History CalvinAndHobbes / TropesQToZ

* RaptorAttack: Calvin writes a report about Susie being attacked and killed by a pack of ''Deinonychus'' as a means of curbing overpopulation. [[ScienceMarchesOn Science hadn't marched on yet]] and the raptors lack feathers, but are definitely closer to real size than, say, ''Film/JurassicPark'' velociraptors (which, Watterson noted in commentary on the strip, caused him to put the dinosaur fantasies on hiatus because he didn't want to compete too much with cutting edge CGI and animatronics, which he feared would make Calvin's imagination appear "less vivid by comparison").

** Also, one ImagineSpot has him fantasize about Susie getting chased down by a ''deinonychus'' then devoured along with other kids, citing this as natural selection at work to justify it being a good thing, with the weak and stupid being weeded out.

* SoapBoxSadie: Calvin is a mild example, in that he can get very passionate about various issues (usually environmental), but since his worldview is still that of a six-year-old, the narrative doesn't mind showing him to be just as naive as he is well-meaning. Also spoofed [[LiteralSoapboxSpeech when Calvin retrieves a small, cardboard soap box]] to stand on so he can "harangue the multitudes."
-->'''Hobbes''' [[DeadpanSnarker You'd probably be more impressive if you tried using the soap.]]\\
'''Calvin:''' Let me know if you see any multitudes.

** Also, one ImagineSpot has him fantasize about Susie getting chased down by a tyrannosaurus then devoured along with other kids, citing this as natural selection at work to justify it being a good thing.

* {{Snowlems}}: The Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons.

* StrawNihilist: Calvin has some moments like this: "The problem with people is that they don't look at the big picture. Eventually, we're each going to die, our species will go extinct, the Sun will explode, and the Universe will collapse. Existence isn't only temporary, it's pointless! We're all doomed, and worse, nothing matters!" Of course, he's using this as an excuse to not do his homework.

** Bill Watterson has used ''Calvin and Hobbes'' to mock modern art, art criticism, and {{superhero}} comic books. Either Calvin uses phrases copied verbatim from art journals to describe his snow men, or his breathless praises of comic books as an art form are interrupted by comments like: "Oh no, Captain Steroid's getting his kidneys punched out with an I-beam!" Watterson's career peaked during UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, which likely influenced his opinions quite a bit, but as to why he didn't seek out fellow "comics can be art" proponents such as Creator/DaveSim and Creator/ScottMcCloud and join up with the GraphicNovel movement is a mystery.

** In one strip, he also took a jab at comic book collectors of the time, which eventually became vindicated by the [[UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996 comic industry crash of the mid-90's]], which was in part caused by the oversaturation of the market with worthless "collectors" comics.

** This was portrayed in an ultra-violent comic book Calvin was reading as a spoof on UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks.

* SanityBall: When Calvin and Hobbes are interacting, Hobbes has the ball. When Calvin's parents, Miss Wormwood, or Rosalyn enter the scene, overly imaginative Calvin usually has the ball. When it's just Calvin's mom and dad, [[WomenAreWiser Mom has the ball]]. When Susie shows up, Calvin's typical reaction is throwing the SanityBall at her and running away.

* ScriptWank:
-->'''Calvin:''' Well, at least I learned a valuable lesson from this duplicator mess.\\
'''Hobbes:''' Which is?\\
(beat)\\
'''Calvin:''' Okay, [[SubvertedTrope so I didn't learn any big lessons. Sue me.]]
** Watterson plays it straight, though, when Calvin delivers a GreenAesop.

* RandomEventsPlot: In one of the story arcs in ''Scientific Progress Goes "Boink"'' Calvin suddenly has his gravity reversed while doing his homework, and it just as suddenly stops on its own once his mom walks in. Then he inexplicably starts growing, eventually getting so big that he outgrows the universe, where he finds a door floating in a void that leads back to his room. Watterson admits in retrospective that it was just "weird for weirdness' sake"

* SantaClausmas: The Christmas strips of ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' concentrate on Calvin's attempts to behave so that he gets all the presents he asked for. Semi-averted in one strip that has Calvin doubting the existence of Santa Claus (it should be noted that, while God is mentioned by Calvin quite often throughout the strip, Jesus isn't):

* StreetSmarts: Parodied in a very early strip, where Moe the bully is said to be "streetwise".

* StandardFiftiesFather: Calvin's Dad looks a bit like one of these, wearing [[TwoDecadesBehind an outdated suit]] to his job as a patent attorney, and trying to present an image of stern discipline and authority to his son. He's also the {{Trope Namer|s}} for MiseryBuildsCharacter. He occasionally subverts it by making up bizarre [[JustSoStory Just So stories]]. For example, he tells Calvin that the reason that old movies were in black-and-white is that the world was black-and-white then and that the sun sets each night in Arizona, which is why the rocks there are so red. He also practices cycling as a hobby, with a few strips focusing on his escapades.

* TwoDecadesBehind: While the strip wasn't particularly dated when it ran in TheEighties and TheNineties, and retains a timeless feel, there are some ways it seems more like something from TheSeventies or even earlier:

* WhenIWasYourAge: Spoofed in a Sunday strip in which Calvin [[ImagineSpot imagines himself]] as Spaceman Spiff being hauled off to a torture chamber by disgusting aliens. Spiff is surprised to find himself in an exact replica of his parents' living room, and one of the aliens announces that Spiff will be subjected to "a calm discussion of wholesome principles." The next panel shows a BigNo from Calvin in the "real world" as his father spouts various StandardFiftiesFather cliches. ("Yes, life is tough and [[MiseryBuildsCharacter suffering builds character]]! Nothing worth having ever comes easy! Virtue is its own reward" - and then the TropeNamer.)

* YouGetWhatYouPayFor: In one of the last story arcs, a pair of aliens buy the Earth from Calvin for fifty alien leaves, which are implied to be worthless on their planet. A few months later, they come back to Calvin to complain about the Earth's tilted axis, to which Calvin replies "let the buyer beware".

'''Calvin's Mom:'' I figured you'd lost your mind years ago.

'''Calvin:''' Here you go. (''tosses him a quarter'') That was worth 25 cents.

'''Calvin:''' (''hands over quarter'') Here you go. (''[[AsideComment to reader]]'') That was worth 25 cents.

** And when Moe is [[EnemyEatsYourLunch threatening Calvin for his lunch money]], Calvin states that he [[StealthInsult sees some]] [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness simian countenance]] in Moe's face. Moe is confused, and Calvin happily gives up the quarter while saying "That was worth 25 cents".

--->'''Hobbes:''' Your planes do tend to run into those, don't they?

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Happens twice during the formation of the Get Rid Of Slimy girlS club.
** When the duo tries to push the family car out of the garage to make room for their club, Calvin insists they don't ask for Mom's help because he doesn't want to bother her. When the car starts rolling toward the road, Hobbes' response is "I think your mom's going to be bothered."
** When the car rolls across a busy road and into a ditch on the other side, Hobbes is visibly relieved that it didn't hit any other cars... while Calvin's response is just a horrified "Hooray, we're dead."

* SufficientlyAdvancedBambooTechnology: Calvin's treasured cardboard box could be used (depending on its orientation) to transmogrify any creature into any other, [[CloningBlues duplicate]] a living thing, or even travel in time. Of course, these advances ''may'' have been all in Calvin's imagination...