Chapter 3 Cover of Wake of the Clash featuring Ghost(front), Racer(back left), Airstrike(back right), and Clash’s shadow(above)
"It is the mark of a true hero… to inspire trust… to be compassionate… and act with only the truest motive… the truest desire… to do good for goodness’ sake."
Wake of the Clash
is an ongoing page-a-week superhero Webcomic written and drawn by Yoshiko Agresta (yoyoyoshiko), first uploaded in 2019 on Tapas and Smackjeeves, and later to Webtoons.
The story is centered around a young man, Liam “Ghost” Durand, who was once the sidekick of Beacon City’s most loved hero. Eight years prior to the main events, Liam witnessed his mentor lose control at the hands of an unknown villain and destroy much of the city’s serene waterfront district, permanently changing the world of superheroes before vanishing. Now Liam finds himself on a less-than-solo hunt for his former father figure alongside his super-friends Airstrike and Racer.
Wake of the Clash swings between the comedic and dramatic sides of superhero comics, and places its more bombastic, hopeful heroes right alongside more cynical ones.
Wake of the Clash contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Airstrike is the typical Action Girl, fighting with strength and brute force.
- Badass Normal: The Hourglass often trounces his hero rivals despite not displaying any superpowered abilities.
- Broken Pedestal: Liam looked up to Cirrus in addition to Clash as a youngster, only to feel abandoned and betrayed upon their reunion years later, when he examines why she never reached out to him after the Disaster.
- Celebrity Superhero: Airstrike is seen on multiple occasions hamming it up to crowds and news cameras, or even taking selfies with bystanders.
- Cool Helmet: Airstrike wears a bright red helmet with a blue visor. The author has joked on social media that she worries about head trauma.
- Covert Group with Mundane Front: The Hero Registrar is revealed to run out of an art museum and at least a few galleries across the city. Abigail offers Ghost a form to sign on as a recognized superhero, but on closer inspection, it appears to be an application for a private auxiliary position with the museum. The form still has a space for an alias, so this seems to be an attempt at disguising the Registrar’s paper records.
- Fallen Hero: The Clash is introduced as the city’s greatest hero.
- Gentleman Thief: Hourglass often spouts off cutting one-liners and clever insults at the heroes he faces, and deftly maneuvers his heists to be as flashy as possible.
- Grinof Audacity: Airstrike and Hourglass both engage in battle with wide, confident grins. Both of them are used to fighting for the spectacle of it, though each of their cocksure attitudes likely contribute heavily to their smiling faces.
- Harmless Villain: Bank and Vault are two mismatched cartoon villains with a gang of faceless bank robbers. Both are loud and ineffective at their jobs, celebrating their minor victories to comedic effect, before being swiftly dealt with by a few passing heroes. The Hourglass may also fall under this trope, as he is practically harmless, though he is much more adept at making a sneaky getaway, and appears to keep far more threatening company.
- Kid Sidekick: Liam was The Clash’s former sidekick as a lad.
- Like a Son to Me: Clash is not Liam’s father, but certainly stands as a father figure.
- Lovable Rogue: The Hourglass may be a thief, but he is a famous one. His popularity rivals that of Airstrike, whose fans can be seen right beside his, sporting themed merch during heists.
- Not Wearing Tights: Ghost runs around covering his face with a hoodie and bandanna. Notably not a costumeCirrus: What in heaven’s name are you wearing? ‘’Athleasure!?’’
- Opposed Mentors: Both Clash and Cirrus appear as mentor figures with opposing personalities to young Liam in flashbacks. Cirrus appears more stern and disapproving(moreso to Clash himself), whereas Clash is shown to be somewhat more irresponsible. Perhaps it is more accurate to describe their relationship as that of the Jaded Professional and the Enthusiastic Newbie Teacher.
- Parents in Distress: Young Liam's father-figure/mentor, The Clash, is taken over by an unknown villain and made to attack the city before disappearing. After some years, Ghost takes it upon himself to right what happened and recover his missing mentor.
- Power Incontinence: Ghost has been seen to have involuntarily levitated objects when under significant distress.
- Strong as They Need to Be: Perhaps a reversal of this trope: Airstrike is seen struggling during the Chapter 1 heist against her rival, The Hourglass, who has no known superpowers. It has been mentioned by the author that Airstrike will often pull her punches against Hourglass to make their escapades more entertaining to onlookers. May also be an example of the I Am Not Left-Handed trope.
- Super Registration Act: Both Airstrike and Racer are mentioned to be operating under a “Hero Registrar.” Later found to be run by Abigail Hoang, aka Cirrus. It is not clear as to whether or not the Registrar is regulated by the government as Director Hoang runs it out of a privately owned art museum and independent galleries all over the city.
- The Cape: Clash seemed to be regarded and well-liked as the classic hero type pre-disaster. Airstrike may fit this category due to her earnest and bombastic personality.
- Vigilante Man: Ghost is not recognized by the Hero Registrar.
