Gary vs. Subterranean Nazis!
The Future of Supervillainy is the sixth novel of The Supervillainy Saga by C.T. Phipps.
Gary Karkofsky has retired from supervillainy following the events of The Tournament of Supervillainy. Suffering immense guilt, a special task force assembled by the U.S. Government to take him down results in him returning to his evil(ish) ways. No sooner does he make this decision then he is approached by a young heroine who wants Gary to journey to the Hollow Earth in order to rescue it from P.H.A.N.T.O.M.
The quest to liberate the Hollow Earth from Those Wacky Nazis becomes personal when Gary discovers that his niece, Lisa, is among a group of superheroes that have already tried and failed to stop the fascist invaders. Gary journeys with a new group of heroes to rescue her while preparing to face his worst enemy.
The book has guest appearances from the author's Cthulhu Armageddon series as well as his Agent G and The Bright Falls Mysteries.
This book contains the following tropes:
- All Germans Are Nazis: Subverted. Nikki Tesla hates P.H.A.N.T.O.M almost as much as Gary does.
- Back from the Dead: Nikki Tesla due to Brain Upload. The first sign that Gary's actions with Death may not have stuck.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Odin assumes that Maria and Gary have this. They may but it doesn't stop Gary from killing her.
- Berserk Button: Gary loses his Affably Evil qualities when you threaten his kids.
- Bittersweet Ending: Tom Terror is killed and the Primal Orb of Chaos is recovered. However, Diabloman has betrayed Gary and Maria has been damned for her actions.
- Bullying a Dragon: The Department of Supernatural Security (DOSS) really should have known better than to threaten Gary's kids.
- The Bus Came Back: Tom Terror makes his return to the series after his introduction in The Rules of Supervillainy.
- Crisis Crossover: John and Mercury have come to Gary's universe in hopes of bringing a group of survivors from their world. Out of universe, they are the leads from Cthulhu Armageddon.
- Death World: John and Mercury describe their home planet as being like this, being as the Great Old Ones have risen and destroyed it. By comparison, the Pulpy Savage Land-esque Hollow Earth is a paradise.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Gary and Lisa have an argument over whether the best way to oppose P.H.A.N.T.O.M is through violence or not sinking to their level. Unsurprisingly, Gary argues Murder Is the Best Solution.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Subverted. Tom Terror points out he's not a Nazi (even if he is racist) but then goes on to clarify that Hitler was a small-minded fool who could never approach the levels of ambition he has. Gary explictly states that both Tom Terror and President Omega are worse than Hitler.
- Face–Heel Turn: Diabloman chooses to side with his sister Maria over Gary.
- Fate Worse than Death:
- Maria is sent to Hell by Gary. She's a ghost and this is the best way to dispose of her.
- Nikki Tesla felt she was suffering this when she was forced to help Tom Terror despite being a modern anti-fascist German.
- Fully Absorbed Finale: To the Cthulhu Armageddon series. The surviving humans of that world or at least as many as John and Mercury could get use a magical gate to evacuate to the Hollow Earth. It is a tough, brutal, and violent place but a paradise by comparison to their After the End one.
- Guest-Star Party Member: John Henry Booth and Mercury Halsey from Cthulhu Armageddon.
- Hollow Earth: Gary's world has one of these and it's a full-on Lost World with dinosaurs, ancient cities, and a Precursors.
- Innocently Insensitive: Gary makes a lot of H. P. Lovecraft and Cthulhu Mythos references despite the fact the creatures destroyed the world of his guests.
- Invading Refugees: Gary is a bit worried about the inhabitants from John and Mercury's world becoming this. They're hardened survivors of a post-apocalypse world that have nothing to lose. In the end, they just settle on the land already devastated by P.H.A.N.T.O.M.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Though the definition of 'hero' is loose, DOSS is responsible for Gary going back to supervillainy.
- Older Than They Look: Both Ken and Jun are this being expy for Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Tom Terror views all beings other than himself as inferior.
- Polyamory: Gary, Cindy, and Gabrielle settle into this kind of arrangement. It's also been revealed to be something that Ultragod and other immortal superheroes have involved themselves with.
- Punny Name: Yule B. Sari, apparently a demonic lawyer, so perhaps also Louis Cypher.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Averted. Gary is retired for a year before he comes back.
- The Remnant: P.H.A.N.T.O.M is this for the Third Reich.
- Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Tom Terror's current plans are to become the galaxy's biggest slave lord as part of a Visionary Villain plot.
- Superhuman Trafficking: Tom Terror plans to sell millions of transformed humans as weapons for other worlds to buy.
- Those Wacky Nazis: The P.H.A.N.T.O.M troopers are explictly Neo-Nazis recruited by the original recipes.
- Visionary Villain: Tom Terror has a plan to conquer the entire universe through the trafficking of superhumans.
