Western Animation / Slugterra

This show is brought to you by the Stealth Pun of guns that shoot literal live slugs.

"Slug it out!"

— Series tagline

Miles beneath the surface of the earth exists a sprawling underground world called Slugterra, named for the tiny creatures known as Slugs that populate its innumerable caverns. Many of the people who inhabit this subterranean land are gunslingers, but they don't use bullets or gunpowder. Instead, the people of Slugterra use the slugs themselves as ammo, the power and speed of their shots transforming the harmless slugs into powerful monsters with all kinds of different abilities and utilities.

For generations, the men of the Shane family have come down from the surface world to act as the guardians of Slugterra, its existence known only to them and no one else. But when Will Shane mysteriously disappears following a battle with the villainous Dr. Blakk, Slugterra is left without a protector. However, in the last moments before his disappearance, Will sent out one of his slugs, a fiery little critter named Burpy, to his young son Eli on the surface (its existence itself a legend to the people of Slugterra) to deliver the message telling him he will be the next guardian.

A few years later, honoring a deal he made with his father to wait until his fifteenth birthday, Eli Shane journeys down to Slugterra to follow in his father's footsteps and become protector of this strange new world. Since his only knowledge of Slugterra comes from his dad's letters, Eli quickly makes some new friends and fellow slug-slingers to help him in traversing and protecting Slugterra: a proud Molenoid and (self-proclaimed) master tracker named Pronto, a camera-wielding aspiring documentarian named Trixie, and a strong cave troll mechanic named Kord. Together, the four members of the Shane Gang travel across the caves of Slugterra and act as protectors of the people, discovering its many secrets and battling the forces of Dr. Blakk, who has created corrupted slugs called ghouls that he intends on using for his plans to dominate all of Slugterra.

A new spin on the Mons concept with quite the twist, Sugterra is a Canadian-produced animated action/adventure series that debuted on September 3, 2012 on Family CHRGD (now WildBrainTV) as the channel's first original series. It is produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment, the Vancouver animation studio previously known Dragon Booster, Storm Hawks, League of Super Evil, Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5, and Rated "A" for Awesome. Sharing the unique in-house style of CGI animation that defines the studio's original shows, it was shown stateside on Disney XD (making it Disney XD's second import from Nerd Corps after Rated "A" for Awesome). The show ran for 6 seasons and 63 episodes, concluding its run on October 25 2016 and making it Nerd Corps' longest running series. Additionally, it also received five movies compiling several multi-part episodes into seamless stories, tropes for which should go to their place at the bottom of this page.

Check out the official site here.

Now has a character sheet which is currently under construction.

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Tropes appearing in the show:

• Abnormal Ammo: Slugslinging.
• Aborted Arc: Twist was clearly shown to have misgivings about the things he was expected to do as Blakk's new apprentice, implying a possible redemption somewhere down the road. But this was not to be, as he fell Out of Focus during season three, and his final appearance depicted him springing a trap on the Shane Gang with no remorse whatsoever.
• Action Bomb:
  • Some slugs explode on impact, such as in a shower of sparks, or at least disappear. They're always fine when they show up again.
  • Grenuker (supposedly a portmanteau of grenade and nuke)
• Action Prologue: The series opens in the middle of a battle between Will Shane and Dr. Blakk. This happens again in "Keys to the Kingdom".
• The Alcatraz: Stalag-mite 17 in "Mission Improbable".
• All Trolls Are Different: Will Shane once said, "You'll never find someone more loyal, honest, and brave than a cave troll" (though the website refers to "cave troll rage"). In addition, they're known as the best engineers, crafting many of the passageways used in Slugterra.
• Always Chaotic Evil:
  • The Shadow Clan, though Eli believes they might be a neutral entity. As of Inheritance, it looks like Eli is correct.
  • Played straight with the Dark Bane. Though the finale implies that there's some kind of connection.
• And the Adventure Continues: The third season ends with Blakk, his minions, and the Dark Bane banished. Eli decides to stay in Slugterra and seals the Drop just before the Shane Gang faces against Blite riding a dinosaur. This is the series finale, at least until the movie.
• Anti-Magic: Regular slugs can’t transform in the Dark Bane’s realm.
• Appropriated Appellation: When meeting Dr. Blakk for the first time, Eli decries his mutated slug as a "ghoul". Blakk likes the name so much it that he makes it the standard nomenclature, and pretty soon everyone in Slugterra refers to them as such.
• Artistic License – Geology: Slugterra is "over 100 miles" beneath the surface. The Earth's crust averages about half that thickness.
• Artistic License – Statistics: Mario Bravado to Eli Shane: "Remember, 90% of trick shooting is half mental." Eli gives him a look.
• Aura Vision: Enigmo Slugs can grant this to the one they slugged. Eli uses this to find out slug combos.
• Bad "Bad Acting": When the gang have to set up an ambush in Shane's absence in "The Lightwell".
• Bait-and-Switch: "The Slug Run". The one mechabeast racer depicted as The Ace and having some Blakk tech seems the most likely to be working for Blakk; it's actually Seedo, who treats Pronto as an Unknown Rival, depicted as a Small Name, Big Ego.
• Bar Brawl: Early in "A Distant Shore".
• Basement-Dweller: Invoked with the Gamemaster in "Thrill of the Game".
• Beneath the Earth: Slugterra. The Dark Bane world is even ‘‘further’’ underground.
• Big Ball of Violence: Episode 3, The Trade. Eight slugs are fired against each other at once and the result is a big blue/red glowing ball suspended in the air.
• Big Damn Heroes: Done at the end of "The Journey Home" - with SLUGS! In a mammoth-type mechabeast!
• Blessed with Suck: The whole transformation at 100 mph ability is completely involuntary, meaning that mere falling slugs become a huge problem in the Cold Open (heh) of "The Slugout".
  • The above mentioned Aura Vision. You can't see anything else.
• Bloodless Carnage: Some slugs have incredibly destructive powers, but no one ever gets hurt. Possibly justified by the Functional Magic based powers of the slugs.
• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: Pronto in the episode "Mario Bravado" explaining how his (nonexistent) crime organization will bust him out of jail.
  "It's about fear, and respect. Kind of a... fearful respect."
• Brick Joke: In "Slugball", the commentators' comments on dedicated ring technicians leads to a Gilligan Cut to the actual technicians discussing how to get rid of mustard stains. Later on, Kord's near impossible goal is described by one commentator as "my favorite day after the time I got that mustard stain out of my pants!"
• Bring the Anchor Along: In "Inheritance", Dana Por breaks into the Shane Gang's hideout, and webs Eli arm to chair during a shootout. The chair is a rolling chair, and Eli spends the rest of the fight scooting around on it with his arm still stuck to it.
• Bullet Time: All over the place. Bear in mind that these 'bullets' take a little more animating than most.
• Call-Back:
  • In "The Journey Home", the slugs pass through the mall from "Dawn of the Slug", and even that mall cop puts in an appearance.
  • In "The Gentleman And The Thief", a montage of Dana Por's victims shows Mario Bravado, the fishman-pirate, and yes, the mall cop.
  • The miners from the Halloween Episode reappear in "No Exit".
  • The King of Sling, the Small Name, Big Ego beaten by Trixie in episode 2, gets his own episode down the line.
  • "Mission Improbable" has Mr Saturday from "Dawn of the Slug" in The Alcatraz. The fact that he was last seen getting arrested even fits - thanks to his old mind control gimmick, he's literally Running the Asylum.
  • The Small Name, Big Ego Molenoid from "The Slug Run" returns for "Keys to the Kingdom".
• Call to Agriculture: The titular Mario Bravado, trick shot celebrity who's now running a pizza place.
• Casting a Shadow: The Shadow Clan.
• Chekhov's Gun: Played with in "The Hard Part". A water stain on the map turns out to be a leaking pipe. It doesn't do anything, but Eli's slugs get the drop on Boss Ember by dislodging an identical pipe to create a landslide of junk.
• Chekhov's Skill: The trick shot skills that Mario taught Eli become useful again in The New Kid, Part 2.
• The Chew Toy: Pronto.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Normal slug canisters (used by good and neutral slugslingers) are blue, while Ghouls come in red ones (signaling evil or an alignment with Dr. Blakk).
  • Green is for Techno-slugs.
• Com Mons: Floppers are the weakest slugs and Pronto even calls them useless. They're the only slugs that don't transform at speed, only exploding in a cloud of gas.
• Concealment Equals Cover: Played straight in the Bar Brawl in "A Distant Shore". Kord even uses a table as a shield!
• Convection, Schmonvection: The occasional underground lava field. Possibly justified due to the Functional Magic of the slugs and Slugterra itself.
• Cool Bike: In the episode Upgrade, Kord gives the Shane Gang's mechabeasts an upgrade that allows them to switch between their normal mode and this mode.
• The Corruption: Dr. Blakk's nefarious schemes involve turning all slugs into vicious, evil versions of their species called "ghouls".
• Crippling Overspecialization: Eli's first real duel is with a guy who only uses Tazerlings. He's a one-trick pony, but it is a pretty nice trick. He loses because Tazerlings tend to misfire if they get tired out from overuse, shocking himself.
• Curse Cut Short: In The New Kid Part 2, when he realized he was about to get defeated, Diablos said, "Oh..." before he got hit.
• Cyclops:
  • Eli fought against one of these.
  • Several slug species only have one eye.
• Dangerous 16th Birthday: Subverted - it's actually his 15th, and it's entirely Eli's choice to accept the Call to Adventure that his father leaves for him.
• Dark Is Evil: The Dark Bane.
• Dark Is Not Evil: The Shadow Clan.
• Day in the Limelight: The Journey Home for Eli's slugs.
• Deadly Game: The Shane gang is subjected to this by the Game Master in "The Thrill of the Game". The Game Master's modus operandi is to lure unsuspecting slingers into a far off cavern called Lands End Cavern. There, he forces them to play "game", made up of dangerous obstacles and puzzles.
• Dead Man Writing: Will Shane sends Burpy to lead Eli to a prepared message.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Played with as slugs don't really get the concept of defeat as applies to their sluggers - but they can pick a better master.
• Defeat by Modesty: One of the Thresher Slug's moves involves ripping apart your opponent's pants.
  • In the episode "Keys to the Kingdom," Pronto and Sedo fight, and each use a Thresher on the other; both end up fighting in their blue briefs.
• Demoted to Extra: Twist. Despite being made Blakk's apprentice early on, he only makes one appearance in season three.
• Diminishing Villain Threat:
  • The Ghoul Slugs are depicted as nigh unbeatable in their first few appearances, but gradually start getting beaten more easily. (Justified, perhaps, by the Shane gang's growing skill, and by the addition of Doc to Eli's ranks, which makes it so Blakk has to conserve them more).
  • Dr. Blakk’s forces seem to be averting this, becoming more dangerous as the story goes on, as he adds the Gatler (essentially a Ghoul-firing ‘’machine gun’’), the Titan tanks, and four Dark Bane to his group.
• Disappeared Dad: Will Shane disappeared when Eli was young, though Eli knew all about Slugterra.
• Disembodied Eyebrows: Pronto, and most likely all Molenoids, since the Unknown Rival also has them.
• The Ditz: Eli's Enigmo slug, Mo. In his first scene, he wandered around like he was high, and almost blundered into a trap.
  Trixie: This has to be the stupidest slug ever! No wonder there's only one left!
• Do Not Touch the Funnel Cloud: One slug has the effect of causing a tornado that only seems to affect the person it hits.
• The Dragon:
  • Diablos Nacho, who works for Dr. Blakk or so it seems at first. He actually works for Brimstone, High Commander of the Dark Bane.
  • Twist seemed to take his place in season two before he was Demoted to Extra in season three.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Diablos Nacho and Twist have been in the intro since episode 1.
• Elemental Powers: Some slugs have powers like fire, water, and tornadoes. Each slug has an elemental designation, though some are harder to guess.
• Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Averted. Though slugs are each aligned with an element, since they don't do direct battle, their elements don't seem to make much of a difference.
• Embarrassing First Name: Beatrice Sting. She prefers to go by Trixie.
• EMP: Picking a bad match of slugs for a combined shot will have this effect with every slug in the area (With the exception of ghouls).
• Enemy of My Enemy: "Dark Water Deep Water" invokes AND subverts this when the Shane gang must work with the fishman-pirate Malvolio Drake to take down a Blakk mining facility, run by Drake's own brother. The pirate's misunderstanding with his brother is cleared up like that, leaving the Shane gang alone against the both of them.
• Enemy to All Living Things: Invoked when Blakk's actions cause all regular slugs everywhere to turn against him. Becomes an Ironic Echo when Twist suffers the same.
• Evil Is One Big, Happy Family: Played straight and averted. While Blakk’s men and the Dark Bane seem to work together OK, villainous factions have clashed with each other. And as it turns out, the Dark Bane planned to betray Blakk.
• Family-Friendly Firearms: Showing kids pointing guns at people's heads is apparently okay when the ammunition is just so darn cute!
• Fantasy Helmet Enforcement: In "Upgrade". Eli and Trixie are going to need helmets to handle the mechabeasts in bike form, but apparently the headgear on Kord and Pronto work fine.
• Fake Ultimate Hero: The King of Sling. It turns out that everyone in his home cavern knows his tales of glory are exaggerated, but they don't care because they are so entertaining.
• Fartillery: Flatulorincus.
• Fastball Special: In "The New Kid pt 2" - Molenoid Longbomb!
• Fire, Ice, Lightning: Eli's primary slug is an Infurnus, and the first slug he wins in a battle is a Tazerling. Frostcrawler completes the trio.
• Foreshadowing:
  • In Endangered Species when Eli was still suffering from the effects of the Enigmo slug, one slug he was looking at seemed to stand out brighter than the surroundings.
  • Slugs fired at each other at precise timing turn into a Big Ball of Violence. What happens if they're aimed at the same target instead of each other? Combo attacks.
  • All mechabeasts have knobbly tyres someplace on their bodies long before "Upgrade".
• Four-Fingered Hands: Cave trolls and molenoids, but not the humans.
• Functional Magic: The slugs are magic.
• Fish People: They ran into a group that are pirates.
• Fungus Humongous: Obligatory giant underground mushrooms abound.
• Fun Size: The slugs, and even their larger destructive forms, are still rather small.
• Gangsta Style: Derided by Eli when he sees it in a movie. He points out that holding a blaster sideways interferes with the trajectory.
• Gasshole: Stinky. He is a Flatulorincus, after all.
  • Also, whenever Pronto is surprised or scared, a fart sound can be heard.
• Godzilla Threshold: The Shane Gang end up ghouling their own slugs to have a fighting chance against the Dark Bane in "What Lies Beneath". Fortunately, they have Doc in their arsenal to undo it once they have escaped from the Deep Caverns.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: Bludgeon slugs have big ram's horns when transformed. What do they do? Punch you.
• Gotta Catch 'Em All: Not a goal per se, but in official slugslinging rules, the winner is allowed to take one slug from the loser. Also played straight, since catching slugs "in the wild" is also a thing.
• G-Rated Drug: The slug accelerator from "Club Slug" has the effect of G-rated steroids, down to the slugs needing a regular fix afterwards.
• Grenade Launcher: Blasters act like this with exploding slugs.
• Guns Akimbo: There's Boss Ember for one, who takes it up to eleven by quadruple-weilding blasters.
• The Gunslinger: Everyone. It's even called "slugslinging".
• Halloween Episode: "Deadweed" turns out to be a subversion, as the Dark Water is revealed during the episode.
• Hammerspace: Not overt, but most slugslingers only have about three slug canisters visible on themselves (usually across the chest or on the hip), yet they carry and use far more than that.
• Hanging Judge: The judge who sentences Pronto to prison for spitting out gum in "Mario Bravado". The gang sets out to free Pronto and all of the other unjustly imprisoned prisoners.
• Head Desk: Burpy of all people, when Pronto tries to claim credit again at the end of "The Journey Home".
• Heart Is an Awesome Power:
  • The Enigmo slug is more useful than it first appears.
  • Doc was more useful than his previous user thought.
  • In "The Journey Home", Eli manages to use only a few slugs with powers his opponent considered weak to last until his other slugs got there.
  • One Slugisode explores other means to use Floppers to make up for their inability to transform.
• Hidden Depths: Who knew Pronto was the KING of the Molenoids? Even the rest of the Shane Gang were surprised.
  • Locke and Lode let another Blakk minion attack his prison first, so they could analyze the defenses.
• High-Speed Train Reroute: While pulling a Train Job in "Mario Bravado", Eli pulls off a trick shot to switch the path of Pronto's wagon off the main line and on to a spur. However, the spur leads to a dead end, forcing Mario to pull off an even more impressive trick shot to open the lock and free the prisoners before the wagon crashes.
• Horseback Heroism: "Mechaback" dueling is an official form of slugslinging.
• Horse of a Different Color: Mechabeasts, which come in several flavors.
  • The gang ride around on a mechanized police dog, panther, warthog... and a donkey.
  • The Hooligang from "The Slugout" all get hyenas.
  • "The Slug Run" is filled with these - there's a bull, an elephant, a mole, a chicken, even a giant snake! Vance Bolt may be the only one whose mechabeast actually resembles a horse.
• Humongous Mecha: The villain of the episode in Roboslugs pulls one out that forces the Shane gang to make one of their own.
• Identical Twin ID Tag: Brothers Locke and Lode. Locke has a thick beard, Lode has multiple shaving cuts on his face.
  • There are also triplets who wear different-colored suits.
• I'll Take Two Beers Too: Pronto in a cavern famous for its chocolate root beer floats in "A Distant Shore":
  "Four extra-large floaters, please. Oh, and whatever my friends want."
• Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: In "The New Kid Part 2", Diablos and a squad of Black's troops open fire on the Shane Gang at point blank range with the advantage of surprise and miss everyone.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Eli performs a near impossible shot with an Armashell slug he just obtained, after being told it would take weeks or longer to build a bond strong enough to get a slug to do exactly what he wanted with that much precision. It just goes to show how quickly he builds a friendship with his slugs.
• Joke Character: Flatulorincus slugs harness the power of farts.
• Just a Kid: Everyone's reaction to Eli in the first episode — and their disappointment when expecting "a Shane."
• Kid Hero: Eli heads down to Slugterra on the night of his fifteenth birthday.
• Laser-Guided Karma: The corrupt judge in Mario Bravado was put away by his own draconian laws. It looked like his underlings really enjoyed taking him in when that occurred.
• Laser Hallway: In "Mission Improbable", of course.
• Legacy Character: They don't pretend to be the same man, but "The Shane" is a title each generation of Eli's family has accepted.
• The Legions of Hell: The Dark Bane are a race of monsters Red and Black and Evil All Over residing in the Deep Caverns, which is, well, deep underneath Slugterra, with Dark Water being found in abundance. The Dark Bane's goal is to invade Slugterra and unleash havoc on all living things, and with a leader named Brimstone... not hard to connect the dots.
• Lethal Joke Character: Flatulorincus slugs can be just as effective as other slugs if used properly.
• Lower-Deck Episode: "Bandoleer of Brothers". Seen through the eyes of the slugs, the Shane Gang must liberate a cavern with help from the newest member of Eli's team, a Blastipede slug named Rookie.
• Loyal Animal Companion: Eli's slugs. After winning a duel, he even asks which one wants to join him on an adventure, rather than just picking the strongest, to ensure they'll be this.
• Made of Evil: Dark Water. It has ways of messing with people, and it is used by Blakk to turn Slugs into Ghouls.
• Mailbox Baseball: In "The Slug-Out", the Hooligang ride into Quiet Lawn Cavern shooting out the mailboxes with their slugs as they go.
• The Masquerade: There is one on both sides. Slugterra is kept in the dark about the surface and vice-versa; the only known link between the two is the Shanes and the lift they use to travel between them.
• Master of Illusion: Twist's slug Loki is this. It doesn't help that it's a Ghoul.
• Meaningful Name: It's just a little ironic that the person responsible for the Dead Man Writing is named Will.
  • Asian Old Master Shinai is named for the Japanese training sword.
  • Twist's slug Loki is a Master of Illusion who even uses a glamour to hide its Ghouled appearance!
• Mechanical Horse: (See also: Horse of a Different Color) Mecha-beasts are a common mode of transportation in Slugterra. We even see carts being pulled by mechanical bulls.
• The Medic: Healer slugs. They also have the ability to cure slugs that have been ghouled.
• Meet Cute: Eli and Trixie. In their first encounter, she saves him from a bandit with one shot and then rides off because she's in a hurry. The next time they meet...

  Trixie: "Excuse me, you're in my shot."

• Mentor: Subverted. Will Shane had hoped to be this for his son on his first trip to Slugterra.
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: Ambiguous in Will's case, but played straight later with Shinai.
• "Metaphor" Is My Middle Name: In "The King of Sling":

  Eli: Okay, guys — quick, slick and sly!

  Pronto: Ah, three of my many middle names!

• Mole Men: Pronto is a Molenoid. They are known for having great sense of direction due to a natural, built-in magnetic compass. However, this has gone to his head.
• Mon: The slugs definitely come across this way, even if they don't do one-on-one battle.
• Mon Tech: Blasters are essential gear for Slugslingers. They can shoot Slugs out at 100 mph to transform into their Velocimorph, allowing a Slug to use their power. An Accelerator can upgrade a Blaster to shoot experienced Slugs at 200 mph to transform into their Megamorph, a more powerful form than their Velocimorph.
• More Dakka: Standard blasters are comparable to the typical handgun. In The Unbeatable Master, Dr. Blakk pulls out something comparable to a giant machine gun called a gattler. Kord says it's probably the first working model of such a weapon.
• Motivation on a Stick: In "The Journey Home", Burpy and a group of slugs hitch a ride on a mecha-beast this way: using one of themselves as the bait dangling on the stick.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much:
  • Kord's clan wanted him to go into the family business of engineering, but slugslinging was just way more fun. He still tinkers, though.
  • Pronto realises his own people are far too apathetic for their own good... except for the ones we've seen living away from them long enough.
• Never My Fault: In "Thrill of the Game", the Gamemaster doesn't reveal all the rules of his game until it's too late, but still accuses the Shane Gang of cheating.
• Never Say "Die": Will Shane is sucked into an uncontrollable vortex that leaves a blackened crater, but no one ever suggests he could be dead.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • When Will Shane managed to convince the slugs to abandon Blakk, it may have stopped him from forcing people to sign over their lands for the Slugterran Express, but it is what ultimately led Blakk down the path to creating Ghoul slugs.
  • Both Dana Por and Twist blame Will Shane for causing their fathers to die.
  • In "The Return", Eli attempting a two-slug combined shot without any practice creates something akin to an EMP for slugs, leaving them powerless as Blakk successfully destroys the mechabeast factory.
  • In "Mission Improbable" Eli does pull off a combo shot - except this time the resulting bludgeon-tornado turns on our heroes as well.
• Offscreen Teleportation: Characters have a habit of simply firing their slugs and not making an effort to collect them, even if they use them during high speed chases, yet they all have a full arsenal ready at all times, unless specific plot reasons dictate otherwise. Normally it at least shows the slugs hopping their way back to their owners, but no one loses them even during extremely long distance chases. Halfway through the first season we see that slugs have their own fast travel system by way of small tunnels with heavy airflow that they can ride to almost any desired location.
• Omake: "Slugisodes", short clips hosted by Trixie that expand on The 'Verse, in particular, slugslinging knowledge.
• One-Word Title: Also The Place, as it's where the adventure happens, and a Portmantitle of Slug and terra.
• Our Ghouls Are Creepier: Ghoul slugs are pure evil (being corrupted by Dr. Blakk), and more powerful versions of their original species. Their vicious appearance inspires Eli to coin the name after seeing one for the first time.
• Our Zombies Are Different: There was a Ghoul-hypno slug that turned everyone into brainwashed zombies and stole stuff for the caster in the episode Dawn of the Slugs. The fun thing is that it was set in a mall and the slug's master is a straight-up Voodoo witch doctor named Mr Saturday, covering both zombie archetypes in one go.
• Out-of-Character Alert: Happens when Twist is posing as Redhook. He invites the Shane Gang to discuss things over a glass of lemonade. This immediately alerts the Gang (except Pronto) that this is not not the real Redhook, as Redhook is never that sociable.
• Parrot Pet Position: Burpy often spends more time on Eli's shoulder than in his canister.
  • The pirate captain's lizard does this as well.
• Pinball Projectile: The World Beneath Our Feet, Part 2: Eli intentionally causes multiple stalactites to fall with a single ricochet shot.
  • The Speedstinger slug's power is to ricochet off surfaces before reaching a target.
  • The Gentleman deliberately uses his Thresher slug (the spinning buzzsaw one) in this fashion.
• The Place: It's where the adventure happens, a Portmantitle of Slug and terra, and a One-Word Title.
• Portmantitle: Slug + terra, also The Place, as it's where the adventure happens, and a One-Word Title as well.
• Power Copying: The pirate captain's pet lizard is able to not only be used as ammo for a blaster, but can also mimic any of the slugs his opponent uses to blast at him.
• Power Incontinence: Dr. Blakk's Ghoul slugs had this problem at first. He fixed it.
• Psycho Serum: Dark Water, the key ingredient in turning a Slug into a Ghoul.
• Pun: The word "slug" is used in three ways. The creatures look like upright cartoon slugs, they're used as ammunition (like shotgun slugs), and the phrase "Slug it out!" is used as a series motto ("slug" meaning a hard blow/hit, as in "slugfest" or "slugger").
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: The eyes of mecha-beasts turn red when they are ghouled; as seen in "Mecha Mutiny".
• Retired Gunfighter: In "Mario Bravado", Eli has to search out retired slug slinger Mario Bravado as the only one who can teach him how to make an impossible shot necessary to rescue Pronto.
• The Reveal:
  • The New Kid Part 1: Twist is working for Dr. Blakk.
  • Inheritance: Will Shane had a device that allowed him to communicate with the Shadow Clan.
  • What Lies Beneath: Below Slugterra in the Deep Caverns is an entire evil race called the Dark Bane, and Diablos Nacho is one of them.
  • The Return: The Enigmo slug allows those hit with it to view a slug's aura, in order to see which are compatible for a Fusion Shot.
• Revolvers Are Just Better: Dana Por has a revolver slug blaster gauntlet.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: The slugs, of course! (When below 100 mph, that is).
• Sadistic Choice: The Gamemaster in "Thrill of the Game" is all about these.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: There is a whole evil race called the Dark Bane trapped beneath Slugterra, with all of Slugterra acting like a cork and keeping them sealed in there.
• Shapeshifting: The slugs transform from cute little creatures into more powerful versions of their species, but only when traveling at least 100 mph.
• Shoot the Bullet: Eli shoots one of Blakk's slugs out of the air in "King of Sling" Of course, having a sentient projectile helps.
• Shout-Out:
  • In "Deadweed", Eli convinces an army of 'ghosts' to take up arms beside him.
  • "The Slug Run" has a chicken-type mechabeast which may look familiar for other reasons.
  • The Shadow Clan are dark-skinned humanoids with tails and the ability to teleport.
  • "Dawn of the Slug". It's even set in a mall. At least till The Reveal that Our Zombies Are Different.
  • In "The New Kid pt 1", concerning a Greasy Spoon diner:
  Pronto: "You will never find a more foul and wretched establishment... but the soup is good."
  • The Reveal of The Mole read: Twist involves him leveling his blaster behind Eli, a pose that some may find familiar.
  • In "Inheritance", we get a circular device that lets you see the Shadowclan coming when worn, but unfortunately it draws them like ants to sugar AND could drive you mad when worn for too long.
  • In "A Distant Shore", Eli comes across a book that's really part of his legacy, an important Shane artifact with the secret of the surface world. Sadly, Eli chose to torch it rather than carry it with him on his adventures.
  • "The Journey Home". The title says it all.
  • In "What Lies Beneath", the door to the Dark Bane world is a ring-shaped structure with symbols along the edge..
  • In "Mission Improbable", we get The Alcatraz, which is actually named Stalag-mite 17. And Pronto's response to an impending avalanche is... whipping out a comically tiny umbrella.
  • "Thrill of the Game" has the Gamemaster, who traps our heroes and forces them to play his game. They even set up the Sadistic Choice.
• Sixth Ranger Traitor: In The New Kid, Part 1 and Part 2, the Shane gang encounter a guy named Twist. He helps them out for a while, but by the end of Part 1, he is revealed to be in league with Dr. Blakk.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Molenoid Sedo and the King of Sling are opposite versions - King is reformed eventually, but Sedo is working for Blakk.
• Space Western: But UNDERGROUND!
• Spin Attack: Thresher slugs grow razors out of their backs and spin like a buzzsaw while flying through the air.
• Sticky Bomb: There is a slug that sticks into walls with spines as its tail burns down like a fuse.
• Stink Bomb: Flatulorincus/Stinkers.
• Sufficiently Analyzed Magic: Although not completely explained, the Slugs' process of shapeshifting has been analyzed enough for application as a power source for the mechabeasts and to be wholly replicated in Robo-Slugs. It's even been named Molecular Transference.
• Super Mode: Slugs can "Mega Morph" to an even more powerful form when they reach 200 mph.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: A season one episode has the Shane Gang destroy Blakk's Dark Water pumping operation. No more Ghouls, right? Wrong. As Shane and the other's note, Blakk is sure to have a surplus stocked away somewhere. Sure enough, the final shot of the episode shows that Blakk has a large vault filled with barrels of the stuff.
  • Of course, reality bites Blakk later on, when the Gang start noticing that Blakk's men have started using regular Slugs. While Blakk's supply of Dark Water is large, it's still finite. Combined with the Shane Gang curing Ghouls left and right, Blakk's reached the point where, until a new source can be found, he has to start rationing Dark Water.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: The World Beneath Our Feet, Part 2. Eli wins his first match of the tournament and goes to find Pronto watching another match. Pronto says he's certainly not looking for another job in case Eli lost.
• Swiss-Army Gun: Since each type of slug has its own effect, every blaster is this.
• Taken for Granite: "No Exit". The Neurotox slug (a ghouled-up version of a Neotox slug) uses its toxic gas to turn opponents to stone until our heroes figure out how to reverse that effect.
• Taking Over the Town: In "King of Sling", Locke and Lode do this to the King's home cavern. After being driven out of town, the King returns to drive out Locke and Lode (with a little help from the Shane gang).
• Tempting Fate: Invoked and lampshaded in "The Undertow".
• Testosterone Poisoning: "The Slug Run". "Sunday Sunday SUNDAY!!!"
• Theme Music Power-Up: Sometimes done with the ED rather than the OP like most cases.
• Theme Twin Naming: Brothers Locke and Lode.
• Tiny Tim Template: Shinny Sim is a character who appears in the Christmas Episode "Slug Day", a resident of the Eastern Caverns who is this in all but name.
• Title Drop:
  • In the episode Bandoleer of Brothers, Eli says the episode title at the end of the episode.
  • Also happens early on in "The World Beneath Our Feet".
  • Combined with Call-Back in "Keys to the Kingdom" when Pronto drops the title of the episode the Small Name, Big Ego Molenoid first appeared in ("The Slug Run").
• Too Many Halves: According to Pronto, the Lightwell is "50% legend, 50% lore, and 50% mystery."
• Tournament Arc: Not really an arc, but the two-part series premiere follows Eli through a tournament as he gets a hang of slugslinging and gathers a variety of new slugs.
• Train Job: In "Mario Bravado", Eli and the gang stage a raid on a train transporting prisoners to rescue Pronto.
• Transformation Is a Free Action: Averted in Nacho's introductory episode, when he fires a slug point-blank at the back of Eli's head. In the time that it takes to transform, Eli manages to jump behind cover.
• Translator Collar: A mystical Shadow Clan device called the Shadowtalker allows the listener speak to the Shadow Clan. However, it causes great mental pain to do so. The head of the Clan even said that most can't handle it, though he hinted that Eli might someday.
  • As the series continues, Eli seems to be getting better at handling it, he has used it several times since his first time and hasn't shown as much strain.
• Trick Arrow: Having a variety of slugs in one's arsenal helps with strategy (punching, net launcher, bolas, taser, smoke cloud...).
• Unknown Rival: Pronto is this to fellow Molenoid Sedo; Pronto has met him before, but Sedo doesn't even recognize him.
• Unorthodox Reload: Diablos Nacho simply slams his blaster on his own bandolier to load a cartridge. So does Boss Ember, except his shells are all on his back.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Molenoids not named Pronto and Sedo are rarely fazed by much, such as going about their day despite being in the middle of a firefight and caring more about their petty problems and plumbing.
• Vampiric Draining: One episode includes a Dark Bane monster that feeds off the energy of slugs and humans to stay in Slugterra.
• Victory Is Boring: The villain in Roboslugs briefly complains about this after his Humongous Mecha defeats Eli and friends.
  What's the point of winning if there's nobody to lord it over?
• Villain Team-Up: Blakk and the Dark Bane have been working together all along.
• Water Is Air: Averted with slug-slinging. Slug-slinging is still possible underwater, but unless you have a slug suited for water, you need a torpedo tube for them to gain enough speed to transform. Fire-type slugs like Burpy are ineffective in an underwater environment.
• Wax On, Wax Off: Played straight in "Mario Bravado" when Eli has to master the ultimate trick shot...by working in a pizza place.
  • Granted it's a pizza place that involves slugslinging for ultra-fast preparation time.
• Wedgie: Pronto gets these constantly.
• Wham Episode: “Back to Blakk”. In it we learn Blakk’s origins, how Burpy came to be with Eli’s dad, and what led Blakk to create the Ghouls.
  • In the end, Blakk is rescued by Diablos Nacho, who used the Gattler to create a portal to the Deep Caverns and released four Dark Bane with him!
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Several loose ends are left after the series finale. For example:
  • What is the Gamemaster going to do?
  • What happened to Blakk's minions, like Twist, Locke, Lode, Cece and John Bull?
  • What is Dana going to do now now that she doesn't have to hide from Dr. Blakk?
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Many slingers seem to just treat slugs as animals or weapons, but Eli (and eventually his entire gang to some extent) treat them like friends and allies.
• When Trees Attack: Blight has special slugs that grow into vines to purify his own Neotox gas. They only start attacking when Ghouled.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: One episode had a villain who developed a chronic fear of slugs after falling into a pit of them and being trapped for days before being rescued.
• You Killed My Father: Twist’s motivation: He wants Revenge by Proxy on Eli because his dad, a criminal, fell into a chasm fleeing from Eli’s dad.

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Tropes appearing in Ghoul From Beyond

• The Dog Was the Mastermind: A powerful slinger with a ghoul that rides on his shoulder turns out to be Goon, who has actually possessed the protector of the Eastern Caverns, named Junjie, and tries to take over Eli.
• Novelty Decay: Megamorphs become a lot more common after Blakk was defeated. The Shane Gang even lampshade it.
• Sequel Hook: The Goon declares that he will be back with an army during the ending, leading right into the next movie.

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Tropes appearing in Return Of The Elementals

• Luke, I Am Your Father: Of a sort. In this movie, Goon has returned with a new slinger under his control, one of the Dark Bane. This is revealed to be Will Shane, Eli's father.
• Sequel Hook: After the Shane Gang saves Slugterra, Eli declares that they're going to save his dad.
• Sixth Ranger: Junjie, the Goon's main host in the last movie, gets acclimated during this one and pretty much fully joins the Shane Gang by its end.
• Villain Team-Up: This movies sees the Dark Bane fighters led by Goon teaming up with a beefed up Dr. Blakk.

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Tropes appearing in Slug Fu Showdown

• Continuity Nod: The Hooligang, Lock and Lode, and Cedo appear in this movie.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: After being left to die, all the Big Bad's minions turn on him.
• Sink or Swim Mentor: Junje eventually decides that the best way for Eli to learn Slug Fu is by putting him in an extreme amount of danger.

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Tropes appearing in Eastern Caverns

• Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You: In "The Emperor Strikes Back", Pronto believes his faithful steed Fernando has been destroyed battling an Iron Warrior. He launches into a tearful speech about how he cannot go on without Fernando, when Fernando wanders up behind him and nudges him in the back. Pronto pauses and says "In a moment, Fernando" before launching back into his speech.

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