History Characters / ParanaturalTheActivityClub

* CharClone: A shady, morally gray mentor figure who's blond and wears sunglasses... sounds like Spender, but is describing Quattro Bajeena from Zeta Gundam. Considering that Zack is a fan of Gundam, there's no way this isn't on purpose.

* {{Manchild}}: Underneath his initial impressions of being an experienced spectral mentor, repeated interactions with him make it clear that Spender is not as good a teacher as he believes himself to be. He struggles to teach the children much, usually being on on-the-job learning experience on spirit-fighting missions[[labelnote:*]]to Issac's ''immense'' fustration on the "contextually relevant" lessons always involving danger[[/labelnote]], and his belief that he alone can protect the town from the dangers outside of it, [[spoiler:born from his encounter with the "strongest spirit" that left him changed at a young age]], leaves him blind to his charges' emotional needs or unable to properly provide the support they require. He turns to his old mentor Francisco for advise more than he doles it out, [[spoiler:and is so wrapped up in his own issues he fails to notice Isabelle's changed partner spirits following the Ghost train incident until most of the subsequent day has passed. This ultimately causes a BrokenPedestal moment for Isabelle, as she realises she needs to step up as the Activity Club's leader and be more attentive to the other's emotional needs because Spender can't do it himself]]. Max actually lampshades this when [[spoiler:Spender winds up possessed by Hijack, a ''literal'' 3-year-old spirit, and whom is able to successfully present himself as Spender despite lacking access to his memories becuase they're so similar in character -- in fact, Hijack actually did a ''better'' job of supporting Isabelle than Spender did, to her immense disappointment when she realised the truth]].

* PsychologicalProjection: His relationship with [[spoiler:Isaac]] is based on this. [[spoiler:Upon recruiting Isaac not long after the boy became the Medium of King Catnine, Spender told Isaac he could handle the spirit and everything would be okay. Unfortunately, things quickly went south and Spender later admits to projecting and only telling the kid what Spender hoped would be true for his own situation as a Medium]].

---> '''Mr. Spender:''' ''Black'' spectral energy?! That's... fairly common.

** The trope is, however, played straight with [[spoiler: his spirit, making him and Mr. Spender the only known characters in the comic to be both Tool-wielders ''and'' Mediums at once.]]

** As Isaac {{Lampshades}}, Max having magnetism powers might be a cool trick, but the ability itself only works on physical metallic objects, and thus anything he controls with it will [[MadeOfAir simply pass through]] the spirits and ghosts they deal with on a regular basis. Likewise, he needs to have a supply of metal around to use his powers, unlike Ed, Isaac or Isabel, whose abilities can be generated from their tools/bodies on demand. Max's first attempt to remedy this by carrying a backpack of scrap metal around only serves to get him pinned down in front of the rampaging ghost train at a crucial moment because his magnetism is an omnidirectional force and can only be [[HowDoIShotWeb vaguely aimed]] with the bat.

* BrokenPedestal: She admires Mr. Spender as a mentor who ''actually'' cares about her and defends his secret keeping. She's pretty delighted when he opens up to her in Chapter 5 and recognizes that she's hurting. [[spoiler: Then she discovers it was ''Hijack'' she was talking to, hammered home by proof Mr. Spender didn't even notice Eightfold's disappearance. She almost immediately decides to be the ''real'' leader of the club.]]

* FantasticRacism: Downplayed. It doesn't occur to her to treat spirits with the same respect as humans until Eightfold points it out to her [[spoiler: before they lose each other forever.]] [[CharacterDevelopment She quickly works to assure spirits like Flip-Flop that they matter to her afterwards.]]

* JustAFleshWound: Insists that [[spoiler: the bite one of the pixhellhounds gave her]] isn't serious. Dr. Zarei thinks differently.

* ParasolOfPain: She gains an umbrella as a tool from her grandfather after [[spoiler: she lost her previous one, and consequently, Eightfold, after the events of [[WhamEpisode Chapter 3]].]]

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler: At the end of Chapter 5, she decides to stop keeping Isaac LockedOutOfTheLoop and tells him the truth about Mr. Spender and the Consortium to try and repair their friendship. As of Chapter 8, it remains to be seen whether or not this was the right call.]]

-->'''Ed, Chapter 2, page 21:''' You're all gonna die!
-->'''Ed, Chapter 2, page 22:''' I've got 80 pounds of face-breakin' spectral muscle standin' between you and the rest of your life, not to mention there's an irate magical girl outside likely t'be ''half'' as merciful with you as I'm ''not'' gonna be. ''So!'' I need you to hurry up n' choose before I acquaint you with your internal anatomy: are we gonna do this the ''easy'' way, or the ''I KILL YOU'' way?

-->'''Max:''' You're... a teen?
-->'''Isaac:''' What's with that face?
-->'''Max:''' I'm sorry, it's just... it explains so much. The angst, the mood swings, the smell-

-->'''Isaac:''' '''FINE!''' I get it already! I'm not one of you. How ''could'' I be? I joined too late..and broke up the club. I ruined my chance to ever really belong. But NO ONE will ADMIT THAT to my FACE! Just say you resent me! I know what that looks like! Say I deserve it! I ''know'' I do! Max fits in fine while I'm busy spoiling the first blank slate I've had in forever..I ''GET'' it, OK?! I'm tired of being teased and left out and left in the dark! Even Mr. Spender--!! ''*in tears*'' Even Mr. Spender...! I HATE it! I hate YOU! If you hate me tell the TRUTH!!!

--> '''Isaac:''' [[http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-3-page-32 Let's. Negotiate.]]

* MyGreatestFailure: He makes vague allusions to [[NoodleIncident some event]] that occurred when he first joined the Activity Club, where he made a big mistake that he attributes to creating the rift between himself and Isabel/Ed. Chapter 5 eventually reveals the details: [[spoiler: Back when Dimitri was still a member, Isaac made a mistake on a mission that resulted in the former getting hurt and deciding to leave the club, something he never really forgave himself for.]]

* PowersViaPossession: He's a medium for a storm spirit. [[spoiler: And the spirit possessing him is a big enough deal that Mr. Spender has to keep him in the dark about the Activity Consortium until it leaves him]]. As Max notes, this makes him a ''huge tool''.

* OnlyAFleshWound: He insists that [[spoiler: the burn that covers his ''entire'' stomach]] isn't that bad. [[EmpathicWeapon Lucifer]] disagrees. About five minutes after their argument, we see him groaning in pain and looking generally pathetic. [[spoiler: It's later revealed that Hijack was experiencing the pain that Spender had learned to endure by that point.]]

* PortalCut: [[spoiler: How he defeats Forge: by turning the shadow Forge was walking on into a BottomlessPit and then [[LightEmUp removing]] the shadow.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: She apparently regularly destroys herself in order to stay inside the book Isabel uses. She also [[spoiler: distracted Isabel for long enough to force her decision to save Max over the book Eightfold is bound to]].

* RidingIntoTheSunset: [[spoiler: After stalling Isabel long enough that she has to save Max instead of Eightfold's book,]] Eightfold tries to invoke this... only to realize she still had a few more seconds.

--> '''Lucifer''': What is left to me, but to go through the motions?

* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: He is utterly convinced that nobody can save Mayview from... whatever is coming, and thinks that Spender and the Paranatural Activity Club are doomed to fail. When [[spoiler: Hijack]] challenges his point of view, Lucifer simply dismisses it as nonsense.

[[/folder]]

* DeterminedDefeatist: reveals himself to be this in his conversation with Hijack. He makes a point of arguing that all action is hopeless while simultaneously doing everything he can to resist.
--> '''Lucifer''': "what is left to me, but to go through the motions?

* WealthsInAName: "Rich Spender," who drives an expensive sports car. Played with in that it makes the kids question ''where'' he got the money.

* ItCanThink: [[spoiler:{{Downplayed|Trope}}. Scrapdragon still can't vocalise and acts like an enraged dangerous animal, in contrast to other spirits, but when Max is flailing about in a panic over accidentally entering a Spirit Trace and then getting levitated at a dangerous height above his house by his bat sticking to Scrapdragon's body, He apologises in a panic to his serpentine spirit when he believes it's about to eat him in anger over Max accidentally smacking it on the nose on their last meeting. This actually makes Scrapdragon pause, and then rotate its coils so Max is sitting atop it rather than precariously hanging, implying that it understood and accepted his apology. Likewise, it seems to sense the presence of the Black Sphinx within Max's MentalWorld and sets out after it, implied to be out of a desire to protect Max from his unknowing possession.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: His [[ScaryShinyGlasses sunglasses]] initially seem to be projecting the impression of Richard being the mysterious mentor with a dark side that he likes to indulge in, and afterwards become indicating of his {{Manchild}} tendencies when it becomes clear he can't quite live up to that image. However, more seriously, they showcase how Spender is ''incredibly blind'' to several issues that occur around him, with knock-on effects on his charges and his self-imposed mission to protect Mayview -- in fact, his perception of himself being the only one who can save the town is often the reason he's too caught up in his own head to notice these. These range from not noticing the emotional needs of his students, such as Isabel losing Eightfold and being very emotionally damaged out it, to [[spoiler:failing to realise that Davy Jones is a vampire monster, the Delinquent Trio are also vampires sired by him, or that at least two of his fellow teachers are members of the Death Cult, and one of them being a Spectral besides]], with each group fully exploiting his ignorance of their true natures to their advantage in various ways. It says a lot that Max and Hijack proved better at picking up on Isabel and Issac's emotional turmoil than Spender did.

* TheHeart: He seems to have fallen into the role amongst the Activity Club, as despite his NaeiveNewcomer status with the Spiritual world, he proves to be very emotionally perceive amongst his new colleagues, able to tell when they're in a bad place mentally and emotionally and offering a helping hand or a firm reprimand as needed. Case in point, he spends most of chapter 5 bonding with Isabel over the loss of Eightfold, calls out Issac when the latter starts getting a bit entitled regarding their "friendship" [[spoiler:and is later the only one to notice that Issac's in a HeroicBSOD when King Catnine unexpectedly amplifies his attack to a dangerous level against Spender's possessed body, and helps get him back on his feet]], and Alex even lampshades how many of the various factions of Mayview middle school are [[MagneticHero willing to get along with Max]], even Johnny's gang after Max risks himself in the Hitball game.

* RuleOfSymbolism: His [[ScaryShinyGlasses sunglasses]] initially seem to be projecting the impression of Richard being the mysterious mentor with a dark side that he likes to indulge in, and afterwards become indicating of his {{Manchild}} tendencies when it becomes clear he can't quite live up to that image. However, more seriously, they showcase how Spender is ''incredibly blind'' to several issues that occur around him, with knock-on effects on his charges and his self-imposed mission to protect Mayview -- in fact, his perception of himself being the only one who can save the town is often the reason he's too caught up in his own head to notice these. These range from not noticing the emotional needs of his students, such as Isabel losing Eightfold and being very emotionally damaged out it, to [[spoiler:failing to realise that Davy Jones is a vampire monster, the Delinquent Trio are also vampires sired by him, os that at least two of his fellow teachers are members of the Death Cult, and one of them being a Spectral besides]], with each group fully exploiting his ignorance of their true natures to their advantage in various ways. It says a lot that Max and Hijack proved better at picking up on Isabel and Issac's emotional turmoil than Spender did.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: She's "[[http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-4-page-82 not great with dogs]]." Her bedroom is papered with posters, pictures, and calendars about dogs, seemingly an attempt at exposure therapy.

[[folder:King Catnine]]

!!King Catnine
[[quoteright:248:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stormgod_cast_4661.png]]

->''"It is easy to preach nonviolence... WHEN YOU ARE WEEEEAK!"''\\\

Isaac's bound spirit, who resembles (and claims to be) a storm god. His spirit realm is an ancient, ruined temple caught in a perpetual rainstorm. He and Isaac aren't on the best of terms.

* FogFeet: In his first appearance, his body from the waist down is a ghostly tail.
* AGodAmI: Explicitly refers to himself as a god at one point. His powers don't do much to keep him humble.
* DemonicPossession: He used to try directly puppeteering Isaac back when he first possessed him, but now seems to have resorted to regular manipulation to make the kid do what he wants.
* HandOrObjectUnderwear: He has small wings on his hips that cover his crotch. Judging by Isaac's reaction when he spreads those wings to punctuate [[LargeHam a dramatic speech]], they serve this function.
* HairTriggerTemper: His default state seems to be 'really rather cross'.
-->'''Isaac:''' Wow, what's your problem?\\
'''King Catnine:''' TAKE a GUESS!\\
'''[[DeadpanSnarker Isaac:]]''' Uh, you have a short temper and a long list of things that make you angry?
* HostileWeather: [[spoiler:Before possessing Isaac, he decided to try getting to some power within Mayview and used his powers to create a massive storm while attempting to break through the barrier. The tempest was bad enough that the Activity Club had to be sidelined]].
* {{Jerkass}}: This seems to be Isaac's opinion of him, at any rate. His on-screen behaviour and comments don't exactly help.
* JerkassHasAPoint: When he claims that he and Isaac are alike, he [[http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-3-page-48 points out]] that Isaac disregarded Doorman's teachings by using power displays as threats ([[http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-3-page-32 kicking lightning at the sphinx]]) and to express anger ([[http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-3-page-44 throwing a bolt at Mr. Spender]]).
-->'''King Catnine:''' You may be reluctant to BITE, but you BARE YOUR FANGS READILY.
* KnightTemplar: There's a reason Spender's keeping things from Isaac, and it's not because Isaac is a bad person. Catnine knows everything Isaac knows, and he very much believes in the idea of peace through superior firepower.
* LargeHam: He's a bit... ''dramatic''.
-->'''King Catnine:''' HA! It is easy to preach NONVIOLENCE... when you are ''WEEEEEEAAAK!''
* TheNoseKnows: He has a sensitive sense of smell and laments Isaac's poor human ones. [[spoiler:Because of this trait, he's able to quickly deduce Boss Leader is not human due to her inability to mimic the scent, giving her away as a spirit]].
* PowerOfTheStorm: He's Isaac's spirit. As well as a giant thunder cloud.
* ShockAndAwe: He can create lightning and painfully loud thunder, as well as full on storms.
* SpiderSense:
** King C. can smell hostility. It is unknown if Isaac shares this power as well.
** He could apparently tell by smell that there is [[spoiler:something [[https://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-7-page-86 off]] about Boss Leader...]]
* WeatherManipulation: His power is to control the weather, but while Isaac only does it on a small scale, [[spoiler:King Catnine on his own can create massive storms and is stated to have once ruled a small portion of the sky]].

[[folder:Lucifer]]
!!Lucifer
[[quoteright:199:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lucifer_cast_3495.png]]

->''"If you hand your heart your moral compass, it '''will''' lead you astray."''\\\

The spirit in Mr. Spender's sunglasses.

* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: His inflection rises and falls.
-->'''Spender:''' How do I look?\\
'''Lucifer:''' [=ANALOGous to oNE MILLion doLLARS=].
* BurningWithAnger: In [[http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-5-page-90 chapter five]], he tells Spender to [[spoiler: seek medical attention for the giant burn Forge gave him]]. When Spender claims it's [[OnlyAFleshWound no big deal]], Lucifer's head bursts into flame with a ''FOOM!!'' sound effect.
-->'''Lucifer:''' If you have ANY RESPECT LEFT for our ''partnership'' you won't LIE TO ME SO PLAINLY.
* FacelessEye: In the first glimpse of him we get, he seems to be [[http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-4-page-9 some kind of... eyeball lightbulb]].
* FeatheredFiend: Later, he appears as some sort of yellow canary stuck in a cage. But if you look closely enough, the bird is in a postion that COULD be his face (the wings are crossed like a moustache, tailfeathers could be a toungue or a beard, the feet teeth and the beak a nose).
* FusionDance: Spender can invoke Spirit Fusion. This combines him and Lucifer physically, and is common for them to do. It's unknown if this is common among spectrals.
* LightEmUp: Given Spender's powers, this can be assumed.
* MeaningfulName: His name means "bringer of light", and he has the power to control light.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: He's six hundred.
* {{Satan}}: Except not. According to the character page, he's "Probably Not Literally Satan." The name literally translates to "bringer of light", and was the name of Satan when he was still an angel under God.
* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: He is utterly convinced that nobody can save Mayview from... whatever is coming, and thinks that Spender and the Paranatural Activity Club are doomed to fail. When [[spoiler: Hijack]] challenges his point of view, Lucifer simply dismisses it as nonsense.
* TheSpock: He thinks that letting emotions factor into decisions regarding matters of right and wrong is not only short-sighted, but detrimental to the pursuit of the overall greater good. Slightly unusually, he himself isn't cold and rational, and ''can'' explode in anger, but his main emotion seems to be "[[SurroundedByIdiots absolutely done with everyone in my surroundings]]".
* WeirdBeard: His stache is formed by the wings of his bird body.

[[folder:"Scrapdragon"]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scrapdragon.png]]
The spirit sealed inside Max's bat. An enormous serpent, its spirit realm is an endless junkyard where the sun is always setting.

* DownInTheDumps: Scrapdragon's realm is a vast junkyard filled with all kinds of metallic trash. It seems to use this junk [[ImprovisedArmor for protection]]. [[ExtremeOmnivore Or a snack.]]
* ExtraOredinary: The source of Max's magnetism powers. It's also able to coat itself in a thick hide of scrap metal.
* ImprovisedArmor: It's capable of using its junkyard spiritscape to coat itself in a layer of metal.
* ItCanThink: [[spoiler:{{Downplayed|Trope}}. Scrapdragon still can't vocalise and acts like an enraged dangerous animal, in contrast to other spirits, but when Max is flailing about in a panic over accidentally entering a Spirit Trace and then getting levitated at a dangerous height above his house by his bat sticking to Scrapdragon's body, He apologises in a panic to his serpentine spirit when he believes it's about to eat him in anger over Max accidentally smacking it on the nose on their last meeting. This actually makes Scrapdragon pause, and then rotate its coils so Max is sitting atop it rather than precariously hanging, implying that it understood and accepted his apology. Likewise, it seems to sense the presence of the Black Sphinx within Max's MentalWorld and sets out after it, implied to be out of a desire to protect Max from his unknowing possession.]]
* TheGreatSerpent: Of all the spirits the activity club are interacting with through their tools, it's ''easily'' the biggest, with its second appearance showing it to be roughly the size of the Ghost train, or possibly larger, if not as long.
* ThroughHisStomach: [[spoiler:Befitting its voracious nature, Max manages to get Scrapdragon to calm down by feeding it his spiritual energy, utilising the fact his Spec-shot is currently viscous enough to function like a baseball to create more substantial "treats" to feed Scrapdragon, acting not unlike a dog biting snacks out of the air. It's furthermore implied that Scrapdragon's perpetual animosity isn't directed at Max himself, but rather other individuals who interfere with his MentalWorld, apparently out of a desire to keep feeding off his spiritual anergy alone]].
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Scrapdragon has quite the toothy maw/s.
* NightmareFace: Scrapdragon's "face" consists of three slits on it head that it can open and close. These slits can, at any given time, house rows of eyes, nostrils, or [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily teeth]].
* NoNameGiven: It hasn't been officially named. "Scrapdragon" is its official nickname, and has been [[http://www.paranatural.net/comic/chapter-4-page-108 referenced]] in-comic.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: At least half its eyes (out of a minimum of twelve) are colored red. The rest are blue, probably representing the opposite poles on a magnet. This seems to change, though.
* UnstoppableRage: Scrapdragon seems to be permanently stuck in Grudge mode, and thinks nothing of attempting to kill its own host. However, is was noting Max with curiosity first, and only reacted badly after he accidentally smacked it on the nose when trying to follow Isabel's advise from her Grandfather to 'show your spirit a firm hand' and get it to obey you. When its wisp form appears in Max's dreams it tries to attack Boss Leader first rather than him, making it unclear if it's truly hostile to him or not. [[spoiler:Max accidentally causing another Spirit Trace between himself and his spirit implies that Scrapdragon's perpetual anger might be directed towards the presence of the Black Sphinx likewise within Max, as it appears to be constantly searching for the illusive spirit within its junk piles and seems angered when it picks up a trace of it. it's furthermore implied that its actions are done out of a possessive desire to ''protect'' Max, or at least monopolie his spiritual energy for itself, and it takes umbridge with other beings interfering with its host]].
* UselessSuperpowers: Its magnetism powers make it a formidable threat to physical beings, but since the majority of the Activity Club's enemies are spirits or ghosts, Isaac lampshades that its usefulness to Max in fighting spectral enemies is severely limited.
* YourSizeMayVary: Its first appearance had it apparently about the size of an extra-large anaconda or bigger, but not a disproportionate size from a snake-like being. it's second appearance has it at the size of the Ghost train itself, if not as long, making it unclear if Scrapdragon is capable of altering its size at will, or is growing larger and more powerful by feasting on Max's spectral energy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Muse]]
!!Muse
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paranatural_muse.png]]
->''"Let's beat up one million children."''\\\

Ed's spirit, bound to his paintbrush. A tall, muscled monkey-like creature with hair and a tail resembling Ed's paintbrush. His spirit realm is a vibrant cartoon world where everything but him and Ed are rendered with amateurish ink drawings.
----

[[folder:Flipflop]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flipflop.png]]

->''"It's true, my abilities are nothing next to those of my '''sworn brothers'''. And all three of us pale in comparison to our wise and wonderful '''teacher'''."''\\\

Isabel's new spirit inhabiting the umbrella her grandfather gave her. He is a turtle with a cardboard box for a shell and a turtle-shell hat. He can "flip" the position of things. His spirit realm is a subway station.

* ApologizesALot: He apologizes for ''saying his name''.
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: He can reverse the position/axis of himself, his tool, and Isabel. To him, [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway this is completely worthless]]. In the hands of [[ChildSoldier Isabel]], however, he turns out to be ''very'' effective in the field---his powers translating to teleportation and ConfusionFu.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation:
** One of his main traits as he has very little self esteem. In his introduction to Isabel, he compares himself as inferior to his brothers and mentor.
** He states that he didn't do much of anything in the aftermath of Isabel and Spender's spying on Ms. Baxter, even though his flipping power was critical to not letting Isabel get spotted.
** Near the end of the school day in Chapter 5, Flipflop reveals to Isabel that he was gifted to her as a test because Francisco viewed him as being so worthless that he'd force her to rely more on Spectral Fist as opposed to tools, and claims that if Isabel keeps him around, he can prove his worth. Isabel responds by telling him [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre that they have nothing to prove.]]
* PunnyName: On 'hip-hop'.
* StreetPerformer: His theme. He's a breakdancer.
* VisualPun: He has a cardboard box as a shell. In other words, a box turtle.

* UselessSuperpowers: As Isaac {{Lampshades}}, Max having magnetism powers might be a cool trick, but the ability itself only works on physical metallic objects, and thus anything he controls with it will [[MadeOfAir simply pass through]] the spirits and ghosts they deal with on a regular basis. Likewise, he needs to have a supply of metal around to use his powers, unlike Ed, Isaac or Isabel, whose abilities can be generated from their tools/bodies on demand. Max's first attempt to remedy this by carrying a backpack of scrap metal around only serves to get him pinned down in front of the rampaging ghost train at a crucial moment because his magnetism is an omnidirectional force and can only be [[HowDoIShotWeb vaguely aimed]] with the bat.