History DarthWiki / SPECWAR

* CuttingTheKnot: Faced with a bomb that'll obliterate anything and anyone within at 10*mile radius, and no option to disarm it, Captain America just takes the direct approach and smashes the bomb's wiring with his shield, disarming it.....somehow.

** The ManBehind TheMan: The Overlord

* AmericaSavesTheDay: Fuck Yeah!

* CoolBoat: The re*commissioned U.S.S. Freedom Dawn.

** A later issue has the General hospitalized for the injuries sustained in the opening arc, which doesn't stop Casey from being a freaking bad*ass. He beats the crap out of an assassin sent to kill him with his mothereffin' cast.

** Hell, X and Not-Sarah's relationship apparently started with Not*Sarah betraying that universe's Cpt. Colbert and personally killing him along with Mr. X helping in the deed.

** The "Secret Resistance" in 4.0 [[spoiler:features the revelation that the Empire's ready to expand their reach to other worlds. Also, Sarah's been replaced with her evil Earth*6325 counterpart.]]

* Big Bad: Different for each season...

* Big Damn Heroes: It's a specialty of Team Alpha.

** CustomUniform: Sort of. The Team all have the similar colour scheme with their outfits, but all have distinct differences, with the exception of Captain America, who gets to keep his star*spangled outfit, by virtue of being, well, Captain America.

* Eagleland: It's a mix of both Types 1 and 2, but leaning towards Type 1 most definitely. SPECWAR and the O*N*E at large are portrayed in a positive light.

* FictionalCounterpart: The Office of National Emergency seems to be a superhuman*based equivalent to the real*world Department of Homeland Security.

** TheDragon: The "Oppressor", an Empire*sympathizing Captain America knockoff.

* HeroicSecondWind: At first, Mr. X is schooling Chris and kicking his ass whilst telling the Captain out loud about his plans after he kills him and what he'll do to Col. Heissman soon after. This is then followed by Colbert refusing to give up as he then seizes upon beating down Mr. X both physically and psychologically.

* InterserviceRivalry: Right at the start of the comic series, Sgt. Colbert (SPECWAR/O*N*E*) shows some disapproval of Captain America, a liason with S.H.I.E.L.D.

* KilledOffForReal: It may be an idealistically-charged comic, but any time a character's killed in 'SPECWAR', they've pretty much stayed dead. The list includes: [[spoiler:Former O*N*E director Roland Mason, James 'Bucky' Barnes (Or not...), amongst others.

* PuttingOnTheReich: The Empire of Earth-6325, right down to their SS*esque uniforms and symbols.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Despite being suspended by the Secretary of Defense for the fiasco with Cobra's medical centre, General Casey defies orders and has The Team launch an unsanctioned operation to stop the enemy, in spite of SecDef's orders.

-->'''Skrull General''': Bow to your masters and embr****

** For [[spoiler:Bucky's]] Secret Avengers force in Season 4:
*** TheHero: Maj. Peggy Carter, though once [[spoiler:Bucky]] settles in, she ends up sharing the position.
*** TheLancer: Hawkeye, much like his "regular" counterpart. He tends to chafe with Peggy, but can be counted on when needed the most.
*** TheSmartGuy: Vision 2.0
*** TheBigGuy(s): Patriot & Lt. Ryan Kessel
*** TheChick: Sgt. Stephanie Johnston*O'Neal
*** TheMentor: Gen. Nick Fury
*** SixthRanger: Captain America (Bucky), given the fact that [[spoiler:he did arrive through complete accident, but he almost acclimates himself with the team right away.]]

* TheGoodCaptain: Aside from you*know*who, Captain Colbert is most definitely good.

* HairTriggerTemper: Mr. X, thanks in part to the faulty Super*Soldier Serum. This ends up being a disadvantage to X, however, when Captain Colbert successfully presses on his Berserk Button (being called by his real name, "Bradley") to defeat him in a fistfight.

* Evil Knockoff: In addition to its own version of SPECWAR, the Empire also reveals that they have a team of their "own" Avengers, clearly based on the classic team: Torrent, a robotic Thor clone; The Maestro, supposedly an evil version of the Hulk; Oppressor, a clear-cut Captain America ripoff [[spoiler:even moreso, as he's a clone of the deceased Steve Rogers]]; the Crimson Dynamo, patterned after Iron Man; and Bullseye, meant to be a counterpart for Hawkeye.

* Five Man Band: Team Alpha

* YouRebelScum: Or, as members of the Empire are wont to refer to supporters of the resistance: "American pigs", or "Patriotic fools".

* AffectionateParody: "The Stars & Stripes", a Show Within A Show in the SPECWAR universe is an over*the*top spoof of CSI and similar police procedural shows.

** TheBigGuy: Nathan Hale (yes, he's a [Cobra B.A.T. infiltrator]], but he does stick with The Team, ultimately.),

** TheMentor: Steve Rogers [though in Season 4.0, he becomes a Sixth Ranger]], but most of the time, it's General John Casey.

* Canada's version of SPECWAR, the Joint Response Squadron-6, is meant to be a comic variant of the real life Joint Task Force 2.

* Mid Season Upgrade: In Season 4, we see The Team sporting new, tougher uniforms, to go with the new headquarters [[spoiler:after their old headquarters was decimated.]]

* Upon arriving on Earth-6325, [[spoiler:Bucky]] ends up striking an attacking Sgt. Ryan Kessel in the nards. (To be fair, this was before he trusted the Secret Avengers and etc.)

* Hair of Gold: Not only Steve Rogers (who makes apperances here & there), but Stephanie Johnston and Sarah Heissman qualify.

* Hate Plague: The Psycho-Bomb, which amplifies extreme emotions of rage and malevolence in a person. Nearly everyone was affected, save for Captain America, Lt. O'Neal, and Stephanie Johnston, who don't exactly have anything or anyone to be hateful about to begin with. [[spoiler:Col. Heissman would count, but considering that she's been replaced by an already malevolent parallel universe version...]]

** [[spoiler:Speaking of, Cpt. Colbert himself sacrifices his own life to save General Casey from explosions, though, he too gets rebuilt as a cybernetic super*soldier.]]

* TheVamp: The "Evil" Sarah Heissman from Earth*6325 is apparently implied to be such, particularly with her interactions with Bucky in one fight scene. We even see her attempt to seduce Bucky into joining the Empire, with promises of love. [[spoiler:Luckily, Barnes isn't one to be swayed that easily and rejects it.]]

** Season 4.0 brings us one of the best examples as Peggy Carter & Sarah Heissman show us what happens when two kick*ass Action Girls from two different universes fight off the forces of the Empire side-by-side.

* Badass Abnormal: Team Alpha has Bucky/Captain America. And later [[spoiler:Cpt. Colbert, after he barely survives the attack on SPECWAR Headquarters. He gains an artificial arm, as well as enhanced sensory functions.]]

* Badass Family: The Heissmans, who all have their share of awesome:

* BashBrothers: Cpt. Colbert & Captain America (James "Bucky" Barnes), and later, Colbert & Agent Clint Barton, after [Bucky's Heroic Sacrifice]].

* Let's not forget Colbert kicking Mr. X's ass both mentally and physically in Season 2.0.

*** Season 4: The Red Skull [and later, the Empire, an alliance of villains who've taken over the alternate dimension that Bucky's sent into.]]

* AmericanRobot: J.H. Rolph's Freedom*Fighter V robot, another attempt to discredit O*N*E and SPECWAR.

* The Man Behind the Man: The Red Skull, who's revealed to be the one really running HYDRA in the Season 1 finale, and not Baron von Strucker.

* Major Injury Underreaction: [[spoiler:Nate Hale, in rescuing Cpt. Colbert from an explosive, shrugs it off, in spite of being badly damaged.]]

* Oh Crap: The main Skrull army in the Season 2.0 finale must've had this collective reaction once they see the entire SPECWAR battalion charging in to stop their plans. And, led by none other than Steve Rogers.

* SimilarSquad: In the "main" universe, there's the Canadian equivalent of SPECWAR, the Joint Response Squadron*6 (JRS*6)

* Super Trophy Super Rack: The Empire's main fortress in Washington D.C. has a trophy room filled with items taken from the heroes that fell in the final battle some odd years ago. [[spoiler:This becomes important when Peggy Carter snatches an energy shield gauntlet from the room during the Secret Avengers' rescue mission.]]

* Also, the SPECWAR team tend to do whatever they can to prevent villains from pulling this off, with varying degrees of success. Though you can't fault The Team for not trying.

!!The tropes:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Tropes A-M]]

* MacGyvering: In order to escape the confines of an Empire prison, [Sarah]] uses the laser fence of the cage she's being held in to remove her bindings.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tropes N-Z]]

* YouRebelScum: Or, as members of the Empire are wont to refer to supporters of the resistance: "American pigs", or "Patriotic fools".
[[/folder]]

** A subversion appears with Team America, a specialized task*force financed by J.H. Rolph, all of whom are made to look like unflappable American patriots.

* Heroic Sacrifice: [[spoiler:Bucky effectively stops the Skrull invasion by intentionally charging into the Skrull leader into some machinery and causing everything and themselves to explode.]]

* KilledOffForReal: It may be an idealistically*charged comic, but any time a character's killed in 'SPECWAR', they've pretty much stayed dead. The list includes: [[spoiler:Former O*N*E director Roland Mason, James 'Bucky' Barnes (Or not...), amongst others.
** In 'SPECWAR: The Resistance'...[[spoiler:Steve Rogers, Spider*Man, The President of The United States (unnamed, however), Norman Osborn, Cobra Commander, Bucky (that universe's, and the one the 'regular' Bucky subsequently replaces), among others.]]

Our heroes serve under the command of '''General John Casey''', who currently serves as the Director of the O*N*E.

** Cpl. Stephanie Johnston isn't a slouch in the badass department herself, especially [when she joins Team Alpha.]]

** Casey manages to do this with the [[spoiler:Secretary of Defense, of all people!]] in Season 3. Though it was pretty much Casey punching Cobra mooks in the face while the [[spoiler:SecDef]] had to use a pistol to defend himself.

** As evidenced with his "fight" against three of the Red Skull's elite henchmen [after being turned into a cybernetic super*soldier]] in Season 4.0, he really isn't one to mess with.

** In "The Resistance", the already*married couple of Ryan & Shannon Kessel serves as this for Bucky and Peggy.

* BittersweetEnding: Notably Season 2's finale, where SPECWAR foils the Skrull invasion, but at the cost of [[spoiler:Bucky's life, as he made a sacrifice to stop them. Or not.]]

Basically meant as a G.I. Joe analogue for the Marvel Universe, the series, written by Tropers/DasNordlicht91, follows the eponymous team, the Special Warfare Division of the U.S.'s Office of National Emergency, tasked with protecting America and her allies from superhuman threats. The main team is Team Alpha, led by Captain (formerly Sergeant) Christopher Colbert, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who got recruited into SPECWAR upon its inception. Colbert is joined by other characters:

* Col. Sarah Heissman, arguably the co-protagonist of the book, and all around badass Action Girl. She's also Colbert's romantic interest.
* Lt. Philip O'Neal, self-proclaimed nerd and also a competent soldier in his own right.
* Cpl. Stephanie Johnston, former head of the SPECWAR Support Squad, and new technical expert of Team Alpha.

*** From Season 4: "Super*Soldier Program * Echo: Success." (Dr. Coleman reporting on O*N*E finally getting it right with their own Super*Soldier.)

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Gee, I wonder if O*N*E's attempt to replicate the Super*Soldier Serum will go off without any major problems.....[[spoiler:it led to the creation of Mr. X.]]
* WomanInBlack: Sarah posing as "Agent Orange", as she wears a mostly all*black outfit (with orange accents) and substitutes her regular dirty-blonde for a black/orange wig.

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Maj. Nathan Hale]], revealed to be a [B.A.T. Infiltrator Class after he and Team Alpha are captured by Cobra. He ends up remaining a good guy, though.]]

* NamesTheSame: General John Casey is definitely not to be mixed up with the NSA agent from 'Chuck', even if both are awesomely badass.

** Mr. X: Psychotic archnemesis of Sarah Heissman or Homer Simpson's one-time Internet alias?

* OurHeroIsDead: The Season 4.0 opening story arc's second issue ends with [[spoiler:Cpt. Colbert apparently dead (or nearing death...) after saving General Casey from RPG fire. The next issue is spent on reviving and rebuilding Colbert into a cybernetic super*soldier.]]

* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: A Season 4.0 story arc featuring an alternate universe [[spoiler:in which Bucky had been shunted to]] is meant as a set*up for a "SPECWAR: The Resistance" spinoff series, featuring the Secret Avengers' struggle to free Earth from tyranny. Said series is going strong and running concurrent with "SPECWAR". [[spoiler:It also sets up another storyline in SPECWAR concerning the alternate universe's version of Sarah Heissman replacing the regular universe Sarah. Oh, did we mention that Alternate!Sarah is evil?]]

* SiblingTeam: The SPECWAR team of 2051 has James and Sydney Heissman, brother and sister, and co*leaders of the new Team Alpha.

** In the 4.0 opening arc, Cpt. Colbert dives right in the path of rocket*firing soldiers, and ends up nearly dying as a result. [[spoiler:He does get better, and becomes a cyborg super-soldier, though.]]

** Her acting like this despite the fact that Evil*Sarah is firmly married with Earth*6325 Mr. X.

* The Smurfette Principle: Averted, as we've got Col. Sarah Heissman, Stephanie Johnston, as well as Lisa Hines and Dr. Ramona Coleman, all of whom support SPECWAR.

* FaceHeelTurn: Mr X., though in backstory. [[spoiler:He was a former soldier who was given the Super*Soldier Serum, which turned him insane, and caused him to grow distrusting of the United States. Being left captured by the enemy during an ill*fated mission didn't help matters.]]

* Canada's version of SPECWAR, the Joint Response Squadron*6, is meant to be a comic variant of the real life Joint Task Force 2.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Gender-flipped as it's the dirty*blond haired Sarah Heissman (female) that's in love with red*headed Cpt. Chris Colbert (male).

* ShutUp,Hannibal!:

** Now that [[spoiler:Captain Colbert is a Super*Soldier by way of cybernetic enhancements]], he counts as a 'Good Counterpart' to the maniacal Mr. X, representing the success by O*N*E in creating their own Super*Soldier.

* EvilTwin: Agent Orange, a clone of [Sarah's]] made by Prof. Arnim Zola.
* Sarah gets another Evil Twin in Season 4.0 with the Earth*6325 Sarah Heissman [[spoiler:who even replaces the "regular" Sarah at the end of "Secret Resistances".]]

** The Secret Avengers resistance force are surely not to be confused with the Earth*616 Secret Avengers. The spinoff comic in which the Secret Avengers appear in is even entitled "The Resistance" to avoid any further confusion.
** Mr. X: Psychotic archnemesis of Sarah Heissman or Homer Simpson's one*time Internet alias?

** Mr. X could've just killed Sarah during his revenge plot against the Colonel, but X decided to make her suffer even more by prolonging her captivity thru Hannibal Lectures and planning to inject Sarah with the faulty Super-0Soldier Serum. Bad idea, as it gave SPECWAR enough time to hatch a plan to rescue Sarah and stop X from carrying out his machinations.

* NonUniformUniform: The standard SPECWAR combat gear consists of red*white*blue, but that doesn't stop members of Team Alpha from giving their own uniforms a personal touch.
* [[NotHimself Not Herself]]: Chris comes to this conclusion concerning Sarah in Season 4.0 a few issues after the "Secret Resistance" arc. [[spoiler:Which makes sense, given that the actual Sarah Heissman, at that point, was still in Earth*6325, while her evil counterpart from that universe took her place in the "regular" universe.]]

** Captain Colbert himself has been turned into one hell of a One*Man Army thanks to good 'ol fashioned cybernetics.

* PreAsskicking One Liner:

Basically meant as a G.I. Joe analogue for the Marvel Universe, the series follows the eponymous team, the Special Warfare Division of the U.S.'s Office of National Emergency, tasked with protecting America and her allies from superhuman threats. The main team is Team Alpha, led by Captain (formerly Sergeant) Christopher Colbert, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who got recruited into SPECWAR upon its inception. Colbert is joined by other characters:

** The Big Bad: Gen. Johann Krauser
** The Dragon: The "Oppressor", an Empire*sympathizing Captain America knockoff.
** The Evil Genius: Dr. Venom
** The Brute: Mr. X, though he's not really that brutish in the traditional regard.
** The Dark Chick: Maj. Sarah Kovac
** The Man Behind the Man: The Overlord

** The Hero * Both Cpt. Colbert & Sarah fit, as both have led The Team on separate occasions
** The Lancer * Bucky [for the first two seasons]], and then later replaced by Hawkeye
** The Big Guy: Nathan Hale (yes, he's a [Cobra B.A.T. infiltrator]], but he does stick with The Team, ultimately.),
** The Smart Guy(s) * Lt. O'Neal and Stephanie Johnston
** The Chick * Steph, but once Sharon Carter joins Team Alpha, she fills this role nicely.
** The Mentor: Steve Rogers [though in Season 4.0, he becomes a Sixth Ranger]], but most of the time, it's General John Casey.
** Sixth Ranger: [[spoiler:Captain America/Steve Rogers in Season 4.0]]

*** The Hero: Maj. Peggy Carter, though once [[spoiler:Bucky]] settles in, she ends up sharing the position.
*** The Lancer: Hawkeye, much like his "regular" counterpart. He tends to chafe with Peggy, but can be counted on when needed the most.
*** The Smart Guy: Vision 2.0
*** The Big Guy(s): Patriot & Lt. Ryan Kessel
*** The Chick: Sgt. Stephanie Johnston*O'Neal
*** The Mentor: Gen. Nick Fury
*** Sixth Ranger: Captain America (Bucky), given the fact that [he did arrive through complete accident, but he almost acclimates himself with the team right away.]]

* GoodOldFisticuffs: Casey opts to use his bare hands when fighting alongside the [[spoiler:Secretary of Defense]] to [free the Pentagon from Cobra captivity.]]

* HowDareYouDieOnMe: Invoked by Col. Heissman [when tending to a seemingly mortally*wounded Cpt. Colbert:]]

* ImNotAHero, I'm...: Said verbatim by Cpt. Colbert in one issue.

* InstantAwesome, Just Add Mecha: Both Epsilon Robotics and A.I.M. make these like it's no one's business.

*** General Casey even gets in on this, commenting that if Chris & Sarah were to ever have a wedding, he'd make sure that it's in the middle of a firefight.

* MechaMooks: HYDRA's HydraCorps robotic troopers, as well as the Cobra B.A.T.s

* Name's The Same: General John Casey is definitely not to be mixed up with the NSA agent from 'Chuck', even if both are awesomely badass.
* The comic itself is also not to be confused with an obscure 2002 independent comic, also titled 'SPECWAR'.
* The Secret Avengers resistance force are surely not to be confused with the Earth*616 Secret Avengers. The spinoff comic in which the Secret Avengers appear in is even entitled "The Resistance" to avoid any further confusion.
* Mr. X: Psychotic archnemesis of Sarah Heissman or Homer Simpson's one*time Internet alias?
* There's an in*universe example with Stephanie Johnston, head of the SPECWAR Support Squad and Stephanie Johnson from The Stars & Stripes television show.
* Near Villain Victory: HYDRA [[spoiler:taking over the United States near the end of Season 1, thus setting up SPECWAR launching their efforts in liberating America.]]
* New Season, New Name: Not an explicit example, but the title of the comic adds the corresponding "Season" number to the title. (SPECWAR 2.0, and so on.)
* Nice Guy: Mostly everyone on Team Alpha. However, Sarah does take getting a bit of unraveling.
* Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
* Oh, nicely done in trying to reach
* Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: [[spoiler:The Empire's already murdered Steve Rogers, and could've destroyed the remaining resistance to their rule by doing the same to Peggy Carter, but the Red Skull had to leave
her alive for some reason, which of course, leads to Peggy becoming the Big Good that opposes the Empire's rule.]]
* Mr. X could've just killed Sarah during his revenge plot against the Colonel, but X decided to make her suffer even more by prolonging her captivity thru Hannibal Lectures and planning to inject Sarah
with the faulty Super*Soldier Serum. Bad idea, as it gave SPECWAR enough time to hatch a plan to rescue Sarah and stop X from carrying out his machinations.
* Cobra implanted its B.A.T. Infiltrators with the ability to adapt to its surroundings, making for easy infiltration. [[spoiler:That ends up biting them in the ass, as Nathan Hale, himself a B.A.T. Infiltrator, ends up becoming a bonafide good guy and helps Team Alpha in defeating Cobra.]]
* The Skrull infiltrator impersonating [[spoiler:Steve Rogers]] didn't finish the job, assuming that the Skrullian restraints would kill Steve as he struggled to free himself. [[spoiler:He likely underestimated Commander Rogers,
who not only freed himself from the restraints, but ends up beating the crap out of the Skrull impersonator.]]
* Nightmare Sequence: Peggy Carter seems to have quite a few, all of them centered on reliving Steve Rogers's death, followed by a zombified Steve coming after her. It's even more disturbing than it sounds.
* In "O*N*E Under Siege, Part Three: Dawn's Early Light", Cpt. Colbert inevitably suffers a nightmare while he's being operated on by SPECWAR scientists. The dream has the Captain being left helpless as an army of demonic Mr. X clones eventually overwhelm Sarah and presumably kill her. He then has another one where Bucky's corpse blames him for letting him die at the end of Season 2.0.
* No Celebrities Were Harmed: Secretary of Defense Joseph Holliston essentially looks (and acts) like Stephen Colbert.

* NonActionGirl: Stephanie Johnston, though she Took A Level in Badass during the course of Season 3.
* No UniformUniform: The standard SPECWAR combat gear consists of red*white*blue, but that doesn't stop members of Team Alpha from giving their own uniforms a personal touch.
* Not Herself: Chris comes to this conclusion concerning Sarah in Season 4.0 a few issues after the "Secret Resistance" arc. [[spoiler:Which makes sense, given that the actual Sarah Heissman, at that point, was still in Earth*6325, while her evil counterpart from that universe took her place in the "regular" universe.]]
* Not Quite Dead: [[spoiler:Bucky, as it's revealed in the Season 3.0 finale's final pages, didn't die when the Skrull ship exploded back in 2.0, but rather sent to a desolate alternate universe ruled by an oppressive
alliance of villains.]]
* Not So Dire: One issue opens with Cpt. Colbert & Steve Rogers sneaking about, presumably out on a secret operation of some sort. [[spoiler:Turns out they're planning a surprise party for Sarah. Steve even
comments on it, dryly noting that the secret operation stuff seemed kinda overblown.]]
* Now or Never Kiss: Well, at least for one person, as if Sarah didn't kiss [[spoiler:a Brainwashed & Crazy]] Cpt. Colbert, she would've been likely all but dead.
* Official Couple: Colbert/Sarah and O'Neal/Steph.
* The future story in Season 3 has James "Bucky" Heissman (Sarah and Chris's son) and Shannon Carter/American Dream.
* In "The Resistance", Bucky & Peggy qualify as this.
* Oh Crap: The main Skrull army in the Season 2.0 finale must've had this collective reaction once they see the entire SPECWAR battalion charging in to stop their plans. And, led by none other than
Steve Rogers.
Skrull General: Damn it, everyone fall back! We're done for!
Steve: Under the authority of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the UN Security Council, consider all of you under arrest.
* The beautiful look on Mr. X's face when he sees Chris getting back up and ready for round two, even after getting his ass kicked beforehand.
* The 3.0 half*way finale arc features Nathan Hale [[spoiler:who's recently turned on Cobra and joined SPECWAR]] instilling this on half the Cobra hiearchy.
* General Krauser's reaction upon seeing Bucky (who he's assumed has died, but it's "our" Bucky, in this case) leading the Secret Avengers.
* One*Man Army: Col. Sarah Heissman, who's described as being as bad ass as Captain friggin' America.
* It's revealed in Sarah's bio*file that Cap actually did train her early on, so there's that.
* Captain Colbert himself has been turned into one hell of a One*Man Army thanks to good 'ol fashioned cybernetics.
* One Steve Limit: Team Alpha has had two members with "James" as their first name (James Buchanan Barnes and Pvt. James Hiller), though both were a part of the team on separate occasions
rather than the same time. [[spoiler:There's also James Heissman, Sarah and Chris's future son, who leads the SPECWAR Team Alpha of 2051.]] There is however just one Steve that's part of the main cast.
* In the entire series and its spinoffs, there are three Captains America (Steve Rogers, James Barnes, and even Mr. X of all people! [[spoiler:In one alternate universe]]) scattered throughout, but never at the same time.
* On The Next: Every. Single. Issue. Will end with the "Next: *insert descriptor here*" variety.
* The spin*off series, 'SPECWAR: The Resistance' ends each issue with a "battle plan" framing device, setting up the next issue.
* Original Generation: Anyone who isn't an established Marvel character, including almost the entire main cast of the comic.
* Painting the Fourth Wall: One back*up story has Lt. O'Neal imagining that his teammates and he are in an episode of The Stars & Stripes, and as such, the art*style reflects it, with the SPECWAR
characters drawn in the usual format in which the Stars & Stripes stories are done in.
* "American Dreams & American Nightmares" features characters who have been corrupted by Nightmare to be speaking in a haunting green word bubble with a font that looks more at home in
a horror comic.
* One issue coincides its "Tango Bravo Charlie" cliffhanger message with a character actually giving the order at the end of said issue.
* Our Hero Is Dead: The Season 4.0 opening story arc's second issue ends with [[spoiler:Cpt. Colbert apparently dead (or nearing death...) after saving General Casey from RPG fire. The next issue is spent on reviving
and rebuilding Colbert into a cybernetic super*soldier.]]

* RedShirtArmy: Averted, for the most part. Any O*N*E personnel not affiliated with the Special Warfare Division fall squarely as Red Shirts, but all crew members, agents, or support staff directly
working with SPECWAR totally avert this, as they're more than competent to handle superhuman enemies.

* SmugSnake: J.H. Rolph, whose attempts to dislodge the O*N*E and SPECWAR seem like good ideas on paper, but end up failing due to his own ego and the fact that the American public won't fall for
snake*oil salesman*like pitches.

* Take Up My Sword: General Casey becomes Director of O*N*E in order to honour the memory of [[spoiler:Roland Mason, murdered O*N*E* director.]]

* Taking the Bullet: Peggy attempts to do this for Bucky, and survives it by virtue of blanketing herself with her energy shield.

* TookA LevelInBadass: Once Steph leaves the comforts of the SPECWAR Support Squad desk and joins Team Alpha, she becomes quite a force to be reckoned with. [[spoiler:We even see her fight off a group of Cobra B.A.T.s and blowing them up with a RPG, saving Lt. O'Neal and Pvt. Hiller.]]

* UnholyMatrimony: In "The Resistance", Earth-6325's Mr. X apparently married that universe's version of Sarah Heissman (or Kovac, more likely...), and the two of them serve together in the Light
Brigade to cause havoc on Resistance forces.
** Hell, X and Not*Sarah's relationship apparently started with Not*Sarah betraying that universe's Cpt. Colbert and personally killing him along with Mr. X helping in the deed.
* TheVamp: The "Evil" Sarah Heissman from Earth*6325 is apparently implied to be such, particularly with her interactions with Bucky in one fight scene. We even see her attempt to seduce Bucky
into joining the Empire, with promises of love. [[spoiler:Luckily, Barnes isn't one to be swayed that easily and rejects it.]]

* VillanExitStageLeft: Cobra Commander pulls this off, but he leaves both Destro and the Baroness behind to be captured by SPECWAR.

* WelcomeIssue: The very first issue serves as this for Col. Sarah Heissman.

* BadassDuo: Gen. John Casey and [the Secretary of Defence]] in Season 3.0

* DidYouJustPunchOut Cthulhu?: Season 2 has The Team going up against the demon Nightmare, who planned on turning all of America insane by "turning their American dreams into American nightmares", [[spoiler:and winning!]] That same season also has them being key in defeating the Skrull invasion of Earth.

* ArtificialHuman: Nathan Hale [[spoiler: which plays into his eventual defection from Cobra to SPECWAR's Team Alpha.]]]]

** Casey manages to do this with the [[spoiler:Secretary of Defense, of all people!]] in Season 3. Though it was pretty much Casey punching Cobra mooks in the face while the [[spoiler:SecDef]] had to use
a pistol to defend himself.

* BrickJoke: In the first issue, we see Col. Heissman commenting that she'd never be desperate enough to kick someone in the groin during a battle. In Season 2.0's finale, that's what exactly Sarah has to do [[spoiler::spoiler in order to save a prone Colbert.]]]]

* CameBackStrong: 4.0 features a seemingly dead Cpt. Chris Colbert, who "died" after pulling a Heroic Sacrifice to save John Casey, making his triumphant return to life by using his new cybernetic
enhancements to save Sarah from a squad of elite henchemen.
* CanadaEh: In the Secret Avengers' first mission, they free Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the Canadians soon learn of their exploits, working to free the rest of Canada from Empire rule. Ironically, the Canadian freedom fighters use a combined Canadian/American flag as their symbol.
* CanonForeigner: Chris's brother, Doug MacArthur*Colbert, who's (so far) an exclusive to the animated series.
** There's also General William Heissman from said animated series.
* CanonImmigrant: The Strategic Scientific Reserve, which appeared in 'Captain America: The First Avenger', is inserted into the Marvel Universe proper as a predecessor to both
O*N*E and its Special Warfare Division.

** Also, in an interesting twist, the comic DOESN'T use "to be continued" for cliffhangers, opting for a more coded use of "'''T'''ango '''B'''ravo '''C'''harlie". (Just notice the first three letters, and you'll
see why.)

* Crapsack World: [Earth*6325, controlled by the all*encompassing Empire, an alliance of that Earth's worst villains.]]

* CuttingTheKnot: Faced with a bomb that'll obliterate anything and anyone within at 10*mile radius, and no option to disarm it, Captain America just takes the direct approach and smashes the bomb's wiring with his
shield, disarming it.....somehow.

-->'''Colbert''': General, my colleague....the woman I love, is trapped in there with some deranged psycho, and I'm not going to give up in saving Sarah. So you can either get out of my way and let me do my job, or you can prove
to me that you're still America's greatest war hero.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Roland Mason's death averts this. Whi;e his death comes out of nowhere, he's given a hero's funeral and everyone on The Team as well as O*N*E give
their final respects to the man. John Casey's motivation to take over O*N*E is even to honour the late Mason's memory.

** Mr. X to Col. Heissman. Both were loyal to their country, right up until [X went insane due to the faulty Super Serum.]]

* Sarah gets another Evil Twin in Season 4.0 with the Earth*6325 Sarah Heissman [who even replaces the "regular" Sarah at the end of "Secret Resistances".]]

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler: O*N*E Director Mason]] has a particularly graphic one at the hands of [Mr. X and Agent Orange.]]

** Sixth Ranger: [Captain America/Steve Rogers in Season 4.0]]
** For [Bucky's]] Secret Avengers force in Season 4:
*** The Hero: Maj. Peggy Carter, though once [Bucky]] settles in, she ends up sharing the position.

* Oh, about that, turns out that [[spoiler:Bucky isn't as 'dead' as everyone thinks, and he's been shunted into some post*apocalyptic alternate universe, where the villains got together and took
over the world.]]

Sarah: Dammit, Christopher Ryan Colbert! You're not gonna die, now get the hell up, soldier!

* HumongousMecha: The Sleeper Mark II, which HYDRA uses to [take over Washington D.C. in the final issues of Season 1.0.]]
* IconOfRebellion: In 'SPECWAR: The Resistance', basically the symbols most associated with Captain America (his iconic shield and costume) become these for the eponymous
resistance forces.

* ItsPersonal: Mr. X's motivation throughout the series is to get revenge on Sarah, [for the aforementioned failed mission in the Amazon.]]

* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Sarah trying to restore [[Cpt. Colbert]] after he's subjected to the [mind*control laced "antidote" for the Death Adder virus.]] Sarah succeeds
in returning him back to normal [by kissing him as Colbert had her at his mercy.]]
** A mild example appears in Season 2 appears when [[Bucky attempts to prevent Sarah from becoming a slave of Nightmare, and succeeds after telling her to believe in America and in herself.]]

* MayContainEvil: Cobra Industries's "antidote" for the Death Adder virus, which had the unfortunate side*effect of turning anyone who uses it to cure the Death Adder into a mind*controlled
slave of Cobra.

** [[spoiler:Cpt. Chris Colbert]] becomes a borderline example in Season 4. [[Once he's augmented with bionics and enhanced technologies...]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Maj. Nathan Hale]], revealed to be a [B.A.T. Infiltrator Class after he and Team Alpha are captured by Cobra. He ends up remaining a good guy, though.]]]]

* ArtificialHuman: Nathan Hale [[spoiler:spoiler: which plays into his eventual defection from Cobra to SPECWAR's Team Alpha.]]]]
* ArtificialLimbs: [Cpt. Colbert, who now has a cybernetic arm and an eye.]]

* GoodOldFisticuffs: Casey opts to use his bare hands when fighting alongside the [Secretary of Defense]] to [free the Pentagon from Cobra captivity.]]

* MirrorUniverse: Sort of. While the Nazi-controlled universe does have evil versions of some of the heroes, the rest of the inhabitants keep their alignments. However, the universe does have
[a good version of Mr. X, who became that universe's Captain America. Seriously.]]

[[folder: Tropes A-M]]]]

* A FatherToHisMen: Gen. Casey is described as this in his Bio*File.
* Airborne Aircraft Carrier: The U.S.S. Perseus, SPECWAR's mobile headquarters in the sky.

* All There in the Manual: Not only is there the 'SPECWAR: Declassified' digital supplements that reveals some of the characters' backstories, but the @SPECWARFiles Twitter account (run by
the creators, no less), frequently answers fan questions to answer plot point nuances and the like.

* AntiVillain: J.H. Rolph, a business man who seems to have America in mind, but doesn't like how SPECWAR and the Office of National Emergency have been cast as heroes, particularly after
a battle nearly cost him his company.

* Back To Back Badasses:
* When fighting [Mr. X & Agent Orange]] in Season 2, Sarah & Cpt. Colbert do this, in one of the many hints that the comic has shown in terms of the two having a relationship.
* They repeat this feat in the Christmas*themed issue, while fighting Crossbones and his associates in Niagara Falls, Canada.
* Casey manages to do this with the [Secretary of Defense, of all people!]] in Season 3. Though it was pretty much Casey punching Cobra mooks in the face while the [SecDef]] had to use

* Season 4.0 brings us one of the best examples as Peggy Carter & Sarah Heissman show us what happens when two kick*ass Action Girls from two different universes fight off the
forces of the Empire side*by*side.
* Bad Ass: This being based in the Marvel Universe, a hell of a lot of 'em, but here's some specific examples:
* General John friggin' Casey, who's arguably more badass than the character of the same name in 'Chuck'.
* Cpt. Chris Colbert.
* Badass Abnormal: Team Alpha has Bucky/Captain America. And later [Cpt. Colbert, after he barely survives the attack on SPECWAR Headquarters. He gains an artificial arm, as well as enhanced
sensory functions.]]
* Badass Army: The O*N*E's SPECWAR unit. So goddamned much.
* Badass Beard: Plenty of 'em, but Roland Mason takes the cake, that's for sure.
* Mason's beard is so bad*ass, the animated series's version of John Casey seems to have 'borrowed' it.
* Badass Bookworm: Stephanie Johnston, after [she joins Team Alpha.]]

* Marian Kovac, Action Mom and Russian spy extraordinaire
* SSR Agent Lucas Heissman, who successfully helped Marian defect to the West
* And of course, their daughter, Sarah, who continues the kick*assery in the modern day as a member of Team Alpha.
* Badass Crew: Team Alpha, as well as the Secret Avengers from 'SPECWAR: The Resistance'
* Badass Duo: Gen. John Casey and [the Secretary of Defence]] in Season 3.0
* Badass Normal: All of Team Alpha, save for Captain America, who falls strictly into Badass Abnormal territory. We've also got General Casey, who still manages to kick a lot of ass despite being
not on active duty.
* Really, it seems that the purpose of both SPECWAR titles is to show that not all non*powered residents of the Marvel Universe are as helpless and scared as one might think.
* Bald of Evil: Baron von Strucker in the regular SPECWAR series, and The Overlord in 'The Resistance'.
* Base on Wheels: In addition to the U.S.S. Perseus up in the air, SPECWAR also has the Mobile Fortress Valiant, a big friggin' base with wheels.
* Bash Brothers: Cpt. Colbert & Captain America (James "Bucky" Barnes), and later, Colbert & Agent Clint Barton, after [Bucky's Heroic Sacrifice]].
* Bat Family Crossover: Season 2.0's ending story*line "Invasion: Earth" features 'SPECWAR', 'Captain America', as well as the 'Avengers'*titled comics.
* A forthcoming storyline "Dimensions At War" will crossover the regular 'SPECWAR' title, along with 'SPECWAR: The Resistance'.
* Batman Cold Open: Some episodes of "Captain America and The SPECWAR Chronicles" start off with The Team in the middle of a battle against enemies.
* Battle Couple: Cpt. Colbert & Sarah, especially in Season 2 and 3. A Christmas*themed issue even has the two foiling a terror plot together, with the rest of the team on holiday leave. In fact, it's the
two's relationship that becomes one of the recurring plots throughout the entire series.
Chris: Huh, how's this for a romantic escape for the holidays? (fires his gun)
Sarah: Wouldn't have it any other way, really.
* In "The Resistance", seems like that Cpt. Barnes and Maj. Peggy Carter are the alternate equivalent.
* Battle Cry: Lt. O'Neal is of the belief that "For Freedom!" is The Team's battle cry, which leads to some hilarious results...
O'Neal: FOR FREEDOM!
(Sarah, Chris, and Bucky all look at him with slightly embarrassed looks on their faces)
Cpt. Colbert: Uh......
Captain America: I.....think we'll just let that slide.
Sarah: (laughs)
* Beard of Sorrow: Sort of averted in Chris's case when we see him growing one after [Bucky's apparent Heroic Sacrifice]], though he's not really that downtrodden. In fact, he has the beard shaved
off next issue without any explanation.
* The Bechdel Test: A definite pass.
* Becoming the Mask: Nathan Hale, who was meant to just infiltrate SPECWAR and subvert it from within, but he gradually became as much of a hero as any member of Team Alpha, this in part because
of Sarah's trust of him.
* Berserk Button:
* Cpt. Chris Colbert is hard enough to take down in battle, but when Col. Sarah Heissman is endangered, good lord, good luck in trying to keep him down, let alone put up a decent fight against the guy.
Hell, try mocking Bucky's Heroic Sacrifice, and see what happens.
* As evidenced with his "fight" against three of the Red Skull's elite henchmen [after being turned into a cybernetic super*soldier]] in Season 4.0, he really isn't one to mess with.
* Conversely, if Colbert's threatened in any way, Sarah will straight up kick your ass and then some.
* Seems that Mr. X is none too fond about being called by his 'former' name of "Bradley" [which ends up being advantageous for Cpt. Colbert when he confronts X in Season 2.]]
* Apparently, the existence of an evil Bizarro Universe version of himself is enough to get Gen. John Casey riled up.
* Beta Couple: Lt. O'Neal & Stephanie Johnston, a worthy "beta" to Sarah Heissman and Chris Colbert's "alpha".
* In Season 4.0, Steve Rogers (of all people) and new Team Alpha recruit Sharon Carter.
* In "The Resistance", the already*married couple of Ryan & Shannon Kessel serves as this for Bucky and Peggy.
* Beware the Nice Ones: Captain Christopher freaking Colbert. He did beat the holy hell out of three elite soldiers of the Red Skull (who were all coming close to killing Col. Heissman) to unconsciousness,
and would've probably killed them all had he not stopped himself.
* Let's not forget Colbert kicking Mr. X's ass both mentally and physically in Season 2.0.

* Season 1: HYDRA
* Season 2: The Skrulls
* Though Mr. X himself becomes a major villain for a portion of 2.0.
* Season 3: Cobra Industries
* Season 4: The Red Skull [and later, the Empire, an alliance of villains who've taken over the alternate dimension that Bucky's sent into.]]
* In 'SPECWAR: The Resistance', the all*encompassing Empire serves as the enemy force.

* Perhaps the best example isn't initiated by Team Alpha themselves, but rather friggin' Steve Rogers, who assembles both the Avengers and SPECWAR in fighting the entire Skrull army in the
Season 2.0 finale.
* The Big Damn Kiss: Naturally, Sarah and Chris affirming their love for one another after the Mr. X fiasco in Season 2.0.
* Big Good: General John Casey, Director of the United States Office of National Emergency.
* In "The Resistance", Major Peggy Carter is the center of the resistance forces's entire operations.
* Bizarro Universe: Earth*6325, sort of. While characters like Captain America, Peggy Carter, Hawkeye, and others keep their regular moral alignments with their 'SPECWAR*verse' counterparts,
other characters' counterparts aren't so lucky. For instance, Sarah is an evil soldier who works for a villainous analogue of SPECWAR (and aligned with Mr. X), while John Casey's counterpart
("Johann Kruger") is the head of the Empire's secret police.
* The Blank: Mr. X wears a skimask hiding his scars.
* Bittersweet Ending: Notably Season 2's finale, where SPECWAR foils the Skrull invasion, but at the cost of [Bucky's life, as he made a sacrifice to stop them. Or not.]]
* Boss Subtitles: Used liberally in both series.
* Break the Cutie: The Empire attempt to do this to a captive Peggy Carter in "Secret Resistance", resorting to all sorts of Mind Rape to do so, but end up failing as Peggy just won't be broken that
easily.
* Brainwashed and Crazy: Season 2 had Nightmare's plot to influence this in proud Americans, and Season 3 featured the faux antidote to the Death Adder virus. In the former,
[Director Mason, Captain America, among others fell under the sway of Nightmare, and Sarah came dangerously close.]] The latter had [Cpt. Colbert]] subjected to this.
* Brick Joke: In the first issue, we see Col. Heissman commenting that she'd never be desperate enough to kick someone in the groin during a battle. In Season 2.0's finale, that's what exactly Sarah has to do [[spoiler::spoiler in order to save a prone Colbert.]]]]
* Broken Pedestal: [Nightmare attempts to foster this reaction from Sarah by divulging that Bucky was responsible for murdering her parents, who were (supposedly) American diplomats. It
fails.]]
* Brought Down to Badass: There's one issue where Bucky lost the use of his cybernetic arm, but he still managed to fight off several enemies, essentially, with one arm.
* Came Back Strong: 4.0 features a seemingly dead Cpt. Chris Colbert, who "died" after pulling a Heroic Sacrifice to save John Casey, making his triumphant return to life by using his new cybernetic

* Canada, Eh?: In the Secret Avengers' first mission, they free Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the Canadians soon learn of their exploits, working to free the rest of Canada from Empire
rule. Ironically, the Canadian freedom fighters use a combined Canadian/American flag as their symbol.
* Canon Foreigner: Chris's brother, Doug MacArthur*Colbert, who's (so far) an exclusive to the animated series.
* There's also General William Heissman from said animated series.
* Canon Immigrant: The Strategic Scientific Reserve, which appeared in 'Captain America: The First Avenger', is inserted into the Marvel Universe proper as a predecessor to both

* Cape Busters: SPECWAR is designed to be a heroic version, tasked with fighting superhuman criminals, and in fact, even have several superheroes aiding them when necessary.
* The Captain: Both Captains James Barnes and Christopher Colbert.
* Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Or, should it be Sergeant Smooth and Captain Rough, in the case of Sgt. Chris Colbert and Cpt. James 'Bucky' Barnes? [At least in Season 1]]
* Car Fu: Sarah commandeers the 'America Tonight' van and uses it to attempt to run over a HYDRA robot in one issue.
Ellen Ainsworth: Do you know how much these trucks cost? They don't come cheap, and I make a lot of money, even!
Sarah Heissman: Just can that attitude, ma'am. I'm trying to rescue my teammates from a killer robot here.
(Col. Heissman accelerates the news van and rams it at the HYDRA*bot, right as she and Ellen leap out of the car.)
* Casual Danger Dialog: The conversations that Bucky & Peggy have during their Secret Avengers mission probably qualify. At first, they focused on Bucky constantly imagining Peggy as Sarah Heissman, but then they
moved into more....romantic avenues.
* We see Maj. Hale calling the two out on this:
"Y'know, I'm not against the two of you making dinner plans, but let's save it until after we escape our unfortunate accomodations."
* In another issue, General Casey criticizes O'Neal for taking part in this:
Gen. Casey: Not to sound ungrateful, but could you please shut up about The Stars & Stripes, son? Save it for the R&R.
* Catch Phrase: "We're American heroes, y'know..." said by with regularity by most of the main characters.
* Character Blog: Lt. O'Neal has a Facebook page and Twitter account, which even pop up in various issues here and there.
* Character Development:
* There's Sarah coming to grips with her past as a planned Russian spy, and becoming more open with Cpt. Colbert concerning her feelings for him.
* Stephanie Johnston gradually turning from a simple desk jockey into a consummate badass member of Team Alpha.
* Chekhov's Gun: A set of blueprints for creating cybernetic augmentations to create a new force of super*soldiers, which are seen various times in scenes taking place at the laboratories of the SPECWAR headquarters.
[It later becomes key in helping to save a nearly*dead Cpt. Colbert and turning him into a super*soldier in Season 4.0.]]
* Chekhov's Gunman: Nathan Hale is one of a group of potential new recruits that are considered for SPECWAR in Season 3.0, though it's later revealed he's actually an infiltrator for Cobra. [Though he does remain a good
guy after the revelation.]]
* In the background of some Season 1.0 issues, there's a blond*haired man with peculiar green eyes lurking about in some scenes. By the end of 1.0, we learn that there's something
much more about the man. [He's a Skrull agent who ends up "eliminating" and replacing Steve Rogers at the conclusion of the final issue of 1.0.]]
* Chest Insignia: Though it's not at the middle of the uniforms' chest area, the SPECWAR division's symbol counts.
* The Chick: Stephanie Johnston, head of the SPECWAR Support Squad, initially, but she becomes more badass as the issues go by.
* Clear My Name: Season 2's "X Marks The Spot" has Sarah doing this after Mr. X frames her for [murdering O*N*E* Director Roland Mason]], which is a part of a larger plan to
[both discredit Col. Heissman and make her suffer through first injecting Sarah with the faulty Super*Soldier Serum, and then killing her as she goes insane from the SSS.]]
* Cliff Hanger: The comic's "seasons" tend to have such endings:
* Season 1.0: [Steve Rogers being replaced by a Skrull]]
* Resolved through the course of 2.0 with our heroes temporarily stopping the Skrulls' first attack, and then permanently ending it by 2.0's end.
* Season 2.0: [Nothing particular, except for the "death" of Bucky Barnes]]
* Resolved ultimately in Season 3.0's own cliffhanger.
* Season 3.0: [Bucky's Not Quite Dead, as it turns out.]]
* Season 4.0 kicks off with a storyline that sets up the premise of [Bucky's]] new situation.
* Also, in an interesting twist, the comic DOESN'T use "to be continued" for cliffhangers, opting for a more coded use of "Tango Bravo Charlie". (Just notice the first three letters, and you'll
see why.)
* Cloning Blues: "Agent Orange", a completely Chaotic Evil clone of Sarah that Mr. X has created.
* Code Name: The Team do have them, but they're just used by the higher*ups at O*N*E for reference, and they never really refer to each other by code names.
* Cold Sniper: Maj. Nathan Hale dabbles in this.
* Colonel Badass: Col. Sarah Heissman, who's promoted to the rank in Season 2.0 and becomes even more of a frigging badass than she was prior.
* Combat Pragmatist: General Casey. He may be one of the most highly*decorated war heroes in American history, but he sure isn't above fighting dirty whenever the situation calls
for it.
* Composite Character: The animated series's portrayal of John Casey fits. While he resembles Roland Mason, Badass Beard and all, his personality falls in line with how Casey
acts in the comics.
* Continuity Nod: Plenty of times, but notably in Season 1's "Monsters in Manhattan", which then pays off in Season 2's "American Dreams and American Nightmares" saga.
* Converse with the Unconscious: While [Cpt. Colbert]] is being operated on in 4.0's opening arc, almost half the issue consists of Sarah discussing with the unconscious Colbert about her plans for the future with him.
* Cool Airship: Aside from the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarriers that appear, we soon find out that SPECWAR has a similar helicarrier, but is on a smaller scale than its S.H.I.E.L.D. counterparts.
* Cool Boat: The re*commissioned U.S.S. Freedom Dawn.
* Cool Plane: O*N*E's fleet of Sky*Dagger superplanes.
* Corporate Sponsored Superhero: "Team America", funded by billionaire tycoon J.H. Rolph.
* Corrupt Corporate Executive: J.H. Rolph, who becomes driven to discredit both O*N*E* and SPECWAR after a mishap involving his family during a firefight. He even creates a team meant as a counter to SPECWAR
known as "Team America". [However, the Team America members all abandon Rolph after learning he doesn't particularly care for them.]]
* Cowboy Bebop At His Computer: One article discussing about the comic misidentifies "SPECWAR" as the name of the lead character, when in fact, it's just the name for the team.

* Crazy Prepared: The Rogers Protocols, which are, of course, a set of "cheat sheets" for taking down any superhuman, whether they're a hero or villain.
* Creator Provincialism: Despite M.C. Castro being a Canadian, SPECWAR prominently features American*based settings and characters.
* Cross Over: Being set in the Marvel Universe, there's bound to be plenty of appearances from other Marvel characters. Also, Season 3 introduces G.I. Joe and Cobra into
the fold.
* Curb*Stomp Battle: When Cpt. Colbert finally fights Mr. X in the climax of "X Marks The Spot" during Season 2.0, the fight quickly turns to Colbert's favour, both physically and psychologically.
* In Season 4.0 we have Cpt. Chris Colbert vs. three of the Red Skull's elite soldiers. [A cybernetically*enhanced]] Colbert effortlessly beats the hell out of the three, knocking them all into
unconsciousness. He'd likely would've killed them had he not stopped himself in order to tend to Sarah.
* Of course, any firefights with The Team up against nameless enemy soldiers have only one obvious ending.
* Commander Steve Rogers facing off against the Skrull agent that impersonated him in the Season 2.0 finale arc most definitely counts. Seems that the Skrull didn't exactly replicate all
of Steve's skills and memories.
* Custom Uniform: Sort of. The Team all have the similar colour scheme with their outfits, but all have distinct differences, with the exception of Captain America, who gets to keep his star*spangled outfit, by virtue of
being, well, Captain America.
* The Secret Avengers definitely play this trope straight.
* Cutting The Knot: Faced with a bomb that'll obliterate anything and anyone within at 10*mile radius, and no option to disarm it, Captain America just takes the direct approach and smashes the bomb's wiring with his

* Dangerously Genre Savvy: It's clear that Cobra Commander counted on SPECWAR to get involved in stopping Cobra Industries, so he [sent a B.A.T. to infiltrate Team Alpha as
Maj. Nathan Hale. However, he didn't expect his mole to end up siding with the good guys.]]
* Dare To Be Badass:
Colbert: General, my colleague....the woman I love, is trapped in there with some deranged psycho, and I'm not going to give up in saving Sarah. So you can either get out of my way and let me do my job, or you can prove

* Darker and Edgier: "SPECWAR: The Resistance", but only ever so slightly. While the setting of a world run by an oppressive empire is rather dark, the eponymous resistance is portrayed in a similar light as
the regular SPECWAR team.
* Dark Action Girl: [Evil!Sarah from the alternate universe seen in 'SPECWAR: The Resistance'.]]
* A Day In The Limelight: The web*exclusive "SPECWAR: Declassified" comics are these, focusing on different characters and giving us more backstory about them.
* Deadpan Snarker: Stephanie Johnston, head of the SPECWAR Support Squad, usually in response to Lt. O'Neal.
* Agent Barton has shown his own expertise in being snarky, particularly during the heat of battle.
* Death Is Cheap: While most characters that die in SPECWAR stay dead, special mention has to go to Bucky, [who really didn't die in the Season 2.0 finale, he was just 'erased from our existence and sent into an alternate
Crapsack World where the villains took over Earth.]]
* Defector From Commie Land: Sarah's mother, a former Soviet spy, is implied to be one of these.
* Deflector Shields: Maj. Peggy Carter carries her own personal energy shield gauntlet, the same one that Captain America used before.
* Deceptively Human Robots: Nathan Hale [actually a B.A.T Infiltrator]], though he ends up being a Ridiculously Human Robot [once he turns face and joins Team Alpha.]]
* Demonic Posession: The main basis for Nightmare's plot to drive Americans who've achieved the American Dream into violent madness.
* Designated Girl Fight: Done rather blatantly in the Season 1.0 finale where Col. Heissman fights against Madame Hydra.
* Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Season 2 has The Team going up against the demon Nightmare, who planned on turning all of America insane by "turning their American dreams
into American nightmares", [and winning!]] That same season also has them being key in defeating the Skrull invasion of Earth.
* In the Season 2*ending story arc, John Casey casually walks up to a Skrull general and knocks him out with a single punch. He also impales a Skrull mook with the American
flag in a later scene.
* Dirty Coward: Dr. Venom particuarly dabbles in this, notably when Sarah had him ready to be apprehended, he [activated the mind*control sedatives in Cpt. Colbert's antidote, siccing
him on Sarah.]]
* Does This Remind You of Anything?: With the way that Chris discusses going out late at night with Sarah for some "late night shots" at the shooting range at Camp Lehigh, it really makes
one wonder if it's some other activity being alluded to.
* The Dragon: Mr. X, whenever he affiliates himself with the Big Bad of a given season.
* Dropped a Bridge on Him: Roland Mason's death averts this. Whie his death comes out of nowhere, he's given a hero's funeral and everyone on The Team as well as O*N*E give

* Early*Bird Cameo: The end of 'Monsters in Manhattan', we see Nightmare briefly watching on as a monster from his dimension is returned.
* General John Casey also appears briefly in "Manifest Destiny", where a news report mentions Casey mysteriously disappearing in the Middle East.
* In 'Prisoners of War', S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Sharon Carter is among those imprisoned by Exodus, and she even gets to help Captain America stop the Exodus overlords. After the episode
she doesn't show up in SPECWAR, save for some sparse cameos, [though she becomes a part of Team Alpha in Season 4.]]
* During the Season 2 finale, Hawkeye shows up as one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents giving extra support to the Avengers and SPECWAR in New York City.
* Elaborate Underground Base: SPECWAR's headquarters underneath Camp Lehigh in Virginia, as well as the Presidential Emergency Bunker below Washington D.C. [which becomes
HYDRA's main base when they take over the U.S.A.]]
* The Secret Avengers adopt their world's version of the SPECWAR underground headquarters as their own.
* The Empire: Made up of an alliance of supervillains led by the Overlord, and have taken over Earth*6325.
* Enemy Mine: In the Season 2.0 finale, J.H. Rolph actually helps SPECWAR in fending off the Skrulls' invasion. Though, then again, it's mostly fueled by his attempts to make himself the
hero and to make O*N*E look bad.
* Enigmatic Minion: Mr. X.
* Establishing Character Moment:
* Colbert running ahead of Captain America (who had his shield out at the time), and recklessly charging into battle against the enemy.
* Sarah fighting off a group of bad guys and doing it without too much difficulty.
* General Casey's first appearance in "Prisoners of War" has the General escaping his captors and already free of his restraints once The Team arrive to free the Exodus captives.

* Everyone Can See It: Nearly everyone on Team Alpha, and even Steve Rogers of all people seem to see Chris & Sarah as ideal for one another.
* Evil Counterpart:

** Now that [[spoiler:Captain Colbert is a Super*Soldier by way of cybernetic enhancements]], he counts as a 'Good Counterpart' to the maniacal Mr. X, representing the success by O*N*E in creating
their own Super*Soldier.
* Evil Knockoff: In addition to its own version of SPECWAR, the Empire also reveals that they have a team of their "own" Avengers, clearly based on the classic team: Torrent, a robotic Thor
clone; The Maestro, supposedly an evil version of the Hulk; Oppressor, a clear-cut Captain America ripoff [[spoiler:even moreso, as he's a clone of the deceased Steve Rogers]]; the Crimson Dynamo, patterned after Iron Man; and Bullseye, meant to be a counterpart for Hawkeye.

* For [Bucky's]] Secret Avengers force in Season 4:
** The Hero: Maj. Peggy Carter, though once [Bucky]] settles in, she ends up sharing the position.

* MirrorUniverse: Sort of. While the Nazi*controlled universe does have evil versions of some of the heroes, the rest of the inhabitants keep their alignments. However, the universe does have

** The Empire-dominated Earth (seen in 'SPECWAR: The Resistance') do have morality*flipped counterparts of our heroes. For instance, in that universe, we have Evil!Sarah Heissman, who leads a villainous version of SPECWAR that stands against the Secret Avengers.

[[foldercontrol]]]]

[[spoiler:foldercontrol]]]]

[[spoiler:folder: Tropes A-M]]]]

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Tropes A-M]]

** Cpl. Stephanie Johnston isn't a slouch in the badass department herself, especially [when she joins Team Alpha.]

* ArtificialHuman: Nathan Hale [[spoiler: which plays into his eventual defection from Cobra to SPECWAR's Team Alpha.]]
* ArtificialLimbs: [Cpt. Colbert, who now has a cybernetic arm and an eye.]

* When fighting [Mr. X & Agent Orange] in Season 2, Sarah & Cpt. Colbert do this, in one of the many hints that the comic has shown in terms of the two having a relationship.

* Casey manages to do this with the [Secretary of Defense, of all people!] in Season 3. Though it was pretty much Casey punching Cobra mooks in the face while the [SecDef] had to use

sensory functions.]

* Badass Bookworm: Stephanie Johnston, after [she joins Team Alpha.]

* Badass Duo: Gen. John Casey and [the Secretary of Defence] in Season 3.0

* Bash Brothers: Cpt. Colbert & Captain America (James "Bucky" Barnes), and later, Colbert & Agent Clint Barton, after [Bucky's Heroic Sacrifice].

* Beard of Sorrow: Sort of averted in Chris's case when we see him growing one after [Bucky's apparent Heroic Sacrifice], though he's not really that downtrodden. In fact, he has the beard shaved

* As evidenced with his "fight" against three of the Red Skull's elite henchmen [after being turned into a cybernetic super*soldier] in Season 4.0, he really isn't one to mess with.

* Seems that Mr. X is none too fond about being called by his 'former' name of "Bradley" [which ends up being advantageous for Cpt. Colbert when he confronts X in Season 2.]

* Season 4: The Red Skull [and later, the Empire, an alliance of villains who've taken over the alternate dimension that Bucky's sent into.]

* Bittersweet Ending: Notably Season 2's finale, where SPECWAR foils the Skrull invasion, but at the cost of [Bucky's life, as he made a sacrifice to stop them. Or not.]

[Director Mason, Captain America, among others fell under the sway of Nightmare, and Sarah came dangerously close.] The latter had [Cpt. Colbert] subjected to this.
* Brick Joke: In the first issue, we see Col. Heissman commenting that she'd never be desperate enough to kick someone in the groin during a battle. In Season 2.0's finale, that's what exactly
Sarah has to do [in order to save a prone Colbert.]

fails.]

* Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Or, should it be Sergeant Smooth and Captain Rough, in the case of Sgt. Chris Colbert and Cpt. James 'Bucky' Barnes? [At least in Season 1]

[It later becomes key in helping to save a nearly*dead Cpt. Colbert and turning him into a super*soldier in Season 4.0.]

guy after the revelation.]

much more about the man. [He's a Skrull agent who ends up "eliminating" and replacing Steve Rogers at the conclusion of the final issue of 1.0.]

* Clear My Name: Season 2's "X Marks The Spot" has Sarah doing this after Mr. X frames her for [murdering O*N*E* Director Roland Mason], which is a part of a larger plan to
[both discredit Col. Heissman and make her suffer through first injecting Sarah with the faulty Super*Soldier Serum, and then killing her as she goes insane from the SSS.]

* Season 1.0: [Steve Rogers being replaced by a Skrull]

* Season 2.0: [Nothing particular, except for the "death" of Bucky Barnes]

* Season 3.0: [Bucky's Not Quite Dead, as it turns out.]
* Season 4.0 kicks off with a storyline that sets up the premise of [Bucky's] new situation.

* Converse with the Unconscious: While [Cpt. Colbert] is being operated on in 4.0's opening arc, almost half the issue consists of Sarah discussing with the unconscious Colbert about her plans for the future with him.

known as "Team America". [However, the Team America members all abandon Rolph after learning he doesn't particularly care for them.]

* Crapsack World: [Earth*6325, controlled by the all*encompassing Empire, an alliance of that Earth's worst villains.]

* In Season 4.0 we have Cpt. Chris Colbert vs. three of the Red Skull's elite soldiers. [A cybernetically*enhanced] Colbert effortlessly beats the hell out of the three, knocking them all into

Maj. Nathan Hale. However, he didn't expect his mole to end up siding with the good guys.]

* Dark Action Girl: [Evil!Sarah from the alternate universe seen in 'SPECWAR: The Resistance'.]

Crapsack World where the villains took over Earth.]

* Deceptively Human Robots: Nathan Hale [actually a B.A.T Infiltrator], though he ends up being a Ridiculously Human Robot [once he turns face and joins Team Alpha.]

into American nightmares", [and winning!] That same season also has them being key in defeating the Skrull invasion of Earth.

him on Sarah.]

she doesn't show up in SPECWAR, save for some sparse cameos, [though she becomes a part of Team Alpha in Season 4.]

HYDRA's main base when they take over the U.S.A.]

* Establishing Team Shot: Team Alpha gets its first full appearance as a team this way in the first issue of 1.0, as we see Director Mason being briefed about The Team by Stephanie Johnston.
* Every Issue Ending: Every single issue (even ones involving cliffhangers) will end with "Next: *insert descriptor here*". The 'Cold Christmas' special has a simple "Merry Christmas!" text
for its ending.
* Current issues now finish with the Special Warfare Division's symbol for self*contained stories and at the end of story arcs, plus the coded "Tango Bravo Charlie" for cliffhangers.
* The spinoff series, "The Resistance" concludes each issue with the resistance forces' emblem (a modified version of Captain America's shield), and the "Next: *insert descriptor here*"
only appearing in cliffhanger issues.
* The issue when the Secret Avengers liberate Toronto, Canada ends with the Can*American resistance's flag in place of the Captain's shield.

* Mr. X to Col. Heissman. Both were loyal to their country, right up until [X went insane due to the faulty Super Serum.]
* Now that [Captain Colbert is a Super*Soldier by way of cybernetic enhancements], he counts as a 'Good Counterpart' to the maniacal Mr. X, representing the success by O*N*E in creating

clone; The Maestro, supposedly an evil version of the Hulk; Oppressor, a clear*cut Captain America ripoff [even moreso, as he's a clone of the deceased Steve Rogers]; the Crimson Dynamo,
patterned after Iron Man; and Bullseye, meant to be a counterpart for Hawkeye.
* Evil Overlord: Guess who.
* Evil Twin: Agent Orange, a clone of [Sarah's] made by Prof. Arnim Zola.
* Sarah gets another Evil Twin in Season 4.0 with the Earth*6325 Sarah Heissman [who even replaces the "regular" Sarah at the end of "Secret Resistances".]
* Evil Versus Evil: The Overlord has his forces declare war on the Red Skull after learning that the Skull wants to usurp the Overlord's rule for himself.
* Evolving Credits: The command roster at the beginning of each issue changes to reflect new members to Team Alpha.
* "The Resistance" features a map of the world that's been taken over by the Empire, and subsequently updates whenever another part of the world is liberated from Empire rule.
* Face Heel Turn: Mr X., though in backstory. [He was a former soldier who was given the Super*Soldier Serum, which turned him insane, and caused him to grow distrusting of the United States. Being
left captured by the enemy during an ill*fated mission didn't help matters.]
* Fake Kill Scare: In the "Secret Resistance" storyline, the Empire attempt to force the Secret Avengers into surrendering by supposedly having Peggy Carter (who was being held captive by the Empire)
being killed so as to crush the resistance's morale. [However, Kessel is able to deduce that Peggy's "death" was staged, and the Secret Avengers don't surrender as a result.]
* Family Unfriendly Death: [O*N*E Director Mason] has a particularly graphic one at the hands of [Mr. X and Agent Orange.]
* Fearful Symmetry: Happens in Season 4, when Sarah fights her evil counterpart from Earth*6325, as the two fail to land a single hit on one another.
* Fictional Counterpart: The Office of National Emergency seems to be a superhuman*based equivalent to the real*world Department of Homeland Security.

* Find The Cure: [In Season 3, where Sarah and the rest of Team Alpha have to find a cure for the poisoned Cpt. Colbert, who was afflicted with the Death Adder virus.]
* First Name Basis: While Cpt. Colbert refers to everyone by last name, he seems eager to constantly refer to Col. Heissman by "Sarah". Naturally, Sarah eventually comes to return the favour, freqently referring to
Cpt. Colbert as "Chris".
* Once Stephanie joins Team Alpha, O'Neal refers to her by "Steph", while she herself calls Lt. O'Neal "Phil".
* Five*Bad Band: The Light Brigade from Earth*6325
* The Big Bad: Gen. Johann Krauser
* The Dragon: The "Oppressor", an Empire*sympathizing Captain America knockoff.
* The Evil Genius: Dr. Venom
* The Brute: Mr. X, though he's not really that brutish in the traditional regard.
* The Dark Chick: Maj. Sarah Kovac
* The Man Behind the Man: The Overlord

* The Hero * Both Cpt. Colbert & Sarah fit, as both have led The Team on separate occasions
* The Lancer * Bucky [for the first two seasons], and then later replaced by Hawkeye
* The Big Guy: Nathan Hale (yes, he's a [Cobra B.A.T. infiltrator], but he does stick with The Team, ultimately.),
* The Smart Guy(s) * Lt. O'Neal and Stephanie Johnston
* The Chick * Steph, but once Sharon Carter joins Team Alpha, she fills this role nicely.
* The Mentor: Steve Rogers [though in Season 4.0, he becomes a Sixth Ranger], but most of the time, it's General John Casey.
* Sixth Ranger: [Captain America/Steve Rogers in Season 4.0]
* For [Bucky's] Secret Avengers force in Season 4:
* The Hero: Maj. Peggy Carter, though once [Bucky] settles in, she ends up sharing the position.
* The Lancer: Hawkeye, much like his "regular" counterpart. He tends to chafe with Peggy, but can be counted on when needed the most.
* The Smart Guy: Vision 2.0
* The Big Guy(s): Patriot & Lt. Ryan Kessel
* The Chick: Sgt. Stephanie Johnston*O'Neal
* The Mentor: Gen. Nick Fury
* Sixth Ranger: Captain America (Bucky), given the fact that [he did arrive through complete accident, but he almost acclimates himself with the team right away.]
* The Stars & Stripes, for being a Show Within A Show, has its own Five*Man Band setup:
* The Hero: John Browne
* The Lancer: Marjorie Rollins
* The Big Guy: Billy Hardenburgh
* The Smart Guy: "Junior" Coburn
* The Chick: Stephanie Johnson
* Team Pet: Guilliarmo "Guy" Evans
* Flash*Forward: Season 3's "A N.A.T.I.O.N. To Ourselves", featuring the SPECWAR team of the year 2051. Said team has the son and daughter of Happily Married couple Christopher
Colbert & Sarah Heissman serving as team leaders for the new Team Alpha.
* Flirting Under Fire: Given how the two's relationship builds up on the frontlines, there are numerous times while in combat that Cpt. Colbert and Col. Heissman seem to flirt.
* Foe Yay: Maj. Sarah Kovac attempts to seduce Bucky into turning on the Secret Avengers, but ultimately reneges after Bucky just won't let himself be corrupted.
* Foreshadowing: Sarah's bio in the 'SPECWAR * Bio Files', feature several elements that are redacted, being the first hints of [Sarah's actual origins as a potential Russian spy.]
* There's also various newspaper clippings and intel reports scattered throughout the war room inside the SPECWAR headquarters, all of them reading about scattered reports of aliens replacing
humans. Given the events of the end of 1.0, [where the Skrulls begin their infiltration by replacing Steve Rogers,] it soon becomes very clear what happens next.
* Four Star Badass: General John Casey, the [current] Director of O*N*E.
* Friend To All Children: Chris is quite personable towards children and teenagers, who in turn think that the Captain is one cool guy. This is likely the reason why he's the face of the SPECWAR program's
recruitment campaign aimed at youths.
* Fun with Acronyms: The Office of National Emergency (O*N*E),
* The comic also gives the G.I. Joe team an acronym, in the form of the "Gathered Intelligence Joint Operations Echelon" (G.I. J.O.E.).
* Gas Mask Mooks: The Empire's soldiers.
* Genre Savvy: There's the reason that the O*N*E try to affiliate themselves with Captain America, so that they can prevent a potential rift between the government and the U.S.'s superhuman
population.
* Apparently, Chris & Sarah's relationship is so special, that one or both can figure out that something's off right away. [Colbert puts this in action in Season 4.0, when Sarah has been replaced
by an evil alternate version of herself.]
* Getting Crap Past The Radar: In one issue, we have this exchange:
Colbert: Yeah, we ought to hurry up with this mission, soldier.
O'Neal: Why in such a rush, sir?
Colbert: I'd like to get back to base and go for a round of late night shots with Sarah.
(O'Neal, of course, gets the wrong idea and has an awkward smile)
Colbert: ...with our guns! At the shooting range. At targets? Shooting them until they're full of hole....ah, forget it.
* Gladiator Games: "Prisoners of War" had Exodus, who took Coalition soldiers and forced them to compete in these. [Later revealed to be affiliated with the Skrulls.]
* Glowing Eyes of Doom: Anyone who's under Nightmare's influence (their eyes glow green.).
* The Good Captain: Aside from you*know*who, Captain Colbert is most definitely good.
* Good Old Fisticuffs: Casey opts to use his bare hands when fighting alongside the [Secretary of Defense] to [free the Pentagon from Cobra captivity.]
* Government Agency of Fiction: The United States's Office of National Emergency, as well as its three divisions: the titular Special Warfare Division (SPECWAR), the Superhuman Intelligence
Division (SUPRA*INT), and the Strategic Services (STRATSERV).
* It's also revealed that the Strategic Scientific Reserve (those responsible for Operation: Rebirth, which helped create Captain America) from the 1940s, is a predecessor to O*N*E.
* A storyline featuring a flash*forward to the future takes this to the next level with the North American Tactical Intelligence Operations Node, or "N.A.T.I.O.N.".
* Season 4 gives us the U.S. Army's Superhuman Battalion.
* Groin Attack: Sarah sacks a Skrull about to kill Cpt. Colbert with a rather impressive strike to the groin.
* Casey escapes Cobra captivity by kneeing a Cobra Viper in the groin in Season 3.
* Upon arriving on Earth*6325, [Bucky] ends up striking an attacking Sgt. Ryan Kessel in the nards. (To be fair, this was before he trusted the Secret Avengers and etc.)
* Guns Akimbo: Col. Heissman makes this her specialty, firing both her pistols and submachine guns in this manner.

* Hair*Trigger Temper: Mr. X, thanks in part to the faulty Super*Soldier Serum. This ends up being a disadvantage to X, however, when Captain Colbert successfully presses on his Berserk Button (being
called by his real name, "Bradley") to defeat him in a fistfight.
* Handicapped Badass: In Season 4, Casey gets badly injured during an attack on SPECWAR headquarters, and in spite of that, he's able to fight off enemy agents with the use of
his cane.
* A later issue has the General hospitalized for the injuries sustained in the opening arc, which doesn't stop Casey from being a freaking bad*ass. He beats the crap out of an assassin sent
to kill him with his mothereffin' cast.
* Bucky loses the use of his cybernetic arm in one issue, but he still manages to fight just as good as he did with the arm.
* Happily Married: General Casey and his wife, Eleanor Vandevoort*Casey. [A future storyline also shows that Chris and Sarah definitely qualify, with the two even raising a daughter,
Sydney, and son, James Buchanan, both a part of the SPECWAR team of 2051.]
* Hate Plague: The Psycho*Bomb, which amplifies extreme emotions of rage and malevolence in a person. Nearly everyone was affected, save for Captain America, Lt. O'Neal, and Stephanie
Johnston, who don't exactly have anything or anyone to be hateful about to begin with. [Col. Heissman would count, but considering that she's been replaced by an already malevolent
parallel universe version...]
* Nightmare used Mind Rape as a kind of plague to induce hatred and violent emotions in Americans who've achieved the American Dream in Season 2.0.
* Hero Killer: Johann Krauser, the man behind the Light Brigade. Holy jeeze, this is the man who did, after all, shoot Steve Rogers [an alternate version, mind you] in the head and took great pleasure
in it. [He's, however, a evil alternate version of John Casey, who doesn't take too kindly to his counterpart's villainy.]
* Heroes R Us: The United States Office of National Emergency, the organization that's behind the SPECWAR program.
* Heroes Want Redheads: Gender*flipped as it's the dirty*blond haired Sarah Heissman (female) that's in love with red*headed Cpt. Chris Colbert (male).
* Heroic Sacrifice: [Bucky effectively stops the Skrull invasion by intentionally charging into the Skrull leader into some machinery and causing everything and themselves to explode.]
* Oh, about that, turns out that [Bucky isn't as 'dead' as everyone thinks, and he's been shunted into some post*apocalyptic alternate universe, where the villains got together and took
over the world.]
* It's implied that Bucky's Earth*6325 counterpart died in this manner, too, [as it's said that he blew up an Empire warship by intentionally crashing it in the Arctic. However, the ship
exploded, and likely killing him in the process.]
* In the animated series, it's revealed that [General Heissman] died in this manner, buying enough time for his wife, a defected Soviet spy, and their daughter to escape from persuing HYDRA
forces.
* [Major Hale attempts this to save Cpt. Colbert from an explosion, but he ends up surviving and gets rebuilt.]
* [Speaking of, Cpt. Colbert himself sacrifices his own life to save General Casey from explosions, though, he too gets rebuilt as a cybernetic super*soldier.]
* Heroic Second Wind: At first, Mr. X is schooling Chris and kicking his ass whilst telling the Captain out loud about his plans after he kills him and what he'll do to Col. Heissman soon after. This is then
followed by Colbert refusing to give up as he then seizes upon beating down Mr. X both physically and psychologically.
* Hope Bringer: By far, the entire O*N*E is portrayed as this, but more specifically, SPECWAR is seen by the American public as their heroes.
* In the Secret Avengers' universe, Major Peggy Carter is the rallying point of whom the resistance and the oppressed people of that world get behind.
* How Dare You Die on Me!: Invoked by Col. Heissman [when tending to a seemingly mortally*wounded Cpt. Colbert:]

* How Do I Shot Web?: [Captain Colbert has a hell of a time adjusting to his new cybernetics when they're first installed.]
* How The Mighty Have Fallen: J.H. Rolph started off as one of the richest men in the world, going from a "credible" threat to our heroes, [to being arrested for being implicated as a financier
of Cobra at the start of Season 4.0.]
* Highly Conspicuous Uniform: Members of HYDRA and AIM, definitely. O*N*E borders on this, but their uniforms have a distincitly dark red*and*blue hue to them.
* Hot Scientist: Say hello to Stephanie Johnston.
* Humongous Mecha: The Sleeper Mark II, which HYDRA uses to [take over Washington D.C. in the final issues of Season 1.0.]
* Icon of Rebellion: In 'SPECWAR: The Resistance', basically the symbols most associated with Captain America (his iconic shield and costume) become these for the eponymous

* Ideal Hero: Look no further than The Captain. (Even referenced in*universe by characters.)
* Immune to Bullets: HYDRA's Iron Cross.
* The Infiltration: Sarah Heissman does this in Season 1.0 to get to the bottom of a HYDRA cell run by Mr. X.
* It's Personal: Mr. X's motivation throughout the series is to get revenge on Sarah, [for the aforementioned failed mission in the Amazon.]
* I Know Mortal Kombat: It's revealed that Sarah honed her Improbable Aiming Skills not through hours of intensive military training (though it helped) but through Duck Hunt, of all
things.
Sarah: First one to make any snide comments will be spending some extra time in the infirmiry tonight.
* I'm Not a Hero, I'm...: Said verbatim by Cpt. Colbert in one issue.
Colbert: Look, Bucky....James, I'm not a hero, I'm just a simple soldier fighting for his country.
* "I Know You're In There Somewhere" Fight: Sarah trying to restore [Cpt. Colbert] after he's subjected to the [mind*control laced "antidote" for the Death Adder virus.] Sarah succeeds
in returning him back to normal [by kissing him as Colbert had her at his mercy.]
* A mild example appears in Season 2 appears when [Bucky attempts to prevent Sarah from becoming a slave of Nightmare, and succeeds after telling her to believe in America and
in herself.]
* Improbable Aiming Skills: Everyone on Team Alpha, but special mention goes to Agent Barton ("Hawkeye"), who's frequently seen making impossible shots with his bow and arrow, as
well as with throwing knives, guns, and so on.
* Improvised Weapon: By far, General Casey is the king of making weapons out of nothing.
* Instant Awesome, Just Add Mecha: Both Epsilon Robotics and A.I.M. make these like it's no one's business.
* Interservice Rivalry: Right at the start of the comic series, Sgt. Colbert (SPECWAR/O*N*E*) shows some disapproval of Captain America, a liason with S.H.I.E.L.D.
* In Season 4, Cpt. Colbert and Team Alpha are tasked to team with The Shield, an operative of the U.S. Army's Superhuman Battalion, and had a ball of a time taking shots at him.
* Killed Off for Real: It may be an idealistically*charged comic, but any time a character's killed in 'SPECWAR', they've pretty much stayed dead. The list includes: [Former O*N*E director Roland
Mason, James 'Bucky' Barnes [Or not...], amongst others.
* In 'SPECWAR: The Resistance'...[Steve Rogers, Spider*Man, The President of The United States (unnamed, however), Norman Osborn, Cobra Commander, Bucky (that universe's, and the one
the 'regular' Bucky subsequently replaces), among others.]
* Knight Templar: The Overlord, who simply wanted to save humanity from its destructive tendencies, and ended up having to align himself with villains, as well as eliminating free will.
* Lampshade Hanging:
* Cpt. Colbert comments that he's heard the bad guy say that they haven't seen the last of them over and over again, that he's just inclined to mock them so.
* He even interrupts one such instance:
Colbert: Yeah, yeah, I know the deal. You'll be back and you'll get your revenge. I don't think so, fella.
* Sarah lampshades the fact that her romantic moments with Cpt. Colbert always tend to happen in the heat of battle or a tense situation.
"Have you ever heard of a romantic relationship built solely on life or death situations?"
* General Casey even gets in on this, commenting that if Chris & Sarah were to ever have a wedding, he'd make sure that it's in the middle of a firefight.
* Laser Guided Tykebomb: The Oppressor, [actually a clone of Steve Rogers] created by the Empire to eliminate Peggy Carter.
* Last Name Basis: The members of Team Alpha, with the exception of Cpt. Colbert & Sarah, who refer to each other by first name.
* Legacy Character: Winter Soldier II (whose identity hasn't been revealed), made to replace the original one.
* Let's Get Dangerous: For most of the series, Stephanie Johnston was mostly a desk jockey with the SPECWAR Support Squad, then came a time where she & Lt. O'Neal were trapped in
O*N*E Headquarters and faced with possessed soldiers ready to kill them...[She works with O'Neal to survive the attack and both get moments of badassery.]
* Let's You And Him Fight: Averted, by way of having either Cpt. Colbert or Col. Heissman being able to negotiate with other heroes to give them a chance to help.
* Lighter and Softer: Compared to the currently grim*dark Marvel Universe, yes, as it's quite idealistic in portraying its heroes.
* Literary Allusion Title: Many, many times, including...
* Season 4.0's opening issue, "Protect and Defend"
* The subsequent arc, "O*N*E Under Siege" has its chapter titles named after lyrics in the Star*Spangled Banner.
* "Nothing To Fear" from Season 3.0
* Logging Onto The Fourth Wall: AmericaTonight.com, the official site for the in*universe 'America Tonight' newsmagazine.
* There's also www.EpsilonRobotics.us, which appropriately, has a site with information on Epsilon's creations and so on.
* Lower Deck Episode: The SPECWAR Support Squad get one in Season 3, appropriately titled "The Support Squad".
* MacGyvering: In order to escape the confines of an Empire prison, [Sarah] uses the laser fence of the cage she's being held in to remove her bindings.

* Majorly Awesome: Nathan Hale, as well as Sarah Heissman, until she gets promoted to Colonel in Season 2.
* [In Season 4, we're introduced to Maj. Peggy Carter, leader of the Secret Avengers resistance force.]
* Major Injury Underreaction: [Nate Hale, in rescuing Cpt. Colbert from an explosive, shrugs it off, in spite of being badly damaged.]
* [In spite of getting his cybernetic arm ripped off, Bucky shrugs it off and just goes right after the Skrull leader.]
* May Contain Evil: Cobra Industries's "antidote" for the Death Adder virus, which had the unfortunate side*effect of turning anyone who uses it to cure the Death Adder into a mind*controlled

* Mecha*Mooks: HYDRA's HydraCorps robotic troopers, as well as the Cobra B.A.T.s
* Mega Corp: Several, including Cobra Industries (evil), Epsilon Robotics (good), Stark Industries (good), and M.A.R.S. (evil).
* Mexican Standoff: "X Marks The Spot" features Mr. X pointing both his gun and [the tainted Super*Soldier Serum] at a restrained Sarah and Colbert pointing his pistol at X.
* Another situation arises in Season 2.0 when Cpt. Colbert (again) walks into both Steve Rogers and a Skrull impersonating Steve pointing their guns at one another.
* Mid Season Upgrade: In Season 4, we see The Team sporting new, tougher uniforms, to go with the new headquarters [after their old headquarters was decimated.]
* Military Superhero: Not Team Alpha, per se, but Captain America, who was a member of The Team for Season 1 and 2.

** [Cpt. Chris Colbert] becomes a borderline example in Season 4. [Once he's augmented with bionics and enhanced technologies...]
* Mind Rape: Nightmare subjugating succesful Americans who achieved the American dream, or were well off.
* Mirror Universe: Sort of. While the Nazi*controlled universe does have evil versions of some of the heroes, the rest of the inhabitants keep their alignments. However, the universe does have
[a good version of Mr. X, who became that universe's Captain America. Seriously.]

* Mission Control: There's an entire group that acts as this for the frontline SPECWAR corps, the "Support Squad".
* The Mole: [[spoiler: Maj. Nathan Hale], revealed to be a [B.A.T. Infiltrator Class after he and Team Alpha are captured by Cobra. He ends up remaining a good guy, though.]]
** [[spoiler: Evil!Sarah posing as the 'regular' Sarah Heissman after the end of the "Secret Resistance" arc.]