History ComicBook / PS238

* PunctucatedForEmphasis: [[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/09242012/ That. Was. AWESOME!!!]].

* PowersViaPossession: Satori

* StrawCharacter / PompousPoliticalPundit: Jenny (American Eagle) and Dillon (USA PATRIOT Act) both sound like they learned how to speak from political sound bites and 24-hour news channels. Neither one's backing party is explicitly identified, though Dillon's dialogue would fit comfortably with a conservative Republican, while Jenny reads like a conservative Democrat. It's implied that this is completely an act for the cameras, though; when out on his own, Dillon is quiet, reserved and thoughtful.

* TooMuchInformation: The kids' reaction to the explanation of the toilet facilities during their field trip to the moon. [[http://ps238.nodwick.com/?p=235 EEEEEEWWWW!]]

* PickyEater: One of the Emerald Gauntlets apparently does not like Chinese food. Which is how the younger one knows about TakeAThirdOption.

* HerCodeNameWasMarySue: When the pupils are reading their creative writing assignments, Dylan's story features a very handsome and powerful version of himself defeating Victor's father and saving the world, while his rival Jenny is completely useless. It ends abruptly when Jenny and Victor sets his essay on fire.

* SpoofAesop: In the ''ComicStrip/Nodwick'' crossover.

* AcademyOfEvil: Praetorian Academy is a private school for metahumans that's not publicly traded, looks regimented and militaristic, dresses its students up in uniforms and faceless masks and gives them codenames, and its headmaster is a shadowy, enigmatic figure. [[spoiler:Subverted, as the intent behind it involves anything ''but'' releasing more supervillains into the wild.]]

** Also the subject of a story arc, when [[spoiler:Von Fogg starts using ([[EvenEvilHasStandards uninhabited]]) alternate universes as fuel sources for a machine that basically makes him omniscient, while destroying universes in the process. Von Fogg targets a universe that Zodon had disguised as uninhabited, due to the fact that Zodon hid his birth parents there.]]

* MysteryMeat: According to Prospero the food in the cafeteria is evolving. According to Malphast it's amazing how readily it animates into a homunculus.
* {{Nanomachines}}: [[spoiler:The "ghost" of Aurora.]]

-->'''[[RealityWarper Toby]]:''' "The Bolt?" Don't you need lightning powers for that name?
-->'''Clothing-Monster:''' Like a ''bolt'' of ''cloth,'' you uneducated child!

* CloningBlues: Averted. [[spoiler:Tyler's clone gets a name (Toby), develops cosmic powers, and is adopted by his parents, who are delighted -- to the point where Tyler is worried they'll like his new "brother" better.]] However, [[spoiler:Cecil rejects Toby, though he remains close friends with Tyler. It also helps that Toby feels BAD for Tyler, and attempts to assist Tyler whenever he can]].

** ''In''verted in [[spoiler: Zodon's space-station "son" and the Argosian starship. Both were built by outright jerkasses but turned out to be quite amiable and willing to help, and they generally just keep themselves out of the way whenever they aren't needed.]]

** Also the subject of a story arc, when [[spoiler: Von Fogg starts using ([[EvenEvilHasStandards uninhabited]]) alternate universes as fuel sources for a machine that basically makes him omniscient, while destroying universes in the process. Von Fogg targets a universe that Zodon had disguised as uninhabited, due to the fact that Zodon hid his birth parents there.]]

--> ''Alexandria'': I hope you've got a place for all this juice, or I'm going to need a good '''dry cleaner''' if I ever want to wear this uniform again.

** American Eagle and Patriot Act also act like this on-camera. [[spoiler: Off-camera, however, Patriot Act is surprisingly reserved and thoughtful.]]

* DrunkWithPower: Subverted. [[spoiler: Victor von Fogg]] obtains a machine that grants ultimate power over the shape of the universe, but it also grants him perspective. He is frustrated that he is incapable of doing anything evil with it.

** Deconstructed as being a F.I.S.S. (flight, invulnerability, strength and speed). This package is so common that F.I.S.S. heroes are given a number, and often know their number without much thought. Julie, one of the current [=PS238=] students, is number 84, which ties into her character development greatly, especially when she [[spoiler: inspires a huge number of F.I.S.S. heroes to take their numbers as hero names, and she ends up accidentally founding the Infinity Vanguard, a super-hero group primarily for Flying Bricks.]]

* ParentalNeglect: Tyler. His parents largely ignore him for the majority of the plot, later [[spoiler: forgetting about him completely in favor of his actually super-powered clone-slash-brother, Toby. Toby is the only one who actually cares for Tyler at all, and actually attempts to help him at several points, including when Tyler was stuck on the Argosian starship millions of lightyears from home. Toby replaced Tyler with a construct that was implied to be barely anything like Tyler, and acted "Odd". The worst part? HIS PARENTS NEVER NOTICED.]]
** Sadly, and unsurprisingly, this seems to apply to many super-heroes and their children, with the only exceptions being Julie, whose parents are just normal people, and the Emerald Gauntlet family, who apparently makes a point NOT to be. Particularly egregious is Atlas towards his son, Ron, which leads to [[spoiler: Ron's parents divorcing, which he believes is his fault.]]

* ThirdPersonPerson: Tyler slips into this once, when [[spoiler: confirming that he, as Moon Shadow, is going to stop Charles]]. It marks his transition from being an ActionSurvivor to a BadassNormal.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Tyler, possibly. His parents are pretty much in denial about him not having powers for a long time, and when [[spoiler: his clone brother Toby gets powers, they completely ditch Tyler by the wayside to focus all their attention on Toby. A later scene implies that they FORGOT TYLER'S NAME. This might make up at least SOME of his reasoning in training under the Revanent]].

!!Tropes:

* GlamourFailure: Zodon attempts to adjust his personal hologram to impersonate an adult, so that [[spoiler:he can play blackjack in Vegas]]. Instead, he retains his "kid" form, but [[BodyHorror stretches his face until it's four feet high.]] Hilariously, [[FailedASpotCheck he doesn't seem to notice]] until someone points it out to him.
** Zodon has problems with this. At first, his hologram was calibrated incorrectly, making it look like he was putting food down his shirt while he was eating.

* CloningBlues: Averted. [[spoiler:Tyler's clone gets a name (Toby), develops cosmic powers, and is adopted by his parents, who are delighted -- to the point where Tyler is worried they'll like his new "brother" better.]] However, [[spoiler:Cecil rejects Toby, though he remains close friends with Tyler]].

** Deconstructed as being a F.I.S.S. (flight, invulnerability, strength and speed). This package is so common that F.I.S.S. heroes are just given a number. Julie, one of the current [=PS238=] students, is number 84.

* StrawCharacter / PompousPoliticalPundit: Jenny (American Eagle) and Dillon (USA PATRIOT Act) both sound like they learned how to speak from political sound bites and 24-hour news channels. Neither one's backing party is explicitly identified, though Dillon's dialogue would fit comfortably with a conservative Republican, while Jenny reads like a conservative Democrat.

* AIIsACrapshoot: Averted. Human [=AIs=], like Doctor Positron, exist and they're all perfectly nice. The only exception was Prospero's robot companion, which was implied to have gotten damaged in the crash. [[spoiler:TheSingularity is pretty nice too, for an omnipotent extradimensional AI. Think of it as a sort of omnipotent schoolteacher with a somewhat quirky sense of humour.]]
** Especially inverted in [[spoiler: Zodon's space-station "son" and the Argosian starship. Both are quite amiable and willing to help, and they generally just keep themselves out of the way whenever they aren't needed.]]
* AlternateUniverse: Tyler sees a few alternate versions of himself in the Castle Beyond Time and Space. One is a JerkassWoobie who is one of the most powerful people on the planet but has a hair-trigger temper, another is more along the lines of what his parents wanted (but lives in a world conquered by aliens), and the third is a ridiculously powerful telepath who accidentally turned the human race into a benevolent HiveMind he himself is unable to join, making him the last individual on Earth.
** Also the subject of a story arc, when [[spoiler: Vonfogg starts using ([[EvenEvilHasStandards uninhabited]]) alternate universes as fuel sources for a machine that basically makes him omniscient, while destroying universes in the process. Vonfogg targets a universe that Zodon had disguised as uninhabited, due to the fact that Zodon hid his birth parents there.]]

** American Eagle and Patriot Act also act like this on-camera.

** Between metahumans and normal people. According to Revenant, Tyler's own parents have expressed the (frankly rather ugly) opinion that non-metas have no business trying to change the world, despite making up the majority of the world. It puts their relationship to their son in an uncomfortable light.

** Also the subject of a story arc, when [[spoiler: Vonfogg starts using ([[EvenEvilHasStandards uninhabited]]) alternate universes as fuel sources for a machine that basically makes him omniscient, while destroying universes in the process. VonFogg targets a universe that Zodon had disguised as uninhabited, due to the fact that Zodon hid his parents there.]]

** Also the subject of a story arc, when [[spoiler: VonFogg starts using ([[EvenEvilHasStandards uninhabited]]) alternate universes as fuel sources for a machine that basically makes him omniscient, while destroying universes in the process. VonFogg targets a universe that Zodon had disguised as uninhabited, due to the fact that Zodon hid his parents there.]]