History FanFic / UltimateSleepwalker

-->'''Cyrus''':...You really need a girlfriend, you know that?
-->'''Kenny''': Yeah, tell me something I don't know.

* WretchedHive: New York City has some undercurrents of this. It's specifically mentioned as having the most supervillains per capita of anywhere in the world, as well as the highest overall crime rate in the nation. Ben Urich's ShellShockedVeteran status also comes from the horrors he's witnessed after three decades covering the New York crime beat, which provide [[in-universe]] NightmareFuel to Rick when Ben recounts them.

** In the official comics, Malcolm [=McBride=] is a TragicVillain infected by TheVirus and turned into the horrific Carrion. His mother Martha is a good-natured woman who tries desperately to save her son. In this story, the McBrides are the definition of EvilIsPetty, although their names are changed to Sam and Sylvia as part of the WholePlotReference below.

* [[spoiler:ColdBloodedTorture]]: Sleepwalker is so enraged at [[spoiler:Rick being beaten and injured by a group of muggers that he threatens to use his warp beams to]] ''[[spoiler:peel the thug's flesh right off his bones.]]''

-->'''Electro''': Ah, my loving public. I'm sure you all know why I'm here, so let's just dispense with the pleasantries and hand over the money, alright?
-->'''InnocentBystander''': That money's for the poor!
-->'''Electro''': In case you good people didn't know, I '''am''' the poor. Do you know how hard it is to get a decent job after you've been in and out of prison as many times as I have? ''(said after [[KickTheDog blasting the protester unconscious with an electric bolt)]]''

* DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler:Sylvia and Sam McBride summon the Carrion demon to torture and drag to hell various people who they felt had slighted them. These slights range from stealing their credit cards to foreclosing on their homes to firing them from their jobs to simply beating them out in a dance competition, as Alyssa was unlucky enough to do.]]

* [[spoiler:DrivenToSuicide]]: [[spoiler: Cyrus is brutally {{Mind Rape}}d as an aftereffect of unwillingly harboring the Dreamkiller in his mind by Cobweb. Eventually, after the horrible nightmares he suffers, Cyrus is eventually led by Cobweb to put a gun in his mouth and pull the trigger.]]

* [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas Even Bad Men Love Their Papas]]: 8-Ball's father is extremely sick and kept on life support in a private hospital. 8-Ball uses some of the proceeds from his robberies to pay for his father's medical bills.

-->'''Bystander''': That money's for the poor!
-->'''Electro''': Hey, in case you didn't notice, I '''am''' the poor!

* [[MyNameIsInigoMontoya I Am A Sleepwalker]]: When Sleepwalker finally confronts the truth behind Cobweb trapping him in Rick's mind, he nearly loses himself in the rage and hatred he feels for his most hated of enemies. It's by recalling who he is, his true purpose in life as a Sleepwalker, that he manages to find himself:
-->'''Cobweb''': Who do you think you are?
-->'''Sleepwalker''': I am a Sleepwalker...and I swear...by the sacred thoughts of the Silent Ones...''you shall not have this mind!''

* [[spoiler:JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Sleepwalker finally crosses this in his battle with Psyko. Overcome by his grief and rage, Sleepwalker outright kills the monster, knowing full well that he's crossed a line that his race is strictly sworn not to violate.]]

* [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Mind Rape Is A Special Kind Of Evil]]: All the illegal things human criminals do disgust Sleepwalker. MindRape is a particular BerserkButton for him, however, since his race originated specifically to fight it.

* [[MugglesDoItBetter Muggles Do It Worse]]: A few people have tried to defend themselves with their guns against supervillains, and they inevitably fail. This also applies to non-powered and non-costumed assassins who try to just shoot their victims with guns, who will inevitably get their asses kicked if they run into a costumed hero.

* [[spoiler:ParentalIncest]]: [[spoiler:A young Bruce Banner is molested by his mother Rebecca Banner. You can imagine what it's done for his mental state later as an adult.]]

* [[spoiler:TurnedAgainstTheirMasters : Outraged at his humiliation of Sleepwalker forcing him to release his victims, the Carrion demon decides to turn on his human summoners and drag them off to hell instead.]]

* [[UnderstandingBoyfriend Understanding Girlfriend]]: It takes Alyssa a while to fully accept Sleepwalker's presence in Rick's life once she finally finds out, although she makes a point of remaining supportive to Rick and actively ''trying'' to come to terms with it. When she does, she in fact comes to care very deeply for Sleepwalker when she realizes what he's had to go through.

* HellIsThatNoise: The Shiver Man's appearance starts with [[{{in-universe}} an increasingly high-pitched buzzing sound]], even as the temperature increases and a thick, smoky mist appears out of nowhere.

* NewYorkCityCops: Being that Sleepwalker is a superhero, he deals with the NYPD's Superhuman Activities Unit on a semi-regular basis. Sleepwalker himself has dealt with Detective Cecilia Perez on multiple occasions, while Spider-Man has referred to Jean [=DeWolfe=], head of the Superhuman Activities Unit, and George Stacy, head of the department's Organized Crime Unit.

* HatePlague: Cobweb is the living personification of this trope. He nurtures the feelings of anger and resentment in the hearts and minds of people who've suffered, driving them to feel hatred at those who harmed them, and then inspiring further hatred in the victims of whoever his original victims harm. Although Cobweb did not create conflicts like the ArabIsraeliConflict or UsefulNotes/TheTroubles, he played a major part in establishing the CycleOfRevenge that resulted, increasing the violence and bloodshed in all these conflicts.

* GuestStarPartyMember: ComicBook/{{Spider-Man}}, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}}, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour the Thing]] and ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} have all lent Sleepwalker a hand at different times.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Heroes like ComicBook/{{Spider-Man}}, ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} and ComicBook/MoonKnight have their own adventures which are occasionally referred to, although sometimes they intersect with Sleepwalker's own cases.

* OfficialCouple: While {{Spider-Man}} isn't the main focus of this series, he is Sleepwalker's most frequent ally and Peter Parker is good friends with Rick Sheridan. Jared deliberately set out to subvert several aspects of the spider-mythos, including making [[TheGwenStacy Gwen Stacy]] Peter's one true love. [[FanFic/UltimateSpiderWoman Not that he ignores the red head...]]

* VillainTeamUp: A variant in that Sleepwalker's enemies aren't the ones that team up. Instead, {{Spider-Man}}'s old enemies reunite as the Sinister Six as part of Doctor Octopus's latest evil scheme. To even the odds, Spidey hastily recruits an impromptu team of heroes, one of which is Sleepwalker. It culminates in a six-on-six battle royale, with Sleepwalker, Darkhawk, the Thing, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} fighting Electro, the Sandman, the Rhino, the Scorpion and the Shocker while Spider-Man takes on Doctor Octopus.

* HatePlague: Cobweb is the living personification of this trope. He nurtures the feelings of anger and resentment in the hearts and minds of people who've suffered, driving them to feel hatred at those who harmed them, and then inspiring further hatred in the victims of whoever his original victims harm. Although Cobweb did not create conflicts like the ArabIsraeliConflict or TheTroubles, he played a major part in establishing the CycleOfRevenge that resulted, increasing the violence and bloodshed in all these conflicts.

* [[spoiler:DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery]]: [[spoiler:When Moonstone's rampage puts him in a wheelchair, Rick is very embittered. He feels humiliated at needing his friends' help to do everything from taking notes in class to going to the bathroom, and starts to lash out at them. He smartens up once Red calls him out on his attitude.]]

* [[spoiler:DraggedOffToHell : This is the horrific fate that the Carrion demon inflicts on his victims. Subverted when Sleepwalker forces Carrion to release them to avoid being burned alive. Carrion later inflicts this on the humans who summoned him.]]

* [[spoiler:RapeIsOkayWhenItsFemaleOnMale]]: [[spoiler:''Oh'' '''''HELL''''' ''No!'']]

** [[spoiler:Played deadly straight with Mephisto, who is revealed to have been taking advantage of the despair and sadism of human supervillains like Fever Pitch and General Wolfram in order to cause enough mayhem for him to enslave the minds of all humanity.

* RedRingsOfDeath: [[spoiler:Sleepwalker increasingly feels this during his battle against Mephisto, pushing himself far beyond his limits until he literally explodes from the sheer amount of energy he is channeling.]]

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:This ''would'' have happened to Sleepwalker, but Rick's intervention saves his life. It later happens for real in his battle against Mephisto in issue #99]]

This series was started in September 2006, although it's only recently been imported to Fanfiction.net. You can find it [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4628492/1/Ultimate_Sleepwalker_The_New_Dreams here]]. At 114 chapters, including 99 issues, eight Annuals, six Halloween Specials and one crossover, it'll take a significant a chunk of time to catch up-- but it's worth it for a well realised take on a cult character.

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:This ''would'' have happened to Sleepwalker, but Rick's intervention saves his life.]]

* BigBadassWolf: General Wolfram was originally a puny human named Claude Cramer. He later turns into a fifteen-foot tall wolf-creature with razor-sharp fangs and claws.

* GreaterScopeVillain: Groups like HYDRA, Doctor Doom and AIM are mentioned several times in passing, although they don't appear in the series because their activities are outside the street level and supernatural actions that Sleepwalker is involved in.

* HannibalLecture: Psyko gives one of these to Sleepwalker while also delivering a vicious NoHoldsBarredBeatdown. Sleepwalker later throws it back in Psyko's face after Rick brings him to his senses.

* [[HenpeckedHusband Henpecked Boyfriend]]: Alyssa is wonderfully compassionate and supportive, helping Rick deal with his problems. She's also got him completely whipped.
* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies]]: [[spoiler:This ''would'' have happened to Sleepwalker, but Rick's intervention saves his life.]]

* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: Think that the Bookworm's ability to bring to life anything he reads about is lame? Try saying that after he gets his hands on some works by [[spoiler:H.P. Lovecraft.]]

* XanatosGambit: Cobweb trapping Sleepwalker in Rick's mind ties back into one of these. Every time Sleepwalker thought he would have defeated Cobweb, it all turned out to be part of a larger EvilPlan that [[spoiler:Sleepwalker only barely manages to stop by the skin of his teeth.]]

* {{Badass}}: Sleepwalker, of course.

This series was started in September 2006, although it's only recently been imported to Fanfiction.net. You can find it [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4628492/1/Ultimate_Sleepwalker_The_New_Dreams here]]. At 113 chapters, including 98 issues, eight Annuals, six Halloween Specials and one crossover, it'll take a significant a chunk of time to catch up-- but it's worth it for a well realised take on a cult character.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: After 98 issues, eight Annuals and six Halloween Specials, this is bound to happen.

* LyricalSwap: When she sings her hypnotic concert to brainwash everyone who listens to it into her slaves, Lullaby uses {{Britney Spears}}'s ''Hit Me Baby One More Time'' with some rewritten lyrics that centre around people obeying her.

* AlphaBitch: Lullaby, who the author [[TakeThat freely admits is]] a combination of Creator/ParisHilton, BritneySpears and ChristinaAguilera, or what they would be like if they had super-powers.

This series was started in September 2006, although it's only recently been imported to Fanfiction.net. You can find it [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4628492/1/Ultimate_Sleepwalker_The_New_Dreams here]]. At 112 chapters, including 97 issues, eight Annuals, six Halloween Specials and one crossover, it'll take a significant a chunk of time to catch up-- but it's worth it for a well realised take on a cult character.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: After 97 issues, eight Annuals and six Halloween Specials, this is bound to happen.

* RoguesGallery: And boy is it a big one. Aside from all the villains Bob Budiansky, Tom Breevort and Mike Kanterovich created, Jared also took a number of other obscure villains and made them recurring enemies, often after [[TookALevelInBadass power leveling them a bit]]. So far, Sleepwalker has tangled with 8-Ball, the Chain Gang, Spectra, the Bookworm, the Ringer, Lullaby, Cobweb, Lightmaster, Hellrazor, Psyko, the Nasty Boys, Mr. Jyn, Equinox, Fever Pitch, Jack the Ripper, the Thought Police, Electro, the Serpent Society, the Dreadknight, the Dreamkiller, Mr. FX, the Shiver Man, the Scarecrow, Sh'mballah, the Mutant Liberation Front, Moonstone, Mister Hyde, the Green Goblin, Carrion, Chimera, the Hobgoblin, Firefly, the Dark Riders and the Shadow King.

----

* SamaritanSyndrome: Subverted with Sleepwalker in that he genuinely doesn't mind spending all his time fighting bad guys and never taking any time for himself. It's {{Lampshaded}} and {{Justified|Trope}} when Sleepwalker points out that he's an alien whose mentality is very different from that of a human. His entire ''race'' spends all its time fighting monsters and demons, and Sleepwalkers are not susceptible to BurnOut and don't need to take time for themselves or pursue individual goals. It'd be a horrific, crippling existence for a human, but for a Sleepwalker it gives their lives meaning.

This series was started in September 2006, although it's only recently been imported to Fanfiction.net. You can find it [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4628492/1/Ultimate_Sleepwalker_The_New_Dreams here]]. At 111 chapters, including 96 issues, eight Annuals, six Halloween Specials and one crossover, it'll take a significant a chunk of time to catch up-- but it's worth it for a well realised take on a cult character.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: After 96 issues, eight Annuals and six Halloween Specials, this is bound to happen.

** Notably averted when Spider-Man, Daredevil and Sleepwalker all independently arrive to try and stop the Nasty Boys from murdering a safehouse full of police informants, and they all spontaneously team up to fight the Boys. Also averted when Psyko's supervillain riots break out in New York, and every hero gets in on the action, with CaptainAmerica and the Avengers arriving to lend a hand the second time.