History Literature / WearingTheCape

#''Joyeuse Guard'' is the 10th book. Hope [[and her new team (made mostly of her old team) deal with life as legal mercenaries]] and [[the Oz war continues]].

#''Joyeuse Guard'' is the 10th book. Hope and her new team (made mostly of her old team) deal with life as legal mercenaries and the Oz war continues.

#''Team-Ups and Crossovers'', is the seventh book and has Hope transported across multiple alternate realities while her friends try to rescue her.
#''Recursion'', is the eighth book and has Hope seemingly travel back in time three years to the aftermath of ''Wearing the Cape.''
#''Repercussions'', is the 9th book (8th in the Astra centered series) and Hope is now seeing what the future is shaping up to as the Big Book of Contingent Prophecies is passing into obsolescence.
#''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella set after Repercussions in which a visitor from a parallel reality joins the Corrigan family for the holidays.
#''Joyeuse Guard'', is the 10th book.

There are currently 7 novels and one short story.

#''Repercussions'', is the 9th book (8th novel) and Hope is now seeing what the future is shaping up to as the Big Book of Contingent Prophecies is passing into obsolescence.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Just after Astra came to the Webcomic/GrrlPower universe a villain began transforming cosplayers into their costume counterparts.

* FailedASpotCheck: One of the con attendees wanted to be transformed into Oryxarch. However he forgot the helmet so the costume wasn’t complete.

* SenselessSacrifice: Done twofold in ''"Team-Ups and Crossovers"''. The first Sydney tried to protect a cosplayer dressed as Maxima, however since she was [[ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself dressed as herself]] the beam that transformed people into their costume just passed through her. The second was when her JerkWithAHeartOfGold boyfriend attempted a HeroicSacrifice only for it to turn out to be a HomingProjectile.

* SureLetsGoWithThat: This was Astra’s response when Sydney asked her if she was an inversion of TrappedInTVLand ala Film/LastActionHero.

** ''Wearing the Cape'' begins with a terrorist attack that leaves bodies all over, the Sentinels are shown to have lost several members before the story begins, the murder of a street-level hero is casually alluded to, and finally, [[spoiler:in the attack on Whittier Base no less than three Sentinels die--including two main characters]].

* RealityEnsues:
** Hope/Astra is given a lesson in momentum and force and why it's a good idea to know how tough something is before you fly yourself into it like a missile. The book is actually full of little reality-checks, like superheroes getting warrants before going after supervillains, villains whose lawyers get the charges dropped, and strangers committing random acts of badness.
** In ''Small Town Heroes'', Blackstone points out that [[LetsYouAndHimFight heroes fighting other heroes]] is extremely rare, no matter what you see in the movies. Two CAI teams going head to head at the start of that book is not only a full-on PR disaster that calls in a massive internal affairs investigation, but also [[spoiler: a deliberately engineered plot by one of the teams to get boosted ratings for their reality show]].
** Speedsters regularly utilize vehicles, as being able to accelerate their own personal time doesn't mean they want to run for miles.
** Super strength still has to obey the laws of physics; Hope is tiny, so she just doesn't have the mass to move a three-hundred pound bruiser without a lot of leverage or force behind her swing. However, as an Atlas-type she ''does'' have a lot of leverage in the form of her {{Flight}}; she used it to stay rooted far more sturdily than her weight would normally allow. Though this turns out to be a CoverBlowingSuperpower, as there aren't that many Atlas-types of her power and size around.

* AGodAmI: The Ascendant believes that superhumans are gods meant to rule over and guide unpowered humanity, a belief he spreads through his organization "the Ascendancy." He is an interesting example in that he truly believes that they are supposed to be ''benevolent'' gods, and he tries to show mercy where he can. But the fact remains that he is perfectly willing to cause disasters that kill thousands of people just to get a handful of Breakthroughs.

* ArbitrarySkepticism: The Post-Event World is filling up with strangeness. Superheroes. Vampires. Sorcerers. Aliens. Gods and Goddesses. Ozma, Empress of Oz. When encountering an "emissary from Ganymede" or a Hermetic Magician who claims to have had an encounter with the fundamental Source of Reality, the reaction of many if not most citizens of the Western nations is "meh." Because obviously, whatever they may ''think'' they are, they're all just breakthroughs and some are more delusional than others, right? This is what lets the world's scientists sleep at not, but there's a great deal of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane going on, and it's implied that at least a few of these supernaturals are not actually delusional after all.

''Wearing the Cape'' is the first of a series of {{superhero}} novels by Marion G. Harmon. Its world is much like our own until sometime in the late 90's, when [[MassSuperEmpoweringEvent the Event]] created an {{alternate history}}. (The actual Divergence Point has to predate the Event; the Vice President on Event Day doesn't correspond to anyone who's actually held the office.) [[Main/{{MassSuperEmpoweringEvent}} The Event]] was a worldwide sensory blackout that lasted 3.2 seconds; everyone experienced those brief seconds of sensory deprivation, and when the world came back they found that the Event had also triggered a temporary but worldwide loss of power (known as the Blackout). Most importantly, however, the Event changed The Rules.

In the aftermath of the Event and the Blackout, as stalled and out-of-control cars and powerless planes turned freeways and cities into death-zones, a small percentage of people reacted to the trauma and danger by exhibiting superhuman powers. Called [[Main/{{MetaOrigin}} "breakthroughs"]], many of them exhibited powers similar to those of traditional comic-book superheroes, though others were patterned after older myths and some were just plain weird. The first recorded breakthrough, a Superman-knockoff who took the codename "Atlas", put on a jumpsuit and cape to do good in the days and weeks following the Event, setting the pattern for public-minded breakthroughs who followed. Much of the plot is driven by the separation between expectations and super-heroic reality as the main character, Hope Corrigan, gains superpowers and deals with all the changes in her life. Through her eyes, the reader sees the difference between media-driven stereotypes and the truth about the superhero profession.

The story takes place ten years after the Event, and an entire generation has grown up in a world of "superheroes." Unlike the heroes of the comics, however, Post-Event superheroes are certified, licensed, and regulated by state and local governments; most active heroes are members of Crisis Aid and Intervention teams and act as civilian contractors to city governments. While they do aid local police in responding to superhuman threats, mostly they act as Emergency Response Personnel. They also milk their own media-value for everything it's worth, using costumes and codenames to market their images (and sometimes to cover true secret identities). The presence of breakthrough powers is the only [[Main/{{MagicAIsMagicA}} fantastic element]] in the Post-Event world, which strives to be a [[Main/{{Deconstruction}} socially realistic]] setting, in that the story explores the political, legal, social, and personal issues created by the reality of people with superpowers. In general attitudes, the setting's superheroes resemble the more nuanced heroes of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks.

* GoodCostumeSwitch: Averted with [[spoiler: Riptide]]. Even after switching to the side of the angels, he still likes villain fashion.

* ZergRush: Flashmob. He can quickly produce temporary duplicates that appear with all of his equipment, weapons and ammo. The duplicates can make duplicates as well, up to a maximum of about twenty. Individually, they are just normal humans with guns, who pop out of existence in a few minutes. Collectively, they are a constantly regenerating twenty-man tactical team, with absolutely no sense of self-preservation.

** In ''Repercussions'', we find out that [[spoiler:the government invoked this. When a fan of the series (one of the only fans the series had) broke through, he turned into a copy of Max Fisher, but was in fugue because his environment didn't match his backstory. The DSA got him the job with faked credentials, and once he was in place he came out of his fugue and started acted normally. The DSA were ecstatic to have a skilled, immortal, incorruptible police detective on their side]].

* DarkIsNotEvil: Artemis is a vampire superhero.

* ActuallyNotAVampire: Vampire-Type
* AdaptiveAbility: Brian Lucas is a transformed A Class Darwin-Type (he “adapts” to his environment and opposition) who is potentially stronger than the strongest Ajax-Type.
* AffablyEvil: Discussed unlike TheMafia the {{Yakuza}} aren’t just [[TattooedCrook wise guys with tattoos]]. They have business cards. A local office listed in the phonebook. A public complaints department.
-->'''Jacky''': ''My date liked to brag—they even publicly support local charities and shrines, march in community festivals. He was in the last one, helped pull the family float.''
* AGodAmI: The Ascendant, and his organization "The Ascendancy," outright believe they are gods meant to rule over and guide unpowered humanity. Unlike most examples, however, they believe that they are supposed to be ''benevolent'' gods and try to show kindness and mercy, although they are perfectly willing to use lethal force when they need to, and the Ascendant has no problems with causing disasters that kill hundreds or thousands of people just to get a handful of breakthroughs.
* AmazonBrigade: The Eight Excellent Protectors, Japan’s premier all-female team. All of them are mega-pop idols, but whatever their individual power levels they’ve all gone through TrainingFromHell and have won their positions through TheSpartanWay.
* AmplifierArtifact: Quadling Country’s most valuable resource is radium. Not only does it enhance magic, many believe it has healthful properties and wear amulets of it on necklaces or bracelets.
* AnyoneCanDie: ''Wearing the Cape'' begins with a terrorist attack that leaves bodies all over, the Sentinels are shown to have lost several members before the story begins, the murder of a street-level hero is casually alluded to, and finally, [[spoiler:in the attack on Whittier Base no less than three Sentinels die--including two main characters]]. This only applies to the first book.
** FridgeBrilliance: From the second book onwards, [[BornLucky Seven]] is a member of the Sentinels and his supernatural luck can rub off on other people. As of yet, [[spoiler: no other Sentinels have died.]]
* ArbitrarySkepticism: The Post-Event World is filling up with strangeness. Superheroes. Vampires. Sorcerers. Aliens. Gods and Goddesses. Ozma, Empress of Oz. When encountering an "emissary from Ganymede" or a Hermetic Magician who claims to have had an encounter with the fundamental Source of Reality, the reaction of many if not most citizens of the Western nations is "meh." Because obviously, whatever they may ''think'' they are, they're all just breakthroughs and some are more delusional than others, right? Arbitrary Skepticism is what lets the Post-Event World's scientists and rationalists sleep at night, but there is no proof that the Everyone's a Breakthrough theory is, in fact, ''correct''.
* ArmorPiercingAttack: One of the KiManipulation breakthroughs Hope fought could do this allowing them to hurt her despite her durability.
* ArtificialLimbs: Rush's first prosthetic had been a simple cosmetic one, but when Vulcan joined the team he offered to replace it with a fully functional cybernetic hand.
* AttractiveBentGender: Kitsune can appear as a man or woman equally, both gorgeous.
* BaldOfAwesome: Ren Li-kai’s head is as bald and shiny as Cue Ball and Eight Ball’s
* BalkanizeMe: Happened to China as a result of a messy post-Event civil war.
* BetterAsFriends: Hope and Seven. Despite TheBigDamnKiss in "now or never" style from him in "Omega Night" and some ShipTease afterwards, Hope eventually decides on this for the time being.
* BarrierWarrior: Twist has Tactile Telekinesis. While he’s a powerful telekinetic he’s got zero range so he uses his TK to support his armor so that it works like military-grade PowerArmor.
** Balz has more run of the mill MindOverMatter abilities, but uses them to maintain a cloud of flying softball-sized spheres around himself that have a range of different abilities.

** Hope, who at the age of 18 stands less than 5 feet tall and is self-described as an "underdeveloped teenage Tinkerbell", is one of the [[FlyingBrick strongest superheroes on the planet]]. Also, though she spends a good deal of time worrying about accidentally hurting anyone, she opens an alarming can of Whupass at the end of the story.

* BittersweetEnding: Although the Sentinels beat the Big Bad, ''Wearing the Cape'' ends with a [[spoiler: state funeral for ''close to half the team]].'' The rest of the books tend to end on a more upbeat note, with the heroes usually saving the day and at least foiling the BigBad's plot.

* BouncingBattler: Harlequin can run faster by “bouncing” along.

* BrainUploading: The Teatime Anarchist saved Shelly’s life doing this.

* CapeBusters: The Department of Superhuman Affairs is the federal agency tasked with assessing superhuman threats to national security and assisting local authorities who can't deal with their superhuman problems. The DSA, with ties to the Secret Service, FBI, and US Marshals Service, and run by former US President Kayle—the man who created it—has a shadowy reputation and is every conspiracy theorist's Holy Grail.

* CastingAShadow: The lead drummer for Freakzone Blackout is a “supervillain” breakthrough capable of generating and controlling clouds of dark particles. He can concentrate these particles to create insubstantial shapes of pure darkness, or spread them wide to create vast clouds of obscuring mist.
* CatchPhrase: Rush is known for his trademark phrase “What’s the rush?”
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler: Presented as a simple anti-government terrorist at the beginning of ''Wearing the Cape'', The Teatime Anarchist turns out to be oh so much more. The full extent of his interference is apparently revealed at the end of the book, but more facets emerge in the later books, showing just how deep his influence went]].
* ChestInsignia: In Hope's world they are called "crests" and are adopted and copyrighted by superheroes for marketing purposes, even if their crests appear nowhere on their actual costumes.
* TheChosenMany: Hope Corrigan gains [[FlyingBrick Atlas-type powers]], making her one of ''dozens'' (although she ''is'' A-class--in the top 10% and therefore a hot commodity). After trying to dissuade her from taking up a superhero career, Atlas offers to train her and she joins the Sentinels as a probationary member while working on her certification.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Hope. Commented on several times.
* CityOfAdventure: Chicago is the post-Event Metropolis of the Wearing the Cape setting, with good reason; Atlas and the Sentinels created the template for superheroes and superhero teams, and with the Sentinels and the Guardians teams, the city has more superheroes per capita than any other city. Chicago is also the center of the Villain-Rap culture, which means the place is crawling with street-villains and fashion-villains. The Sentinels' reputation is also creating a problem, in that supervillain-terrorists and thrill-villains who want to make their reputations may target them and the city they protect (it has been noted that Chicago was the only freshwater port to get a godzilla attack).
* ClicheStorm: Jacky in ''Bite Me: Big Easy Nights'' [[InvokedTrope intentionally invokes]] as many vampire tropes as she can, sleeping in a coffin on native soil, wearing lots of black and goth-like clothes, even studying to become [[VampireDetectiveSeries a private detective]], so that she go undercover in the local "vampire" culture, who play it distressingly straight.
* CodeName: Most superheroes have codenames that are descriptive of their power or just cool-sounding. Atlas gives Hope the temporary codename "Astra", which he says is Latin for star. She keeps it, despite later finding out it's the plural form—star(s).

* CombatMedic: As the younger and more rebellious son, Ren Li-kai went off and became a doctor before he fell into the study of Daoism and returned to his family’s way.
* CombatPragmatist: While still idealistic, by the time of ''Ronin Games'' Astra has learned that there are times you just go for the win. In her fight with Heavenly Dragon (an actual Chinese dragon), when losing meant a plane full of life-saving vaccines would fall into the hands of flying pirates, she [[spoiler: ducked under his attack, grabbed hold, and carved her way through his belly to his spine]].
* CombatTentacles: Twist has a spool of heavy carbon-weave cable attached to each arm that he projects up to thirty feet and manipulates like whips. Or super-strong steel tentacles.
* TheCommissionerGordon: Max Fisher, the senior detective in the Chicago Police Department's superhuman-crimes division. A competent "normal" with secrets of his own.
* CoolGuns: Vulcans are variable-projectile electromagnetic guns, basically mini railguns
* CurbStompBattle: Astra nearly loses in her first hero/villain fight, against [[spoiler: Brick, a superstrong gang-banger supervillain]]--partly due to inexperience, but also due to [[spoiler: being handicapped by an intruding second supervillain]]. Later she gets a rematch and the fight is so one-sided [[spoiler: Brick]] doesn't land a single hit, as a dramatic way of showing how much she's progressed.

* EmbarrassingNickname: Atlas didn’t like his superhero name because it was based off of the DumbMuscle Greek titan

* FantasticDrug: Having a Vampire-Type drink your blood
* FantasticRacism: The Paladins call themselves patriots “preparing against the day that superhumans attempt to take over the country, steal America from its freedom-loving citizens, etc.,” but there is a deeply racist streak to their worldview. Since Mal’s AccidentalMurder involved a regular human being MurderIsTheBestSolution to them.

* GoodThingYouCanHeal: [[spoiler: Max Fisher. Twice.]]
* GreenThumb: The aptly named Green Man from ''Young Sentinels''. An eco terrorist with the ability to make plants grow at enormous speeds.
* HardHead: Astra reflects on this trope.
* HeelFaceTurn [[spoiler: Riptide]], superpowered gangbanger who assists the heroes after [[spoiler: the California earthquake]] and has joined the Chicago Sentinels in the 2nd book. Though he still dresses like a villain.
* HeroKiller: The serious hardcore supervillains don’t believe you are one of them until you’ve played this trope straight.

* HeroicBystander: A bartender is ready to be one in ''Small Town Heroes'', causing Hope much worry.
* HeroicBuild: Atlas, the setting's Superman character, wears a sculpted muscle-suit that mimics a Mister Atlas body. Elsewhere, Hope notes that not all superheroes can get away with spandex, and the Hollywood Knights are chosen not just for their powers but also for their physiques (often the result of personal trainers and plastic surgeons).
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Averted what Hope thought was some kind of neural attack meant to reflect the damage she inflicted on a building back at was actually a ki attack.
* HonoraryAunt: Atifa uses "Aunt Hope" and "Aunt Jacky".
* IHaveYourWife: Averted. Prior to Hope's breakthrough, a mobster murdered a superhero and his family with a car bomb. Shortly after that, several members of the mob family were found brutally murdered by an unknown breakthrough. Since then, organized crime figures in Chicago have an unspoken arrangement to not target any superhero's family.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Hope's best friend Shelly accidentally kills herself trying to get superpowers. [[spoiler:She gets better later.]]

* JapaneseDelinquents: This is essentially what Ronin are. Whether supervillains or vigilante mystery men of the American variety, most ronin were regarded as antisocial and unpatriotic criminals by most right-thinking Japanese.

* KiManipulation: Chi, ki, qi, focused life force however you spelled it, the go-to breakthrough power for eastern martial artist types.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: If the team had to fight a Defensenet team, they were commanded to break away and disappear. If that was impossible they were to surrender.

* LivingLieDetector: A government agent with the code-name [[MeaningfulName Veritas]] is noted to be able to know if anything (spoken, written, recorded etc) is true or not. This proves invaluable when Hope has to determine if she can afford to trust a certain person. Though it later turns out that [[spoiler: that he can only tell if the speaker/writer/etc. *believes* it is a lie. This allows him to be co-opted by the Dark Anarchist, who believes that what he's doing is the only way to protect humanity.]]
* LogicalWeakness: Since the elaser burns a path of ionized air to guide the stunning high-voltage, low-current electrical discharge it doesn’t work in the rain or in environments where there is a lot of water in the air.
* LovecraftianSuperpower: Grendel is permanently transformed into a gray and monstrous humanoid form which is the baseline for all his changes.
* MakeThemRot: Hope was hit with a devastating attack where her bones the tissue her left deltoid and trapezius muscles were, shredded by exploding ki-force from the inside essentially leaving part of her dead. Further more not only would the necrotic tissue will continue to poison her body if she wasn’t operated own but it negated her HealingFactor.

* MrsRobinson: Last year Mal’s neighbor who has been paying him to do her yard since middle school threw herself at him freaking him out so much he ran away.

* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Jacky/Artemis would like to inform you of just how much she ''can't stand'' most other vampires, and most classic vampire tropes. Considering her backstory- being stalked, nearly brainwashed, and forcibly turned by the VampireVannabe-turned-real-deal who murdered her parents - it's hard to blame her.

* NighInvulnerability: The Harlequin’s skin is the texture of latex, her bones the density of hard rubber, and she is almost immune to direct kinetic damage. She will bend and bounce back under an impact, whether from a fall or bullets or a hit from Astra, which would injure or kill a normal person.

* NonIndicativeName: The Dark Anarchist doesn't use darkness as a motif and isn't an anarchist (he wants to create a totalitarian government). [[spoiler: Astra gave him the nickname to reflect his status as EvilTwin of the Teatime Anarchist]].
* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: The media started giving all public breakthroughs codenames if they didn’t choose one for themselves first. After Aftershock and his gang decided to rob a bank, leading to the first superhero vs. supervillain fight between him and Atlas.

* OneSuperOnePowerset: Averted in ''Villains Inc.'', Astra finds herself outclassed and [[spoiler: consequently follows Ajax' example, leveling up by adding armor to her costume and even using Ajax' maul to increase her ability to Hit Things]].
* {{Otaku}}: Akihabara is the center of media-driven cape-fandom and cape fans are power-otaku
** East Shinjuku has become the center of the ronin-otaku subculture.
* OurMonstersAreDifferent: Breakthroughs are often shaped by the beliefs of the individual person. A person who became a [[OurWereWolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] may be a Loup-Garou, which is sort of a French bogeyman, or a Benendanti, a more benign creature from Italian folklore that fights evil witches.
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: A breakthrough is described as nothing more than an awakened soul, a monad that has deepened its connection with the universal oversoul.
* PaperThinDisguise: Hope's friends and Shelly's mom immediately recognize that she's Astra. As the latter indicates, no one who really knows her would be fooled by a domino mask. Indeed, it's been mentioned that it's relatively easy to figure out who's behind a mask, so most really just use them as part of the costume.
** when they later gain a magical way to obscure it, they find it rather fun that's it's nothing but a pair of glasses.
* PersonalityPowers (Justified): In the post-Event world, the psychological component of breakthroughs means that the powers of new-minted superhumans are seldom at odds with their personality types. Aggressive breakthroughs gain offensive powers, non-violent breakthroughs gain defensive powers, and so on.
* PowerAtAPrice: Ozma's Wishing Pills exact pain
* PsychicStatic: The trick to dealing with a mind reader is to let them see and hear only what you want them to with a mental soundtrack. Hope’s is Conquer or Die by Have No Fear.
** She also uses a technique to help her heal from tramatic memories taught to her by Doctor Mendell.
* RandomlyGifted: In Hope/Astra's world, the vast majority of superhumans are randomly gifted through the unpredictable survival mechanism of the Breakthrough. There are no publicly known exceptions. Children of breakthroughs are slightly more likely than the average person to also experience a breakthrough (although the odds of getting struck by lightning are still better). It should be noted that this does not mean the child inherits the parent's powers, as this also applies to children born ''before'' the Event.

** Speedsters regularly utilize vehicles as being able to accelerate their own personal time didn’t mean they wanted to run for miles.
** Sure Ajaxes are strong enough but Hope still only weighs as much as a goose. So when she went up against the three hundred pound Billy. Physics meant that no matter how strong she was, she can’t move a pile of bricks like him unless she has either leverage or a lot of force behind her swing
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Judge Halder while concerned that Artemis a former vigilante was joining the Sentinels ultimately just wanted her to make sure she obeyed the law.
* ReedRichardsIsUseless[=/=]TheSparkOfGenius: Verne-types (gadgeteers) are superhumans whose power is the ability to create Weird Science stuff--like powersuits and antigravity pods--but only for themselves; nothing can be mass-produced from the designs and formulas they create.
** Though capes have revolutionized disaster relief, as seen during the [[spoiler:California earthquake]], delivering aid far faster than would be possible in the real world and rebuilding advances at a very rapid pace. There's also Heroes Without Borders, which is a sizable organization dedicated to defying this trope and the Sentinels Verne-type spends much of his spare time making advanced prosthesis for amputees.

* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Lampshaded with Mal, whose explosive powers do not throw him around.
** The TimeStandsStill of speedster types. The sense of sight depends on photons striking the photo-receptor cells of the eyes—but light photons cannot move where there is no time for them to move in. Nor is there any reason for a speedster to be able to affect the air-molecules around him (as he does whenever he moves) any more than he can affect a door. The apparent explanation, is that the speedster brings an envelope of time with him, and that this time-field extends beyond his body to interact with the environment around him.
*** However it is noted that speedsters in Hypertime can stand in one place while breathing indefinitely, which they could not do if their field of Real Time affected only the air molecules near them, and they can continue to see without needing to continually move so that their field finds fresh light photons to give motion to. In other words, Hypertime only appears to be time-frozen; the reality is far more complex, and there is no explanation for why large-scale objects (doors) are frozen where small-scale objects (oxygen atoms and light photons) are not.
*** Laser beams, electrical discharges, and other forms of energy projection attacks—which are more organized patterns of small-scale objects—do, in fact, freeze in Hypertime.

* RidiculouslyHumanRobot: Galatea is a chrome gynoid (female android) robot creation of Vulcan’s. She is variously a low-sentience AI and a drone shell for Shelly to “pilot.” Her configuration is subject to change and she has various modular add-ons like micro-missile racks and boot and pack jets, and she has been destroyed several times. The public generally just thinks of her as a humanoid drone, and fans endlessly debate who her pilot is.
* {{Ronin}}: Historically, a masterless samurai (lit., a wave-man). Outside the political power-structure, ronin lived as mercenaries and bodyguards, or as outlaws and robbers when work could not be found. In Post-Event Japan “ronin” is slang for Active Non-Government Powers (ANGPs), freelance superhumans, criminal or otherwise, who use their powers without government sanction.
* RubberMan: The Harlequin’s body was permanently transformed to a rubber-like substance after an accident when she was an acrobat and aerialist in the Cirque du Soliel.

** Some super-teams, such as the Hollywood Knights, are unionized and have a maximum number of hours they can work before they have to "clock out". As Seven explains to Astra, it's a necessary evil because otherwise, superheros can get exhausted and start making costly mistakes. Astra notes that when you're an Atlas-type, you're *always* operating heavy equipment.
* SecretIdentity: Secret identities are optional and a lot of superheroes in ''Wearing The Cape'' don't bother with them. Some have undergone physical transformations that make secret identities impossible, but many also had public breakthroughs that "outed" them from the start. Others just find them too much of a pain in the butt to maintain for the few benefits they give. One variation on traditional secret identities is a legal second identity, established with the help of the government, much like that of witnesses in the Witness Protection Program.

* StatusQuoIsGod: Averted heavily. Hope goes through her own changes, especially in the early books, but Shelly is probably the most extreme example of averting this trope. In ''Wearing the Cape'', she [[spoiler: comes back as a "quantum-ghost" AI]]. In ''Villains Inc.'' she [[spoiler: gets herself a robot-body so she can be more than virtual]]. In ''Young Sentinels'' she [[spoiler: loses the body, and gets ''split'', becoming Shell (her "old" quantum-self) and Shelly (a flesh-and-blood copy)]]. In ''Small Town Heroes'' [[spoiler: Shell and Shelly begin displaying signs of some kind of gestalt-mind]]. In ''Ronin Games'' she is [[spoiler: temporarily transformed into a cat, and then hitches a ride with Hope to the High Plane of Heaven, where she decides to hang out for a while (no knowing yet if any of that has permanently changed her in any way)]].

* {{Stripperiffic}}: Played with. In the post-Event setting, superhero costumes are flamboyant but practical...in the field. It has been mentioned that many young and fashionable superheroes have much less practical club-versions of their costumes for partying, and superhero-cosplayers dress much more stripperiffically.

* SuperheroesWearTights: because -- superheroes wear tights! Atlas's identity was public from the beginning, but he donned a uniform, a mask, and a code name, so that people would slot him in the cubbyhole "superhero" and not be so unnerved. Others followed suit. Post-Event superheroes consciously model themselves after comic-book heroes, and this extends to their wardrobes so tights are common among heroes with the physiques to wear them. But in the Sentinels alone, Astra starts with a shorts-and-vest costume, then a skirt, and finally in ''Villains Inc.'' a reinforced LeotardOfPower [[note]]which she complains makes her feel like she has a permanent wedgie[[/note]] and tights, Atlas wears a leather jumpsuit, Blackstone wears a tuxedo, Chakra wears a tribal dancer outfit, Ajax wears body-armor, etc. The only Sentinel in tights throughout is The Harlequin, because that's part of a traditional harlequin costume.
* {{Synchronization}}: Mind Reading is more this then a MindProbe that allows you to rifle through someone’s memories like a computer file index. It’s like planting cameras in a room and then watching remotely as the room’s occupants put on a show.
* TakeAThirdOption: In the wake of The Event, most countries had either adopted some variant of the American Model—where cities and states hired superhumans as contractors—or outright drafted tactically useful superhumans into military and government service. The second option hadn’t worked out too well for most places that tried it, but Japan had created its own third option a SuperRegistrationAct. Mandatory registration and training, but voluntary government service

* TimeStandsStill: Speedster types like Rush don’t actually have SuperSpeed but the ability to accelerate their own personal time in relation to the time experienced by the rest of the universe. This ability is subject to an apparent speed-limit of ten experiential seconds per second of “Real Time.” Beyond this, some speedsters can step into a world of frozen time, in which the only “time” is what they have brought with them. Speedsters in Hypertime can move through this time-frozen world, but not affect it. They can run (or ride) across town but not open doors; they can dodge bullets, but not take the gun from the shooter’s hand (or strike the shooter with any effect). And so Hypertime has been described as a parallel reality lacking the dimension of time.
* ThemeNaming: The Eight Excellent Protectors have an atmospheric symbolism and all of its members superhero names reflect that even though they have nothing to do with their powers.
** The names are Kaminari, Kochi, Seifu, Kitakaze, Minamikaze, Raitoningu, Taifu, and Arashi. They mean thunder, the east, west, north, and south winds, lightning, typhoon, and storm.

* VampireDetectiveSeries: Heavily averted. While Artemis/Jacky seems to display all of the outward tropes of a vampire detective in the Big Easy, she 1.) Has no drama related to her sire ([[spoiler: she staked him, burned him to ash, and scattered him on Lake Michigan the first chance she got]]), 2) Has acquired no unrequited love interest ([[spoiler: unless you count the Master of Ceremonies, who may be pursuing ''her'']]), and 3.) Has only displayed one flashback so far--a post-rape trauma induced one, and she [[spoiler: later killed the man who induced it]]. Rather than becoming a PI as some sort of atonement, she seems to revel in the opportunity it provides to "stick it" to other vampires and supernaturals who step out of line.
* WarriorMonk: Ren Li-kai’s family are the hereditary priests of a temple to Guanyin Dashi.
* WeaponForIntimidation: Astra now carries Ajax' huge battle-maul. Partly because it really does help her hit harder, but mostly because a five-foot-nothing girl who doesn't weigh 100lbs soaking wet looks more intimidating when carrying a weapon that weighs more than she does.
* WingedHumanoid: Ten has razor sharp wings and can fly at near-invisible speeds
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: Most superhumans who can make a career out of their powers, and even the superheroes are working for big paychecks. The more successful ones are idolized, with their own merchandise lines, fan-clubs, and even TV shows fictionalizing their adventures. This doesn't mean they're all in it for the perks—just that a superhero career can be financially rewarding.
* WouldNotShootACivilian: explicitly invoked when discussing why the mob does not go after superheroes in their private identities.

#''Repercussions'', is the 9th book (8th novel) and Hope is now seeing what the future is shaping up to as the Big Book is passing into obsolescence.''

* AmazonBrigade: The Eight Excellent Protectors Japan’s premier all-female team. All of them are mega-pop idols, but whatever their individual power levels they’ve all gone through TrainingFromHell and have won their positions through TheSpartanWay.

* JackOfAllTrades: The Harlequin is a trained martial artist and marksman, and is also the Sentinel’s field medic publicity and marketing coordinator, which she does with Alex Chandler.

* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: Hope gains the Atlas-typepower set, [[FlyingBrick enabling her to outfly jets, bench-press buses, and take direct hits from military ordinance.]] So the first thing she does is go into intensive, fight-club style training so she has a chance against all the ''other'' Atlas-types out there.

A roleplaying game for the setting, using the FATE system (used on games such as ''TabletopGame/TheDresdenFiles'') and written by Harmon, [[http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product_info.php?products_id=210012&affiliate_id=35526&src=rpgnetND has been released]].

* BetterAsFriends: Hope and Seven. Despite a "now or never" style BigDamnKiss from him in "Omega Night" and some ShipTease afterwards, Hope eventually decides on this for the time being.

* SuperheroPackingHeat: Discouraged; it's a (mostly) unspoken rule that capes wield "classical" weapons, high-tech weapons, and/or their own powers, ''not'' conventional firearms. Artemis uses guns, but after joining the Sentinels she switches over to high-tech stun guns when on actual team business.

* SelfDuplication: Redux type superhumans. Examples include Platoon, who duplicates himself permanently on a regular basis (there are implied to be dozens of him), and the supervillain Flash Mob, who can make 20 or so temporary duplicates.

** Some super-teams, such as the Hollywood Knights, are unionized and have a maximum number of hours they can work before they have to "clock out". As Seven explains to Astra, it's a necessary evil because otherwise, superheros can get exhausted and start making costly mistakes.