History EstablishingCharacterMoment / ComicBooks

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* ''Franchise/XMen'':
** From Bendis' ''Uncanny X-Men'':
*** Magneto is introduced when he fearlessly attacks a horde of killer robots. He goes on to lament the deterioration of his power over metal and simultaneously establish that he is still a formidable opponent: these facts set up his [[DePower character]] and [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters plot]] arcs.
*** Cyclops interrupting a scene of PoliceBrutality and insisting that the victim has human rights.
** In the original series, ''ComicBook/BeastMarvelComics'' is an odd delayed example. The archetypal GeniusBruiser was introduced smoking a DistinguishedGentlemansPipe and reading advanced calculus in his first appearance... of the ''third issue''. In the first two issues he is a hot-headed teenager, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness very different]] from the characterization that would make him famous.
* ''Comicbook/{{X 23}}'': Laura - despite her young age - has a lucid nightmare involving blood and corpses. She calmly explains the details of this dream, ending with:
-->''And it never ends. [[BrokenBird Never]].''

* The first dozen or so pages of ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' exist solely to provide one of these for each of the kids: Gert is shown correcting her dad's Latin in the middle of an argument about politics, Chase is shown getting beaten up by his dad for getting bad grades, etc. Similarly, the first time we see AscendedFanboy Victor, he's talking about superheroes with his buddy Jorge.
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica [[http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/captain-america/1-2.jpg summed up real quick.]]
* ''Dark Avengers: ComicBook/{{Ares}}'' introduced titular character when he is subjecting group of soldiers to TrainingFromHell by getting drunk while shooting at them with a Gatling gun.

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'':
** Rorschach's opening narration provides a glimpse into his unstable mind: a retired crimefighter who now believes the city deserves its problems and longs for the day when the people are desperate enough to want his help again... just so he can smugly refuse.
** The first time we see Dr. Manhattan he is shown as a giant which [[PhysicalGod showcases his power]] as well as his [[HumanoidAbomination truly alien nature to the rest of the world]]. He then responds to the news of The Comedian's death with [[BlueAndOrangeMorality "Life and death are unquantifiable abstracts. Why should I care?"]]
* Way back in '65, [[Franchise/TeenTitans Beast Boy]] invaded Doom Patrol headquarters and ransacked everything (up to and including defacing a picture of Elasti-girl and putting an axe through one of Robotman's spare head units), came back the next night and got caught only when the Doom Patrol successfully ganged up on him. When they finally let the teenage punk out, he immediately started bellowing at them for messing up his hair and shoes and started another fight, hurling insults in every direction. He then had the gall to demand they let him on the team. The Doom Patrol hated his guts, but the fans loved him, and he's been around for more than fifty years since.

* In ''ComicBook/AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'', Lady Mordiel captures a peasant girl with a small fraction of blood power, and after talking to her casually, murders her to absorb her fragment of power; then she orders the girl's family to be suitably compensated.

* The opening panels of ''ComicBook/{{Lazarus}}'' have main character Forever Carlyle being shot multiple times and killed. Then [[HealingFactor she heals up]], gets back up, and completely wipes out her attackers.
* When she first appear in ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'', [[LovableAlphaBitch Cornelia Hale]] muses on how her friend Irma somehow managing to get interrogated in class only on what she studied is nothing special compared to what she's been pulling lately, teases her best friend Elyon about her bad grade in math and her crush on Matt Olsen before leaving her to deal alone with Irma and Hay Lin deciding a penitence for her bad grade, and then notices that [[NewTransferStudent Will and Taranee are getting bullied]] and reacts by [[BullyHunter sending the bullies running]] before effectively adopting the new students in her group of friends.
* The first time we (clearly) see Xadhoom in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' has her blasting her way through a wall, [[BigDamnHeroes save Paperinik from a group of Evronians]] and killing most of them with an awesome (if relatively subdued) display of her powers, ''[[LetsYouAndHimFight blast Paperinik because she mistook him for another Evronian]]'', notice that her Evronian-killing blast hasn't caused him any damage and thinking that either he wasn't Evronian or was just very tough, and switching to [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]] to make sure he'll die. This tells the reader that she ''hates'' Evronians and is intelligent enough to know how to kill them without harming non-Evronians, and hints to her being a scientist.

* The very first scene in ''ComicBook/TheDivine'' shows Jason, in a helicopter over an Asian jungle, shooting panicked animals from a machine-gun for fun. Then a ''dragon'' pops up, and Jason, without missing a beat, shoots it in the eye from "an American-made gun" while remarking sarcastically that "they told me not to shoot it. It's bad luck in the fairy tales." It's clear that Jason's a testosterone-addled macho who doesn't believe in anything greater than himself.
* ''ComicBook/CaballisticsInc'':
** Hannah and Lawrence are introduced being in the middle of a gunfight against a horde of zombies.
** Ravne is introduced having slaughtered several people to bathe in their blood.

* Hyacinthe from ''ComicBook/DungeonTheEarlyYears'' tries to stop a rapist from assaulting a handmaid by identifying himself as the new assistant to his uncle's NumberTwo Michael. It's a quick way to establish that Hyacinthe has no idea what he just got himself into and who his uncle keeps as a right-hand man.
-->'''Rapist:''' I'm Michael, so you get out of here and go to sleep before I break you in two.

* Bendis' ''Uncanny Franchise/XMen'':
** Magneto is introduced when he fearlessly attacks a horde of killer robots. He goes on to lament the deterioration of his power over metal and simultaneously establish that he is still a formidable opponent: these facts set up his [[DePower character]] and [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters plot]] arcs.
** Cyclops interrupting a scene of PoliceBrutality and insisting that the victim has human rights.

** Rorschach's opening narration provides a glimpse into his unstable mind.

* The first time we (clearly) see Xadhoom in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' has her blasting her way through a wall, [[BigDamnHeroes save Paperinik from a group of Evronians]] and killing most of them with an awesome (if relatively subdued) display of her powers, ''[[LetsYouAndHimFight blast Paperinik because she mistook him for another Evronian]]'', notice that her Evronian-killing blast hasn't caused him any damage and thinking that either he wasn't Evronian or was just very tough, and switching to FrickinLaserBeams to make sure he'll die. This tells the reader that she ''hates'' Evronians and is intelligent enough to know how to kill them without harming non-Evronians, and hints to her being a scientist.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'':
** Diana rescuing Steve Trevor from his crashed plane despite not knowing who he is and helping to nurse him back to health. As well as defying her mother to join the contest to determine who will be her people's representative to Man's World.

* Franchise/{{Batman}}:

* ComicBook/WonderWoman:

"Gwen who?".]]

** By far one of the most famous lines in all of comics, "Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!" It is almost mandatory for Mary Jane to say some form of that line in any later incarnations and parodied an homaged by many artists. This panel quickly established MJ as ''the'' LoveInterest for Spider-Man and no matter how many times Lee and Romita tried to shill Gwen Stacy, it never stuck against what Creator/GerryConway called, "the most interesting woman in comics".

* Hyacinthe from ''ComicBook/DungeonTheEarlyYears'' tries to stop a rapist from assaulting a handmaid by saying identifying himself as the new assistant to his uncle's NumberTwo Michael. It's a quick way to establish that Hyacinthe has no idea what he just got himself into and what his uncle keep as right-hand man.
--->'''Rapist:''' I'm Michael, so you get out of here and go to sleep before I break you in two.

* Hyacinthe from ''ComicBook/DungeonTheEarlyYears'' tries to stop a rapist from assaulting a handmaid by saying identifying himself as the new assistant to his uncle's NumberTwo Jean-Michel.
--->'''Rapist:''' I'm Jean-Michel, so you get out of here and go to sleep before I break you in two.

* ''[[SpiderMan Amazing Fantasy #15]]'' is all about this. It starts with a shot of Peter Parker being snubbed by his friends, then Uncle Ben playfully teasing his nephew and Aunt May feeding him a healthy breakfast. Then Flash pushes Peter over and steals the girl he was introducing himself to.

** By far one of the most famous lines in all of comics, "[[Franchise/SpiderMan Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!]]" It is almost mandatory for Mary Jane to say some form of that line in any later incarnations and parodied an homaged by many artists. This panel quickly established MJ as ''the'' LoveInterest for Spider-Man and no matter how many times Lee and Romita tried to shill Gwen Stacy, it never stuck against what Creator/GerryConway called, "the most interesting woman in comics".
* The first dozen or so pages of ''{{Comicbook/Runaways}}'' exist solely to provide one of these for each of the kids: Gert is shown correcting her dad's Latin in the middle of an argument about politics, Chase is shown getting beaten up by his dad for getting bad grades, etc. Similarly, the first time we see AscendedFanboy Victor, he's talking about superheroes with his buddy Jorge.
* Comicbook/CaptainAmerica [[http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/captain-america/1-2.jpg summed up real quick.]]

* [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]] [[DeathSeeker throwing herself]] in front of Commissioner Gordon to prevent him from being [[TakingTheBullet shot]] by an assassin [[ScrewDestiny whom we later learn is her father]]. She swiftly becomes the new Batgirl, with [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Barbara Gordon]]'s blessing and gratitude.
* Franchise/{{Batman}} first appeared on a rooftop beating up thugs.
* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'':

** Superman himself in a [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/Action_Comics_1.jpg nutshell]].

--> '''Superman:''' Alien, black, Jew, gay...where ''do'' you draw the line, Bloodsport?\\

[[caption-width-right:350:The panel that made fanboys say\\
"Who's Gwen Stacy again?".]]

** Subverted with Gwen Stacy; she shows up flirting with Flash Thompson and vaguely intrigued by Peter Parker, but after some CharacterDevelopment, the scene actually seems ''out'' of character. Played straight with her alternate universe heroic counterpart ComicBook/SpiderGwen as the cover to ''Edge of ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' #2 has her changing into her costume, setting the comic book world ablaze.
** By far one of the most famous lines in all of comics, "[[Franchise/SpiderMan Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!]]" It is almost mandatory for Mary Jane to say some form of that line in any later incarnations.
*** [[http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/face-it-tigger-you-just-hit-the-jackpot.jpg Hilariously parodied in this Winnie the Pooh image]], which was made ''[[HilariousInHindsight before]]'' Disney acquired Marvel!

[[quoteright:318:[[Franchise/SpiderMan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/WhyYouMaryJanePart1A_2496.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:318:The panel that made fanboys say\\

** [[HeroicComedicSociopath Whirl]] himself is first shown giving an ominous monologue about "working through his issues" to a group of Sweeps corpses that he's been mutilating while covering them and the floor (and himself) in Energon and readying a flame. Then Cyclonus walks in, and Whirl [[MoodWhiplash yells at him for not knocking first]] before [[CrazyAwesome challenging him to a fight.]]

** Rung tries to get on-board, only for Red Alert to not recognise him at all, despite Rung having been his psychiatrist for six centuries. Then he notes Rung's model-ship collection, and while describing it, Rung's arm is sliced off by a passing Cyclonus.

* ''Comicbook/X-23'': Laura- despite her young age- has a lucid nightmare involving blood and corpses. She calmly explains the details of this dream, ending with:

* ''Dark Avengers: ComicBook/{{Ares}}'' introduced titular character when he is subjecting group of soldiers to TrainingFromHell by getting drunk while shooting at them with a Gatling gun

[[folder: X-Men]]
[[AC: Bendis' ''Uncanny Franchise/XMen'']]
* Magneto is introduced when he fearlessly attacks a horde of killer robots. He goes on to lament the deterioriation of his power over metal and simultaneously establish that he is still a formidable opponent: these facts set up his [[DePower character]] and [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters plot]] arcs.
* Cyclops interrupting a scene of PoliceBrutality and insisting that the victim has human rights.

[[AC: Liu' ''X-23'']]
* Laura- despite her young age- has a lucid nightmare involving blood and corpses. She calmly explains the details of this dream, ending with:

---

* Comicbook/CaptainAmerica [[http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/captain-america/1-2.jpg summed up real quick.]]

* By far one of the most famous lines in all of comics, "[[Franchise/SpiderMan Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!]]" It is almost mandatory for Mary Jane to say some form of that line in any later incarnations.
** [[http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/face-it-tigger-you-just-hit-the-jackpot.jpg Hilariously parodied in this Winnie the Pooh image]], which was made ''[[HilariousInHindsight before]]'' Disney acquired Marvel!
* ''Comicbook/{{Bookhunter}}'''s opening chapter is [[BatmanColdOpen unrelated to the larger plot]], and instead serves to set the tone of the story to follow. A SWAT team has been called in to deal with a freelance censor, and when they invade his apartment, they find the perp threatening to immolate himself and the books he stole; clearly, in this universe, books are SeriousBusiness. Detective Bay's response to the standoff shows that, underneath his veneer of rationality, he is a CowboyCop willing to do completely insane things in his pursuit of criminals.
* The first dozen or so pages of ''{{Comicbook/Runaways}}'' exist solely to provide one of these for each of the kids: Gert is shown correcting her dad's Latin in the middle of an argument about politics, Chase is shown getting beaten up by his dad for getting bad grades, etc. Similarly, the first time we see AscendedFanboy Victor, he's talking about superheroes with his buddy Jorge.
* Joseph in ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' seems shy and unassuming at first, but [[JerkAss the first time he opens his mouth]]...
* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}''

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}''

* Issue #1 of ''The ComicBook/FantasticFour'': It all begins with one strange man shooting a signal flare into the air -- a flare announcing, "The Fantastic Four!" Sue Storm was hanging out with a {{socialite}} friend at the moment the flare went off. She promptly turns invisible and walks out into public, testing her powers by taking a cab and attempting to pay the unsuspecting cabbie the fare. Ben Grimm, who is at a clothing shop in heavy disguise, hears of the signal flare and sheds his constricting clothing, revealing himself as the monstrous Thing. His debut catches the attention of the police, who open fire on him and thus force him to escape through the sewers. Johnny Storm is at a service station getting his car fixed when he learns of the flare (which by now had turned into the number 4). He flames on and flies through the air as the Human Torch. The Nation Guard attacks him with a nuclear warhead hunter missile. Two stretchy arms grab the missile before it could obliterate him and disposes of it via the sea. By now Johnny's flames had worn out and is plummeting to his death, but the strange man from before saves him, revealing himself to be Dr. Reed Richards, AKA Mr. Fantastic. And this is all before the SuperheroOrigin!
** [[http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2173/2178662096_5e771d5455_o.jpg This]] shows just about everything that you need to know about Doctor Doom.
* ''[[SpiderMan Amazing Fantasy #15]]'' is all about this. It starts with a shot of Peter Parker being snubbed by his friends, then Uncle Ben playfully teasing his nephew and Aunt May feeding him a healthy breakfast. Then Flash pushes Peter over and steals the girl he was introducing himself to.
** In the first issue of the series, J. Jonah Jameson comes onto the scene writing one of his infamous anti-Spider-Man editorials. It could be said, however, that the ''real'' Establishing Character Moment is the day after Spidey successfully saves Jameson's son from a malfunctioning aircraft, when he runs an article about how Spider-Man sabotaged the aircraft himself and broke several laws in rescuing his son.
** Subverted with Gwen Stacy; she shows up flirting with Flash Thompson and vaguely intrigued by Peter Parker, but after some CharacterDevelopment, the scene actually seems ''out'' of character. Played straight with her alternate universe heroic counterpart ComicBook/SpiderGwen as the cover to ''Edge of ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' #2 has her changing into her costume, setting the comic book world ablaze.

* Cassandra Cain [[DeathSeeker throwing herself]] in front of Commissioner Gordon to prevent him from being [[TakingTheBullet shot]] by an assassin [[ScrewDestiny whom we later learn is her father]]. She swiftly becomes the new {{Comicbook/Batgirl|2000}}, with Barbara Gordon's blessing and gratitude.

--> '''Superman:''' Alien, black, Jew, gay...where ''do'' you draw the line, Bloodsport?
--> '''Bloodsport:''' Anywhere I want!

[[AC: X-23]]

** The Decepticons who speak in the Kimia ghetto establish their personalities immediately in a single sentence. Cyclonus disavows any affiliation with the Decepticons, seeing as how he doesn't share their values. Swindle, cheerfully and shamelessly sleazy as ever, tries to bargain his way out. Starscream gives a doubtful, scornful huff because of how things turned out--as a career schemer, he sees the Autobots' lack of coordination for what it is. Ratbat proves that once a politician, always a politician, trying to be released on account of his former social position, and immediately talking out the other side of his mouth in an attempt to rally the Decepticons to him when it fails.