History ComicBook / FiftyTwo

* TwoferTokenMinority: Renee Montoya, a Hispanic lesbian, and her on-again/of-again girlfriend, Kate Kane, a Jewish lesbian.

* BodyHorror: Many of the superheroes in the temporary hospital at Saint Camillus qualify. Due to a teleportation accident, various heroes ended up fused together. Special mention to Cyborg and Firestorm, whose nervous systems were fused together, but most of all to Alan Scott.

* In the wake of a teleportation accident, ComicBook/AdamStrange, Comicbook/AnimalMan, and [[Comicbook/TeenTitans Starfire]] must find their own way back home with limited supplies (including a lack of eyes in their pilot, Adam). Their journey not only puts them against some of the darkest forces in space, but makes them a target for the evil [[EldritchAbomination Lady Styx]]. In order to survive long enough to find someone to help them return home, they are forced to join up with Lobo, [[MindScrew now a cardinal in an interplanetary religion of nonviolence devoted to a gigantic space dolphin]].

* AsteroidThicket: Turned UpToEleven; apparently the thicket that ComicBook/AdamStrange, Comicbook/AnimalMan, and [[Comicbook/TeenTitans Starfire]] are stuck in has a diameter measured in ''parsecs''. This is handwaved with the explanation that it is not a natural asteroid field, but that comes nowhere close to explaining the sheer amount of mass that is present.

* BatmanGambit: Ralph Dibny's plan to defeat [[spoiler: Felix Faust and Neron.]]

* CListFodder: Good-bye [[spoiler: ComicBook/ElongatedMan, Question, Terra-Man, Terra, Devilance, Captain Comet, and the entire population of Bialya.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: Classic villain Egg Fu was transformed into the horrific and monstrous Chang Tzu, who killed a henchman because he ''might'' have once called him "Egg Fu." According to the WordOfGod, Morrison was ''begging'' them to retain the prehensile mustache, but he was voted down.

* DontAsk / YouDoNOTWantToKnow: [[spoiler: Booster on where Waverider got his future corpse from. He doesn't want to know, either.]]

** After the Cult of Conner, as Ralph Dibny edges closer and closer to despair and insanity he begins to perpetually carry around a hip flask and frequently drinks, regardless of the situation. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope He is drinking]] ''[[SuperSerum gingold]]'', keeping Felix Faust off balance by giving the impression that he is getting drunk]].

* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Sobek, who is actually Famine. Dr. Fate, who is actually Felix Faust, and Skeets, who is actually possessed by Mr. Mind.]]

** Natasha was written as wearing proper welding gear in the scene of her building her own armor, but the artist drew her without proper protection and [[MaleGaze focused on her chest when she hit an air pocket]]. The writers were very disappointed with the change, since it not only made Natasha less sympathetic when she gets burned, but also undercut her argument with her uncle. By recklessly forging ahead without protective gear, she shows that she really is not ready for the responsibility of wielding PowerArmor, and the legitimate disagreement she has with John Henry begins to become more one-sided.

** [[spoiler: Hannibal, the metahuman Everyman. Really, is it a surprise that a character named '''''[[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal]]''''' was a cannibal?]].

* LastDisrespects: Only a handful second-rate heroes are present at ComicBook/BoosterGold's funeral, and even they make it clear that [[OnlyInItForTheMoney they are only there because they are being paid]].

--->'''ComicBook/AdamStrange''': You know what we didn't need? One more disaster, one more roadblock. One more f^&*ing '''twist'''!

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler: Mister Mind gets caught in one, until later in ComicBook/BoosterGold's own title. Booster and Rip Hunter also set one up to fake Booster's death and make him into Supernova.]]

* TakeUpMySword: [[spoiler: Renee becomes The Question.]]

* ThanatosGambit: [[spoiler: Ralph Dibny uses his death to trap both Felix Faust and Neron in the Tower of Fate for eternity, since by killing him before he removed the binding spells around the tower, there is no way to escape.]]

* TruthSerums: Played with when Lex Luthor kidnaps Clark Kent and gives him an experimental truth serum which his scientists explain is a synthetic recreation of WonderWoman's magic lasso. He then asks Clark, who broke the story about new hero Supernova, why it is that Superman is [[ItsAllAboutMe toying with Luthor by pretending to be someone else]]. Clark, {{laughing mad}}ly, informs Lex that he does not know who is under the Supernova mask, but he is absolutely certain of one thing: [[CrowningMomentOfFunny it is not Superman]]. Creator commentary in the trade paperbacks points out that this scene, and perhaps the entire future path of DC comics, could have gone so differently if Luthor had simply known to ask ''the right question''.

* WhamShot: [[spoiler: Osiris being chowed down on by what the Black Adam Family thought was a Talky Tawny {{Expy}}, but actually one of the Four Horsemen of Apokolips.]]

* WrongGenreSavvy: Renee Montoya. Her years on the Gotham City Police Department have taught her much about surveillance and the seedy underbelly of Gotham, and she is not even that surprised to fall down a hidden trap door after she enters the building... [[GenreShift and then she discovers the nightmarish alien monster and crates full of laser weaponry]].

-->[[spoiler: '''Ralph Dibney:''' The flask? Full of gingold.]]

---> '''Ralph:''' [[spoiler: The flask? Full of Gingold.]]

* WhamShot: [[spoiler: Osiris being chowed down on by what the Black Adam Family thought was a Talky Tawny {{Expy}}, but actually one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.]]

* ObfuscatingDisability: Averted. Ralph Dibny believes that minor villain Professor Milo is faking the need for a wheelchair so he can disguise a mystical artifact as one of the wheels. Ralph then rips off the wheel since he needs it for a ritual that will supposedly revive his late wife Sue. He is horrified when he realizes that Milo wasn't faking his disability. Milo really needed that wheelchair ''since he lost both of his legs''.

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: ComicBook/TheQuestion, Osiris, Isis, and others]]. Their deaths were either drawn-out and heart-wrenching ([[spoiler: The Question]]) or graphic and brutal ([[spoiler: Osiris]]). Commentary in the trade paperbacks revealed that the authors and artists drew from personal life experiences for the more emotional deaths, whereas others were specifically designed to be as graphic as they could possibly be in a comic book.

** Booster Gold, after nearly reaching the very top of the superhero world, crashes down in ruins as Supernova steals all his glory, and his last staged heroism is exposed when the supervillain he hired exposes him when his check bounced.

'''This series provides examples of:'''

** ''Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis'' for ComicBook/BoosterGold, {{Steel}}, Black Adam, and the Space Heroes (Comicbook/AnimalMan, ComicBook/AdamStrange and [[Comicbook/TeenTitans Starfire]]), who all took part in either fighting the crisis itself or the set-up.

* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Natasha Irons, after a fallout with [[{{Steel}} her uncle]], enlists in the Lex Luthor Everyman Project and gains actual superpowers, going from a human in PoweredArmor to a human capable of ''crushing'' PoweredArmor. John Henry is infected with a metagene against his will and transforms into a being composed of stainless steel, capable of deflecting bullets and hurling blobs of molten metal.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: When all the heroes who went out into space in Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis are rescued and brought down to Australia they have all been mutated, transformed, merged or deformed in unique and disturbing ways. Original Franchise/GreenLantern Alan Scott got off lighter than almost anybody else - he only lost one eye, but even the eye he still has was not originally his and his daughter Jade died during the Crisis. {{Steel}} recognizes that, physical rehabilitation aside, all these returning heroes are going to need counseling to help them deal with what happened, but Alan is adamant that that is not even an option.

The major consequences of the series on Franchise/TheDCU as a whole is proving that the [[spoiler: DC Multiverse still exists]] as well as setting up some of the future storylines of some of its major characters. It also set the standard for weekly yearlong series published by DC, which has yet to be equaled by any of the other series that have followed.

* FridgeLogic: In-universe, Skeets is listing off the future-crimes of Metropolis while Booster Gold explains why each of them does not satisfy his needs of a big, showy crime to get himself back on top of the fame and money game. When Skeets eventually gets to a nuclear submarine crash in Midtown Booster explains that that one is particularly useless, since who will even ''notice'' him underwater at night--wait, how is a submarine going to crash in ''Midtown''?

* FightingFingerprint: Renee Montoya realizes that Batwoman is her ex-girlfriend Kate Kane because she uses the exact same punching technique (in addition to the other clues.)

** Rip Hunter lets slip that the Multiverse exists in front of [[MadScientist Doctor Sivanna]]. This was probably intended to lead in to ComicBook/TheMultiversity, where the bad doctor plays a key role, but given the long period of DevelopmentHell it languished in, that Sivanna's involvement had to be abandoned.
** [[spoiler: During the final clash against Mister Mind, Rip Hunter reveals that this will mark the beginning of Booster Gold's glory days, and "the dawn of something called the Megaverse." This was never brought up again. In fact, the follow up ''Booster Gold'' series centred around Booster actually having to retain his reputation as a "failed hero."]]

* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Sobek, who is actually Famine. Dr. Fate, who is actually Felix Faust, and Skeets, who is actually Mr. Mind.]]

** An early issue has Animal Man and Adam Strange stranded on a paradise-like planet with Starfire. In one scene, Starfire showers and talks with Animale Man while completely naked. Naturally there is SceneryCensor to cover her.

** The original, Silver Age Supernova ''was'' Superman in disguise.

* SmokingIsCool: [[SubvertedTrope No]]. [[{{Tearjerker}} No it is not]]. The Question explains to Renee in great detail all the problems with smoking, including what, exactly, is found within cigarettes. [[spoiler: Then you learn why The Question is so anti-smoking - he's dying from cancer due to a lifetime of puffing.]]

* UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler:Black Adam]] during World War III

* WorldWarIII: The 50th week in the book, World War III is a week long war which boils down to [[spoiler: Black Adam vs. Everyone on Earth]]. Eventually a spinoff comic was written detailing it better (reviews were mixed, though).

* WrongGenreSavvy: Renee Montoya. Her years on the Gotham City Police Department have taught her much about surveillance and the seedy underbelly of Gotham, and she is not even that surprised to fall down a hidden trap door after she enters the building...[[GenreShift and then she discovers the nightmarish alien monster and crates full of laser weaponry]].

** The trope is later played with by the GenreSavvy authors, who realised that past experiences would color the perspective of any readers. [[spoiler: ComicBook/BoosterGold]] was never meant to be KilledOffForReal, it was always planned to be [[FakingTheDead a deliberate trick to fool the villain]], but the writers wanted to conceal that fact from the audience and they knew that comic readers would ''automatically'' view any "death" with skepticism. So, they had to find a way to actually convince readers of his death while not actually killing him, and they eventually settled on the simple and effective plan of showing his corpse. The trade paperbacks feature several rough sketches of attempts to pull this off, with panels showing his bisected body falling to the ground in several places, but this was determined to come off as [[{{Narm}} hilarious instead of dramatic]]. The panel eventually decided upon was a half-success; fans did not actually believe [[spoiler: Booster Gold]] was dead, but they ''did'' believe that [[PutOnABus he was permanently out of the series.]]

* GenreSavvy: The authors (See DeathIsCheap above). They have spent enough time in the comics industry to realize how the fans would react before they had even written the scene.

** Supernova's identity, even up to the very moment of his identity reveal. [[spoiler: The writers ''were'' going to have Booster shout, "Look at me! I'm Supernova!" just before getting killed trying to save the day, but decided GenreSavvy readers would pick that up as Supernova's identity.]]

-> '''PANEL 2''': "''I'm ComicBook/BoosterGold. I protect the past to ensure your future. And I am'' '''awesome.'''"

-> '''PANEL 1''': "''I'm {{Steel}}, second-stringer from the Superman books. And I am'' '''awesome.'''"

-> '''PANEL 3''': "''I'm [[ComicBook/ElongatedMan Ralph Dibny]]. I stretch and am a second-stringer on the Justice League. And I am'' '''awesome.'''"
-> '''PANEL 4''': "''We're Starfire, ComicBook/AnimalMan, and ComicBook/AdamStrange. And we're second-stringers from the DC universe. And we are'' '''awesome.'''"
-> '''PANEL 5''': "''I'm [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Renee Montoya]], second-stringer from the Batman books and [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries the Batman animated series.]] And I am'' '''a lesbian.''' ''And also very, very'' '''awesome.'''"

* {{Badass}}: Everyone. No, seriously, ''everyone''. This series manages to make [[CListFodder second stringers]] from the back pages of [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks decades-old stories]] into '''concentrated awesome'''.

---> '''Ralph:''' [[spoiler: The flash? Full of Gingold.]]

* WhamLine: When Renee discovers the truth about The Question's aversion to her smoking:
--> '''Renee:''' "When'd you quit?"
--> '''Question:''' "Not soon enough."

** An issue has, Animal Man and Adam Strange stranded on a paradise-like planet with Starfire shower and talk with Animale Man while she is completly naked. Naturally there is SceneryCensor to cover her.