History Characters / CityOfHeroes

* PsychicPowers: Applied much more massively than Sister Psyche in order to keep Emperor Cole in power and reduce crime.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: An interesting, border-line [[InvertedTrope inversion]] which is touched on in the main page but will be elaborated here: While she can summon her pets fully upgraded, something PC Master Minds cannot do until level 32, she lacks her two second tier pets (which a player can skip but it is not advised given that the second tier pets are often very strong in most MM sets, especially demon summoning), and can only summon two of her first tier pets, something that is IMPOSSIBLE for Master Minds who took their first tier pet to not achieve, even at the level you first encounter.

%%* WhipItGood

%%* WhipItGood: Her weapon of choice.

* SuperpowerLottery: All of them got their abilities in various different ways - Statesman from a magical MacGuffin, Sister Psyche’ from random in-born mutation, Manticore from training with a retired special agent - his nanny, Synapse from being experimented on by a MadScientist, Positron from technological innovation, Citadel from being built this way, and Numina from a last-resort spell.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: They have very different personalities and perspectives, there are only two things that unite most of them - A desire to defend the public, and contempt for Statesman as their leader.

** Position follows Statesman’s lead but morally is neutral to the idea, at first. [[spoiler: He makes an exception for Darrin Wade after Statesman is killed, though he still says to just go for an arrest if Darrin actually co-operated, but otherwise green-lights lethal force so he doesn’t lose any-other Phalanx members]].

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: He has saved the world so many times what was the greatest day of other heroes’ lives is just another day for him - leading to embarrassment that he frequently forgets working with other specific heroes.

* FireForgedFriendship: He and Sister Psyche’ are close despite his ego and her snark due to being assigned as super-human partners during WWII.

-->'''Statesman:''' "I...don't care...what anyone...says about...invulnerability... THAT HURT!"

* ItsAllAboutMe: An unusually noble example - He tries to take on the problems of the world. Since he is a literal Demi-God, he feels this is only proper... but that also means he does not innately consider the rest of his team's capabilities.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Inverted - To Lord Recluse as it turns out. Lord Recluse doesn't just hate him, he ''needs'' to hate him.

* NighInvulnerable: Statesman can shrug off a '''MASSIVE''' amount of damage - including a nuclear warhead to the face, he still feels pain - but only past a certain point of force used. The only things that can hurt him are magic and psionics and even then, those just injure him, the only thing that is lethal to him is another Incarnate (demi-gods or higher). He needs a team for the non-brute-force and world-level-threats, otherwise he could handle everything put in front of him solo.
* NotBloodSiblings: Marcus marries his all but official foster-sister - one of the various things that his all but official foster-brother finds infuriating about him. Perhaps it can be chalked-up to Statesman being the new incarnation of Zeus.
* ThePerfectionist: Notoriously hard to work with because of his demand for perfection as both public defenders and moral compasses. It is due to this that his own team-mates consider him the [[VitriolicBestBuds friend they love to hate]] and his child-hood best friend/foster brother grew to hate him so much he became a super-villain just to spite him.

* SlaveToPR: After his wife was arrested for property damage over the course of basic super-hero work, he became a lot more careful about how hard he punched baddies. When public outcry got her pardoned he realized how important appealing to the public was. Now he always stops to answer reporters, stops by schools to give pep-talks to kids and absolutely forbids his team from using lethal force. [[spoiler: Well, he used to...]]
* StandardizedLeader: The very core of his concept. He's an unpleasable, kill-joy with a conservative moral code - yet a paragon for Paragon.

* ThouShaltNotKill: A slight subversion of the usual trope, in that Statesman has this policy, but ''has'' killed people before, however it was either in a literal war, or unintentional. In further subversion his staunch policy against taking human life is not merely about morality but P.R. - The Freedom Phalanx would be second-guessed every time they arrived on the scene if the public knew they were pro-lethal force.

Ultimately, this proved to be Sister Psyche's undoing, however - an imprint of Aurora Borealis remained within Sister Psyche's mind and with support from her former sidekick Malaise it sought to break free. With her psychic powers raging out of control and threatening everyone in Paragon, Psyche told her husband to kill her to stop it.

* FireForgedFriendship: With Statesman, due to their assigned time together as a super-human-tag-team during WWII. It’s the main reason for both her loyalty and her piss-taking of him, they’re war-buddies.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Frequently criticizes the other members of the Freedom Phalanx, [[TheSnarkKnight snarks as effortlessly as she breaths]], and has no ethical problems making people who piss her off forget how to form words for a couple of days, but aside from the super-heroine thing she also does community work and volunteers in her off hours.

* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead / PowerIncontinence: She can read your thoughts without even trying- No, literally! In-fact she needs to go through great efforts to ''not'' use this power 24/7, which would emotionally overload her.

* GoneHorriblyRight: Yeah Crey, strap a guy down, torture him for days on end, in hopes of giving him super-powers. It's not like he would hold that against you or anything right? Right?!

* SuperSpeed: It's not just a travel power. Synapse is unique in that his Super-Speed is ALWAYS on, even in combat and with no endurance drain.
* TraumaButton: Crey.
* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening: Courtesy of Crey Industries.
* UnwittingTestSubject: And not the least bit happy about it.

* HappilyMarried: To Sister Psyche.

* TheLancer: Possibly to Statesman.

* ShootTheDog: Generally in-favor of this toward violent criminals but is willing to arrest them for the sake of his team-mate's sensibilities.
** [[spoiler:...sensibilities he will however completely ignore when his wife is killed (or rather has to be killed by him). There is no-way he intended to let Darrin Wade or Malaise go with jail-time]].

* JediMindTrick
* MassHypnosis

* {{Necromancer}}: A very rare variant, not only is she a heroine in a case of DarkIsNotEvil, but she uses manipulation over the forces of death to ward them away and function as a healer.
** It is also why she could astral-project in the first place allowing her to live on as a "sorta ghost" after her death.
* OfficialCouple: With Positron.

* MoralityChain: For Manticore. If Back Alley Brawler wasn't around, Manticore would have gone full lethal-super-hero.

* SmallStepsHero: He deliberately ignores the big crazy villains to go around retrieving purses, stopping home-invasions and arresting muggers. Anyone who has ever been to Steel Canyon or Skyway City will attest to how many muggers they need to pass over to stop the super-villain of the day, so someone has to stop them. Calls in the current Freedom Phalanx members if can't afford to stop his pursuit of a local drug dealer to go after that dooms-day device he passed on the way.

* ThouShaltNotKill: Darkly subverted. When Manticore decides kill the guy who murdered his parents, Back Alley Brawler kills (or thinks he kills) the guy so Manticore can't. Back Alley Brawler thinks super-heroes shouldn't have to kill anyone, which is why he is semi-retired - he has had to kill people.

* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: A very liberal variation - The Clockwork King thinks of her as his daughter, then again he also thinks of himself as a scientist.

Real name Monica Cole née Richter. The first member to sign-up to work with Statesman, thus forming the Freedom Phalanx. Lord Recluse’s sister. She became Statesman’s wife shortly after she became a super-heroine. Owner of The Girdle of Hera, before it was passed down to her daughter, Miss Liberty, and then her granddaughter, Ms. Liberty.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: Played with - in that this applies to her run in with the legal system, but not the actual citizens. She was arrested for property damage, trespassing and “interfering with police business” and various other technical laws all super-heroes would break; However public out-cry was so fierce police and politicians had to re-write certain laws to get her off.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: She is dead at launch, but her existence is why legal exceptions were written into law for super-heroes and why the public takes to them with enthusiasm.
* TheGhost: We almost never see her, as she passed away before the events of the game, save in a brief... ?vision?, in the ''Who Will Die'' arc, but she is both famous and an important piece of lore for how this world works in relation to super-heroes.

* HeartBrokenBadass: Her [[spoiler:mother/the original Miss Liberty]] is killed as a prerequisite to the events of ''Who Will Die'' and despite being torn up about it, she holds down the fort while her grandpa flies off to mourn.
** As of the ''main'' events of ''Who Will Die'' though, when [[spoiler:her grand-dad]] is killed, she has shifted over from putting on a brave-face, to TranquilFury.

* WellDoneDaughterGal: She feels obligated to do her mother and grand-mother, proud as she inherited her enchanted girdle from them. In particular she is committed to making her grandfather proud, as he not only retrieved the girdle in the first place, but is still alive, well and an active super-hero, whom she tries to live up to.

* GrandTheftMe / SharingABody: She was originally used as Sister Psyche's replacement body though Psyche seems to have intentionally given her a say in the process.

* MentalFusion: Originally.
* RedOniBlueOni: Red Oni to Psyche's Blue Oni.
* SmashSisters: With Sister Psyche'.

* SecretRelationship: '''Strongly''' implied between her and Synapse.
* WolverineClaws / FemmeFatalons: With the former being in the game and the later being in the comic.

* DeathByOriginStory: Almost literally. Her parents were attacked and carried off specifically to get to the magical assets they were sitting on - their magical prodigy daughter of-course being the most valuable to them.
* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Technically both parents are just "[[HesJustHiding missing]]". Super-powers and missing parents are her central motivation for fighting crime.

Son of Lilitu - queen of the hells. He was lost traveling between worlds to confront her and wound up on Earth. He has become Numina's apprentice.

* HalfHumanHybrid: Human/demon.

* ArtificialIntelligence: Can reason, make her own directives and form ethics. Though she still has minor issues with emotions.

* SueDonym: Real name Valerie Kellum.

* SplitPersonalityTakeover: Both heroes and villains will encounter Malaise while he is off his psychic meds.
** In the ''Who Will Die'' arc we see a final re-emergence of crazy Malaise, after what happens to Sister Psyche' though, that time no one was giving him a chance to go back on his meds.

* GunsAkimbo: If her name isn't a big enough hint.

* FakeMemories: Proton's future is in-fact Praetoria, Mother Mayhem has just altered his memories to view it as a different time, he thinks he has gone back in time when he crossed into a less technologically advanced reality.

* SixthRanger: The only one to join in later than you, and wasn't properly invited into the group beforehand. In fact, counting yourself as a Shining Star--the fifth member to join, specifically--makes Grym a ''literal'' SixthRanger.

Arachnos is a former Italian assassin guild, originally run by an enigmatic figure called The Weaver. Recluse joined and shifted it more towards megalomaniacal goals, then had The Weaver killed when he messed up an operation; On that day Recluse became ''Lord'' Recluse and has fully re-worked them to a world power. Go to the [[Characters/CityOfHeroesEnemyGroups Groups page]] for the organization as a whole, but these are super-villains who make-up it’s upper chain of command.

* CoDragons: Ghost Widow, Captain Mako, Scirocco and Black Scorpion are all of the same rank as Arachnos Patrons - And Lord Recluse has specifically assigned them as such, so they will be too busy competing against each other to ever effectively pull a StarScream.
* DoWrongRight: All of them utterly despise hack-evil-doers - Ghost Widow, Black Scorpion and Captain Mako out of pride, Lord Recluse and Scirocco out of pragmatism.

* FiveManBand / ThePsychoRangers:
** BigBad - Lord Recluse.
** DarkChick - Ghost Widow.
** TheStarscream - Captain Mako.
** TheBrute - Black Scorpion.
** EvilGenius - Scirocco - dynamic-wise. (Lord Recluse is actually smarter)

* MutuallyAssuredDestruction: Each of the five hates at-least 3/4 of the others. It keeps them from teaming up against the others and if any-one member tried to strike against another the other four would dog-pile the offending party assured killing them would be validated at that point.

* AwesomeByAnalysis: Mainly how he applies his Super Intelligence - Uses a PsychicLink HiveMind to analyze the battle-field from hundreds of first-person perspectives, then give his troops detailed orders for moment-by-moment action. As he can think faster and more accurately than anything on Earth, this is a large reason why a bunch of guys with guns are The Villain Group.
* BatmanGambit: Master of these through [[GenreSavvy dangerous levels of awareness over super-hero/villain cliche’s]], going as far as to cut the funding of mad-scientists who monologue pre-success and warn super heroes of his attacks so they waste their time evacuating the city rather than fighting tooth and nail to spare the innocent.
* BenevolentBoss: Without being AffablyEvil - Maintains a KlingonPromotion policy and a YouKillItYouBoughtIt policy which are very generous working opportunities for the vast array of murderers working for him.

* BigBad / EvilOverlord: DUH!

* DiplomaticImpunity: Actually bothered to register the Rogue Isles with the United Nations after taking over the island-chain so Statesman couldn’t legally swoop in and start leveling the place.
* EmperorScientist / SorcerousOverlord: [[note]] The reason he straddles the line is his powers are actually magical, but they manifest by giving him a superior intellect, which he uses for stunning national innovations.[[/note]] Prior to hiring Aeon to do most of the work for him and give him more spare time, Lord Recluse designed all his army's weaponry.
* EnemySummoner: While most of his powers function on a meta-level, in combat he can call handfuls of elite soldiers to air-raid into battle... Check The Minion Master for how that can end up.

* EvilIsPetty: He became a super-villain, usurped an assassin network, reworked it into an army, used the army to take over a small island chain, and turned that island chain into a world power populated by super-villains ... all just to tick Statesman off!
* EvilPlan: He has several but the overarching one is a doozy - The Player Villains are each a potential SpannerInTheWorks with the Rogue Isles acting as a giant training area until he is ready to unleash you on the world. Note-worthy in that he keeps both heroes and villains focusing on his W.E.B. Device instead of paying attention to society he has cultivated. His Strike-Force proves [[TheBadGuyWins it’s worked]].

* GoodCounterpart: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] - It is explicitly stated at one point that Tyrant killed the Praetorian version of Lord Recluse many, many years ago - and that Arachnos is becoming involved in Praetoria with the very specific aim of getting revenge.
* HazyFeelTurn: Amazingly our Big Bad Card Carrying Villain does in-fact get a one, though it is less from evil to good than from evil to practical- In the Tin Mage Taskforce Incarnate Trial we see he has formally aligned with the Vanguard specifically to fight Emperor Cole. Due in part to [[MoralityPet Red Widow’s influence]] and in part due to the fact Cole made the rather massive mistake of trying to invade The Rogue Isles... [[spoiler:additionally it may be with Statesman dead he has no reason to continue his crusade against the forces of good]].
* HeartBrokenBadass: He feels genuinely betrayed that his platonic-life-partner decided to fight him because of something as insubstantial as “morality”.
** Ghost Widow notes once or twice when complementing her efficiency he accidentally called her “Red Widow”, then corrected himself and quietly went to sulk, indicating even years after her death he is still thinking of her.
** We see this again during the ''Who Will Die'' arc when [[spoiler:Statesman]] is killed. And apparently when you kill [[spoiler:the platonic life partner-turned nemesis]] of the king of all super-villains, nukes get launched and Gods get [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beaten]].

* ImplacableMan / UnstoppableRage: Normally he is too in-control for us to see this, but when in beserk mode, we see ''exactly'' how much pain Lord Recluse is capable of shrugging off. We see this in the last phase of the ''Who Will Die'' arc - after Darrin Wade [[spoiler:kills Statesman]]. Darrin has an orbital death beam which will wipe out, the Arachnos Patrons, Freedom Phlananx and you, unless you take cover during the blasts. If Lord Recluse is hit and reachs zero health, he gets right back-up, ignoring the blast and proceeds straight for the bastard who took his beloved [[spoiler:arch-nemesis]] from him.

* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: He jumps straight from robbing banks to world domination - solely to stick it to Statesman dumping him, when he found said bank robberies too immoral.

* MiseryBuildsCharacter: A devout believer in this - hence the environment of the Rogue Isles.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The residents of the Rogue Isles are completely jaded to super-villainy at this point, yet Lord Recluse still terrifies the entire island-chain, this includes professional super-villains.

* NobleDemon: Evil is always on his agenda but generally he prefers structured evil, paired with order and purpose - as soon as any of his Patrons forget this, he jots them down for... discipline.

* PoliticallyCorrectVillain: Of the rarer variety as he is neither kind, nor played as comedic. He encourages theft, destruction of property and assassinations, but he has made supervillains [[UnPerson "disappear"]] for racial and sexual intolerance.[[note]]When the Dev team had to hand out bans for racist, homophobic, sexist players villain-side, they credited this in-universe to Lord Recluse - who owns a time-travel machine, knows when and where you were supposed to be born and has no ethical problems sending troops to kick your pregnant mother down a flight of stairs.[[/note]] It should be noted this is less to do with morality than the white-supremacy simply conflicting with a Darwinism outlook.
* PragmaticVillain: Has a number of policies that seem like PetTheDog moments, but in-fact they are all function based.

** He encourages both evil and personal freedom as one and the same, because of this the Rogue Isles are a breeding ground for super-villains he can cherry-pick for his DoomTroops.

* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: Same as Statesman but for his intellect instead of strength - The Well Of The Furies has decreed he will be the smartest being on the face of the planet in his reality; As the Well is a multiverse nexus point, it retroactively makes him smarter based on who or whatever enters his planet and his reality.
* ThanatosGambit: Puts himself in harm’s way by publicly confronting Tyrant on behalf of his oppressed people so the only reason Tyrant has to fight him is to protect his own power, not the people ''destroying'' his sense of justification. - Quite devastating for against a WellIntentionedExtremist.

* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Lord Recluse took over Arachnos, established a new government, founded a nation of super-villains and recruits citizens of said nation for his DoomTroops, all for the sole purpose of sticking it to Statesman. Everyone in the Rogue Isles knows not to get between Lord Recluse and his final battle with Statesman, [[spoiler:everyone but Darrin Wade...]] See Detonation Moon above.

* VetinariJobSecurity: And every-single professional super-villain in the Rogue Isles knows it. Fact is, the country would fall apart without him.
* VillainCred: His very name - “Lord Recluse”, he didn’t just start out calling himself that. He was originally “Recluse” while working for Arachnos but started going by “ ''Lord'' Recluse” once he conquered a country; Just about everyone in said country makes certain to say the full title - and that includes the players!
* VillainRespect: For villain players. Going into an near identical alternate reality, killing him and bringing back his helmet as proof of the ordeal result's in this for you. It turns out his Social Darwinism is a lot more than mere lip-service.

* WeNeedADistraction: He gets a lot of mileage out of using this tactic: He uses a squadron to keep Nemesis distracted while the player villain goes in for the kill, used players as a distraction while his armies surround the foe, sent his Patrons as little more than sacrifices to get foes to stick their necks out to slay them, but perhaps most impressively - he shows up leading the Arachnos charge to Praetoria to confront Tyrant A. to BreakTheHaughty but B., to keep Tyrant too focused on them to to allow the Magistarium Incarnate Trial to get to the heart of the city and waste his last few forces so he’s the only one left.

* TheBaroness: Arguably one of the few people, Lord Recluse included, actually devoted to Arachnos itself.
* DarkChick
* DarkMagicalGirl: Was never good per-say, but her stalwart loyalty has long since eroded and now only serves Arachnos because she has to. [[spoiler:Here is the kicker, that stalwart obligation to serve Arachnos loyally is what was used to bind her to it's service in undeath]].

* DramaticWind: Her hair is ''always'' flowing - a unique graphic for the game. And no, it is not due to OurGhostsAreDifferent (as we see in Praetoria) even when she was alive it apparently behaved the same.
* HiveQueen: She had been this to the Arachnos Seer Network from the early 1990s on until at least 2012. As the administrator of the Seer Net, she was the one who curtailed the over-arching HiveMind of the Arachnos Seers. Being a ghost, herself bound to serve Arachnos above all else, she could not have sabotaged it even if she wanted to.
** As the story-progression was halted shorty after Red-Widow's resurrection, it is anyone's guess if she got to keep the position.

* MoralityPet: Wretch.

** [[spoiler:As of his battle with Mot he has overcome this dependence and presumably his curse by gaining Incarnate levels - alas the game was canceled before he could defect to the forces of good]].

* BlessedWithSuck / CursedWithAwesome: His super-powers came with one hell of a price, any attempt he makes to use them for good ends up making things worse. Great if you are a super-villain awful if you want to be a hero.
* BlowYouAway / DishingOutDirt: Has power of sand and wind. Frequently conjures sandstorms.

* FaceHeelTurn: In his back-story.

* MagicKnight: Arachnos's signature battle mage - master of both swordsmanship and spells.

* PelagianVillain: Of a sort.

* TokenGoodTeammate

* FishPeople: Although in his case a mutant.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Yes, Captain Mako is a shark-like mutant who murders people and eats their flesh, but that isn't due to any sort of feral hormones or shark-like brain; Beneath the surface he is just as human as anyone else - he's just that crazy.

* KnightOfCerebus: Mako does not "defeat" people - he unambiguously kills them. Furthermore the devs went out of the way to portray Mako less as a comic-book super-villain, than as a slasher murderer who just happened to have super-powers.

* PsychoForHire: Mako always had a habit of leaving mutilated body parts in his wake - Lord Recluse considered this a resumé.

* SuperPersistentPredator: Land or sea, wilderness or metropolis, hero or villain, alone or in a crowd - Mako makes a point to strike anywhere and without warning. He has even stalked specific targets across international borders.

* ThreateningShark

* BattleButler: She was this to Lord Recluse when they first met. She helped him assassinate their boss, transform small a assassin force into a BadassArmy and take-over an island-chain - demonstrating both administrative and combat value to such a degree, a normally amoral social Darwinist fell in love with her.

* ChekhovsGunman: She is a side-note on where the Seer-Network came from, why the Circle of Thorns are on Arachnos's Kill-On-Sight list and used as a set-piece in Ghost Widow's Patron-Arch... Until the 2012 Valentine's Day Event, in which case she comes-back to life and single-handedly reminds Lord Recluse that there is more to life than hating Statesman.

* RedRightHand: Aside from the obvious pun of being a right-hand that dresses in red, her darkened face veins and pupiless eyes will make it painfully clear she is no good-guy.

* UnholyMatrimony: They aren't in-fact married but other than that Red Widow and Lord Recluse are pretty much this to a T.

* ArsonMurderAndJayWalking: Aeon has contributed many things to help Arachnos flourish over the forces of good, including time-travel, inter-dimensional transport, a demon-powered generator and ... a cheaply made food substitute that he sells to low-income families - side effects may include premature baldness.

* CutLexLuthorACheck: Left to his own devices he falls into this trope A LOT, but on Arachnos payroll he is subject to oversight via Lord Recluse - who is almost constantly seeing to it that this trope is [[AvertedTrope avoided]]. Just some examples are:
** Dr. Aeon creates a cheap low-grade food substitute as rations, Lord Recluse tells him to sell it publicly - marketed to low-income families.
** Dr. Aeon taps into a limitless energy source PoweredByAForsakenChild - Lord Recluse has him use it to power a city endlessly for profit instead of building generic dooms-day devices.
** Dr. Aeon invents a full virtual reality simulator - Countess Crey contacts him and agrees to sponsor it so the two of them can make millions selling it to the public/governments, instead of just keeping it for himself to use for personal training/videogames.

* EmperorScientist: Governor and mad-scientist.

* IsThisThingStillOn?: During the Statesman Task Force.
* JustThinkOfThePotential: Show him an ancient demon god, and he will hook wires up to it to use it as a clean-burning generator. Beat his butt with Incarnate powers from the Well of the Furies and he will produce an artificial knockoff of the Well. Send aliens to attack his city and he will open negotiations with the invaders once defeated to fix up their ships in exchange for samples of their tech.

* SavedByTheAwesome: If his inventions didn't have phenomenal applications for a country of super-villains he would have been executed loooong ago if only for how obnoxious he is.

* BadassBureaucrat: Like all Arachnos Arbiters, Daos is the sort to fill out execution orders in triplicate and can have a super-villain killed on the spot while he is doing his paper-work just by giving his personnel a simple nod.

* BoringButPractical: Another thing he has in common with all Arachnos Arbiters. They are not exactly flashy super-villains with diabolical schemes but they fill out the paper-work, send out the pay-checks and do the employee reviews that keep Arachnos functioning.

* TheUnfettered: Utterly single-minded in his devotion to Arachnos/Lord Recluse above all else. There are no exceptions to make for doing his job, including crossing his super-powered-professional-killer co-workers [[spoiler:or even his son's life]].

* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Of the wind.

* FoodChainOfEvil: In Paragon he is actually the most pressing threat and few people even know it; In the Rogue Isles on the other-hand Arachnos routinely see-through and dismantle his schemes - to the point he has given up on scamming Lord Recluse and just resorting to open invasion... it’s not going well for him.
* FutureFoil: [[spoiler: He is Mender Silos - head of the Ouroboros time-travel system for players. In the future he has actually grown a sense of responsibility- mostly applied to fixing the various factors he screwed up getting there., not that he tells heroes or villains that.]]
* IHatePastMe: He will eventually achieve immortality - and his experiments into time travel will pay off. Simply put future Nemesis ''hates'' the sort of person he was back when he was still frantically searching for immortality.

* SignificantAnagram: Snuck in years before it was confirmed in-universe. [[spoiler: “MENDER SILOS” - “LORD NEMESIS”]] !

* TheReveal: [[spoiler: 90ish% of the gangs of Paragon reference a “Mysterious Benefactor”, The Skulls and Hellions, the Warriors and Family, the Council, Crey and even the Rikti, each is controlled by the next, but at the end of the Rikti War Zone arc we finally see who has actually been setting up all these gangs as he makes his appearance - Nemesis!]]
** [[spoiler: Also in Ouroboros where Mender Ramiel confirms the theory that Mender Silos is in-fact future Nemesis.]]

* PhysicalGod: She is one of the only confirmed full-blooded literal gods walking the Earth. The Circle converted to worshiping her over their precious scholar god - Ermeeth, because unlike him she has no problem getting her physical hands dirty.

* BeneathTheMask: He looks like a responsible, if shrewd, ruler doing anything and everything for the public-good; Ultimately given a chance to protect, spare and do right by them at the cost of his rule over them, he refuses - at that point confirming his power and position is all that ever matter to him. He suffers a major identity crisis confronted with the fact his mask was not the true him.

* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler: He fought Hamidon to a tie - both decided the fight was more trouble than it was worth and made a deal - Hamidon would pretend Cole beat him and fall back - giving Cole a constant foe to keep his people afraid of and rule the remainder of humanity in his own society, and Cole would keep all remaining humanity isolated to a few measly cities while Hamidon assimilated the rest of the planet. Aside from what this says about Cole on an ethical level, ultimately Hamidon decides to break the treaty once he sees, even isolated, humanity cannot help but start wars.]]

* EngineeredHeroics: He very often arranges these for his Praetors to re-enforce reliance on them; [[spoiler: The biggest example of this is their supposed victory over Hamidon that started the entire Praetorian society - Cole actually couldn't beat him and opted to make a deal with Hamidon - who took a figurative dive and "retreated" on condition Cole keep the remainder of humanity locked up far away from him.]]

* FakeUltimateHero: He tries very, very hard to be the real thing - he comes up short - A. Due to being out of his weight-class against Hamidon and B. Because ultimately he sold out his virtues.

* ObliviouslyEvil: He is blind to most of his Praetors’ corruption and views his rule as making the best of a bad situation after the Hamidon War. Ultimately subverted when Lord Recluse forced him to come to terms with who he has become and Cole keeps fighting - his people openly rejecting him at that point.

* SassyBlackWoman: A lighthearted version of this which shows up when Marauder has you deliver flowers to her. Depending on how you go about it, she can either have a heck of a laugh or get ticked off - see ShootTheMessenger for details on the latter.

* EvilDoppelganger: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]: To Primal Earth's Aurora Borealis, but in-fact she is the Praetorian version of Sister Psyche' - she just looks like an Evil Aurora because Evil Psyche' has taken over and stayed inside that Aurora's body.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: She genuinely believes that subverting the free will of the entire populace is the most efficient way to prevent crime. The bitter pill is she's technically correct--it ''is'' efficient.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: She only started going mad due to having to psychically manage an entire society - which she did because she legitimately loves the people as if they were her family.

* MyBelovedSmother: She sees herself as foster mother to those brought in for “reeducation”. She is so obsessed with "correcting their behavior" that most of them emerge as semi-mindless zombies.

* CoolShades

* GadgeteerGenius

* PoisonousPerson
* PoweredArmor

In general; these tropes are found in their ranks:

* ColdSniper
* ControlFreak

* ProfessionalKiller: For the Emperor no less.
* RaisedByOrcs: In Praetoria, The super-villain who killed his parents abducted young Justin and raised him as his protégé.
* ShootTheDog: His job description is built around these sort of situations, and he loves his job.
** Chimera ends up doing this to the Praetorian versions of [[spoiler:Paulo Marino]] naturally the since the Praetorian version of [[spoiler:Ghost Widow]] is both his lover and head of LaResistance she does not take it very well.

* DatingCatWoman: Both a figurative and literal example.
* EvilDoppelganger: Of Primal Earth's Synapse.

* GladIThoughtOfIt

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Prior to ''Going Rogue'' She had an army of leather-bound men armed with rods and tasers said to be people she trained and got addicted to playful beatings. They never did a full retcon but the HellBentForLeather crowd hasn’t been seen in Pretoria since. Adds some ParanoiaFuel though since she is the first Trainer for players starting off as Praetorians with her specifically assigned to train newbies.

* EvilDoppelganger: To her Primal-Earth self - Ms. Liberty.

* WhipItGood: Her weapon of choice.

* EvilDoppelganger: To her Primal-Earth counterpart - Numina.

* JerkAssGenie: With him in control of her Soul Jar, she ''has'' to adhere to Emperor Cole’s wishes. But she will look for any opportunity in his wording to subvert said wishes; For example - he told her to scout the First Ward for forces of great magic that might otherwise harm him, she noted he didn’t tell her she had to turn them over to ''him!''

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: She has no UnfinishedBusiness the only thing keeping her in the world of the living is her father’s medallion - which is currently in the hands of Tyrant.

* RegretfulTraitor: She regrets turning on the Midnight Squad - but she had no choice, Tyrant mystically compelled her to slay them. She’s not shedding tears for them, but she legitimately regrets turning on the only people who reached out to her. That said, in later segements of First Ward's story arc, specifically her interactions with Cerulean, her behavior indicates that regret has faded as she makes certain to [[KickTheDog rub what happened to the Midnight Squad after she killed her father and left in his face, taking clear pleasure from his reaction]].
* SteppingOutForAQuickCupOfCoffee: She can’t directly work against Cole, but sure as hell can lead his foes to where he keeps his secrets and then tastefully turn her back and plug her ears.

* TheMole: Emperor Cole uses her for this by having her pose as a friend of wizard cabals that refuse to join him, and dismantle them from the inside - she did this to the Midnight Squad, Ravenwing Cabal and many unspecified others.

In General, these Tropes are found:

* TheNoseKnows

* LaughablyEvil

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Quite a few; Chief Interrogator Washingon, the first contact, is very reasonable and is honestly dedicated to his job. Provost Marchand also shows signs of it; [[spoiler:When it is discovered Emperor Cole intends to lead an army to wipe out Primal Earth's superheroes, he is aghast and seeks to find a way to end the bloodshed before it happens]]. Doesn't mean he won't threaten you with kill-on-sight treason when you [[spoiler:as an undercover agent, help the Crusaders steal a bomb, intending to plant it in a crowded area]]. It's standard territory for them.

* FauxAffablyEvil: To the point he is in denial of the “evil” part. But when push comes to shove, curtesy of Arachnos, he opts to preserve his power over doing right by his people.

* ArcVillain: [[spoiler:Of the "Who Will Die?" storyline, where he sets in motion a plan to summon the EldritchAbomination Ralaruu.]]
* BeardOfEvil: Sports an evil goatee. [[spoiler:Even when he becomes the avatar of Ralaruu, his new form ''still'' has that goatee.]]

* TransformationOfThePossessed: [[spoiler:When Darrin becomes one with Ralaruu, he takes the physical shape of Ralaruu, albiet with his BeardOfEvil still intact.]]
* WillingChanneler: [[spoiler:His EvilPlan is to become one of these for Ralaruu.]]

* SignificantAnagram: Snuck in years before it was confirmed in-universe. [[spoiler: “MENDER SILOS” - “LORD NEMESES”]] !

* CutLexLuthorACheck: Left to his own devices he falls into this trope A LOT, but on Arachnos pay-role he is subject to oversight via Lord Recluse - who is almost constantly seeing to it that this trope is [[AvertedTrope avoided]]. Just some examples are:

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Aeon has turned down Crey, Nemesis and Rikti bribes/poaching attempts purely because Lord Recluse is the only person who ever believed in the potential of his inventions while still in theoritical phase.

* DespairEventHorizon: The soul-devouring, spirit-breaking, dark god Mot uses it's CompellingVoice to break what little remains of his spirit when he is deployed to help out in Dark Astroia. In fact it almost leads to a PsychicAssistedSuicide.

* AudienceParticipation: Most of the Freedom Phalanx functioned as avatars for the devs that created or characterized them. Numina is notable in this regard as she is the only member created by pole from the players themselves.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: At the games' inception they were all pretty one-note expys. Shortly after head of Paragon Studios left, and left ownership of his characters to his team, the dev team started having fun with the base characters, Positron went from generic super-scientist to full on Nerd, Sister Psyche went from Jean Grey knock-off to JerkassWithAHeartOfGold and Statesman went from just barely legally distinct Superman/Captain America to obsessives demanding pain in the butt to work with [[WriteWhoYouKnow (by shear coincidence, the same complaints the rest of the studio had about his creator before he left.)]]

* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: Same as Statesman but for his intellect instead of strength - The Well Of The Furies has decreed he will be the smartest being on the face of the planet in his reality; As the Well is a multiverse nexus point, it retroactively makes him smarter based on whose or whatever enters his planet and his reality.

* DesperatelyCravesAffection: Like, on a psychic level. She [[MetaphysicalFuel draws strength]] from being loved and is addicted to the feeling. She essentially eats the concept of love.

* TheChick: For the Shining Stars' FiveManBand. Seeing as she's worried more about her own looks than about investigating an important clue, she also doubles as TheLoad.

* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: He IS the Lord of Arachnos. Though given Arachnos' laws, it might be more accurate to call it AssKickingEqualsAuthority.

* EldritchAbomination: Just ''[[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/e/eb/Mot.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180309091103 look at him]]''! Not to mention how he possesses a singular drive to devour everything, consumes the souls of his many, many victims and can only be stopped by the absolute most powerful group of Earth's Defenders to ever live.

[[folder:Lord of War:Hro'Dtohz]]
The supreme leader of the Rikti Lineage of War, Lord of War:Hro'dtohz commands all invading Rikti forces. Though not present during the First Rikti War, he arrived through the newly opened portal from the Rikti Homeworld to personally oversee Rikti military actions on Earth during the second conflict.

* Sadist: Mot ''clearly'' takes great enjoyment in psychologically breaking all of his victims before he devours them, even when he doesn't need to do so.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: The woman just can't help herself but betray ''everyone'' she ever makes any kind of arrangement with.

* RegretfulTraitor: She regrets turning on the Midnight Squad - but she had no choice, Tyrant mystically compelled her to slay them. She’s not shedding tears for them, but she legitimately regrets turning on the only people who reached out to her.

* SoulJar: Hers is the amulet her father used to summon her back from the dead. She convinced him to put it down then killed him so no one would control her, but Emperor Cole got his hands on it. It eventually loses its power over her once she teams up with Mot, who reassigns itself as her new Soul Jar.