
  • You Didn't Ask: After Sherman suggests that Dana's not hungry after the main cast tries to feed her for a long period of time:
    Calvin: Why didn't you say that earlier?
    Sherman: Nobody asked me.
    • Also the MTM's reason for not telling Calvin that his data extractor would bring the mummies to life in "Pharaoh Andrew".
  • You Fool!: In this Missing Trailer Scene, apparently from a Halloween Episode (taken directly from 3rd Rock from the Sun):
    Hobbes: You gonna call?
    Calvin: GHOST BUSTERS!
    Hobbes: YOU FOOL! IT'S THEIR BUSIEST NIGHT!
  • You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Hobbes says this when Calvin decides to use the Time Pauser in "Calvin's Batman Adventure".
    • Calvin also says this when Bane easily escapes his trap in the same episode.
    • Hobbes says it again in "A Calvin and Hobbes Christmas!" when Calvin gets an idea.
  • Your Head A-Splode: The perceived consequence of Socrates' head transmitter/receiver not being replaced in time.
  • You Won't Like How I Taste: From "Full Moon: Full Baloney!":
    Calvin: AAAA! DON'T EAT ME! I'M HIGH IN CALORIES!

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