Recap / Calvin And Hobbes Stupendous Man Takes Calvins Test

Calvin brings a mysterious item in a paper bag to school, saying it contains something that might help him take a history exam. It turns out to be his Stupendous Man mask and cape, and Calvin's superhero alter ego takes Calvin's test for him.

Tropes

• Aborted Arc: When Susie pesters Calvin about what his paper bag contains, Calvin eventually says that it's a severed head that will act as an oracle to give him the answers on the exam. It's possible he was just lying and trying to gross Susie out so she'd leave him alone, but whatever's inside the bag is shown calling Susie a booger brain. So when Calvin goes to get the bag and pulls out his Stupendous Man costume, it feels like the severed head plan was ditched mid-arc.
• All for Nothing: Calvin gets into trouble at school and his with mom for his Stupendous Man stunt, this time having his costume taken away, and flunks the test, which was the only reason why he brought the Stupendous Man costume out in the first place.
• And Knowing Is Half the Battle: Calvin tells his peers "Always brush your teeth" before leaving class as Stupendous Man.
• Battle Discretion Shot: After Calvin returns without his costume, his attempts to avoid being dragged to the principal office are off panel. The only clues as to how physical it gets are Calvin's protests, written sound effects and a desk getting thrown in the air.
• Bystander Syndrome: Invoked. Calvin pleads with his class to take his side during his scuffle with Miss Wormwood, but no one intervenes.
  Susie: When Mom asks me how my day at school was, I always just say, "Fine" and change the subject.
• Call-Back: The entity inside Calvin's bag refers to Susie as a 'booger brain', which is the exact same insult Calvin threw at Susie in an arc from 1987, which genuinely hurt her feelings.
• Did Not Think This Through: Once again, Calvin's plan is dependent on people not knowing that Stupendous Man is just Calvin in a superhero costume. The costume is still nothing more than a domino mask and cape. No one falls for it, and Calvin gets in trouble.
• Doomed Moral Victor: After Calvin gets in trouble, Hobbes asks him if Stupendous Man has ever won a battle. Calvin claims they're all moral victories.
• Fun with Acronyms: When Calvin makes his grand entrance from his locker, he starts introducing himself by spelling out 'stupendous', and using each letter as the first letter of a phrase meant to describe himself. He doesn't know how to spell stupendous, so he never gets to the end.
• Help, I'm Stuck!: Calvin traps himself inside his locker while changing into Stupendous Man.
  Calvin: Hmm... This is a real job for Stupendous Man! (kicks locker five times before giving up) Heck, this may even be a job for the custodian.
• Madness Mantra: Miss Wormwood when she goes into the hallway to look for Calvin.
  Miss Wormwood: Five years until retirement. Five years until retirement.
• Put on a Bus: After Calvin makes a scene with the Stupendous Man costume at school, Calvin's mom takes it away. The costume does get one last one-off appearance in 1995, though.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: Calvin has it particularly bad in this arc. He gets stuck in his locker while changing into his Stupendous Man costume, Miss Wormwood drags him kicking and screaming to the principal's office, and his costume gets confiscated by his mother. After everything has blown over, he tells Hobbes that he flunked the test.
• Stuffed into a Locker: Self-inflicted when Calvin changes into his Stupendous Man costume from his locker and is unable to open it from the inside.
• Super-Intelligence: Calvin uses Stupendous Man's alter-ego to blaze through a test. Doesn't work.
• Super-Strength: When Calvin can't find the handle from inside of his locker, he tries using Stupendous Man's strength to pound his way out. This also doesn't work.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: On top of getting in trouble with both the school and his mom, Calvin flunks the test. He doesn't actually have stupendous knowledge, and him rapidly scribbling out random history terminology on the exam isn't going to produce correct answers.