Basic Trope: A dramatic, cool, and often oversized signal meant to send a message to someone else, most often a call for help or a warning.
- Straight: In the midst of a Hopeless Boss Fight against Emperor Evulz, Gondor calls for aid by lighting the massive Torch of Troperia sitting atop a tower. His allies come to his assistance some time later.
- Exaggerated:
- The signal involves setting fire to both the Torch and its tower.
- The Torch of Troperia itself is large enough to require an entire castle to serve as its housing.
- Downplayed: As he battles Evulz, Gondor lights a torch inside the tower that can be seen by everyone in it, letting his allies know where he is in case he needs help.
- Justified: Gondor's allies are far, far away, so a huge, over-the-top signal is necessary in order to be visible from that distance.
- Inverted: Extinguishing the Torch, not lighting it, is the signal.
- Subverted: Gondor tries to light the Torch, but nothing happens because it's not actually a torch, it just looks like one.
- Double Subverted: It's actually the starting point of an ancient fuel system that covertly carries the flame out to several smaller torches set up in the surrounding area, causing all of them to light up instead.
- Parodied:
- A lookout sentry assigned to alert local reinforcements in the event of the Torch's lighting keeps a vigilant watch on the Torch...from a tower standing right next to the one housing it.
- Every time Gondor travels to the neighboring Town of Troperia for supplies, he lights up the huge torch in the square to let his hometown know he's heading back.
- Gondor calls for help from allies by setting the entire city on fire. Yes, really.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: There is nothing Gondor can do to send out a distress call.
- Enforced: "Just any old signal would be boring. Let's have him light this gargantuan torch that roars to life and can be seen for miles!"
- Lampshaded: "Wow, what kind of threat would require such an impressive signal?"
- Invoked: The Torch of Troperia's creator made it so big because he wanted it to be able to warn many people at once and to not be dismissed as trivial. He also wanted it to survive long after he dies.
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz stations his mooks throughout the surrounding area so that they can ambush Gondor's allies when they respond to the Torch.
- Defied: Emporer Evulz instructs his strongest warriors to personally guard the Torch so that Bob can't reach it.
- Discussed: "This place probably has some sort of huge help signal that we can activate if we get in over our heads."
- Conversed: "It's always thrilling to watch awesome signals roar to life."
- Implied: ???
- Deconstructed: A significant amount of time has to be spent refueling and resetting the Torch after using it, since something that large requires burning through an equally large amount of resources.
- Reconstructed: ???
- Played For Laughs: Gondor is careless in lighting the Torch and burns himself superficially.
- Played For Drama:
- Gondor lights the Torch, but Evulz responds by immediately retreating. When Gondor's allies arrive and find no one else there, he's accused of Crying Wolf on them and his credibility is tarnished.
- Gondor attempts to light the Torch, but can't seem to do it. He quickly realizes that certain key parts of it have deteriorated after so many years of inactivity. Gondor has to race to both fix up and ignite the Torch before Evulz overpowers him.
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