History Recap / BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E17Superstar

[[quoteright:284:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/btvs_s4_ep16_whoareyou.jpg]]

->'''Xander:''' So we're saying he made a spell just to make us ''think'' he was cool?
->'''Giles:''' Yes.
->'''Xander:''' That is so cool!

The Scoobies are having trouble with a demon so they turn to... Jonathan?! (The one and only!)

* AnAesop: At the end, normal schlubby Jonathan stops by to apologize, and Buffy offers him some advice. Jonathan retains enough of his memories to remind her that he gave her the same advice, regarding her relationship with Riley.

-->'''Buffy:''' ''[flipping through pages]'' No. No. No. ''Whoah.'' No.

* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Courtesy of Jonathan, naturally.

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Averted -- rather than kill Buffy, Jonathan helps Buffy kill the monster and change reality back to normal.]]

* ThrowItIn: As it was raining buckets in Los Angeles at the time, the coffee scene was filmed inside the Expresso Pump (extras can be seen holding umbrellas out on the street), and Karen's encounter with the demon takes place in the pouring rain.

The Scoobies are having trouble with a demon so they turn to...Jonathan?! (The one and only!)

* AnAesop
-->'''Buffy:''' Jonathan, you can't keep trying to make everything work out with some big gesture all at once. Things are complicated. They take time and work.
* ADayInTheLimelight: The illustrious Jonathan. It's about time, too!
* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: Spike does the [[FoeYay creepy villain version]].

* BadassBoast: Delivered by the man himself, Jonathan.
-->'''Jonathan:''' Spike, you're the worst type of scum. The second you're back to your old tricks, well; let's just say before you even sniff out your first victim [[ImpliedDeathThreat you'll be pretty indistinguishable from, oh what should we say (smirks) instant soup mix?]]
** Adam too with his; "You are all just shadows" speech.

* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:Jonathan looks like he's going to push Buffy into the abyss, but he pulls her back from it instead.]]

* DamselInDistress: Tara, showing how she's taken over the role from [[TookALevelInBadass Willow]].
* BettyAndVeronica: When Riley wonders why Buffy is avoiding him intimately, Jonathan wisely points out that Faith was sexually experienced and Buffy is worried he'll be comparing.
* BigFancyHouse: Jonathan has one in this universe.
* BlackHoleSue: Used InUniverse when Jonathan uses a wish spell to fold reality around himself and turns himself into an invincible, charismatic hero, admired by everyone. Unfortunately he forgot to read the [[EquivalentExchange fine print]].
* BottomlessPit

-->'''Jonathan:''' ''(eyeing her)'' Yeah. Wouldn't want that to happen...
* BrickJoke

-->"I walked worlds of smoke and half-truths, intangible. Worlds of torment and of unnamable beauty. Opaline towers as high as small moons. Glaciers that rippled with insensate lust. And one world with nothing but shrimp. I tired of that one quickly."
** Another one comes due in Season 7's "Lessons". Anya has a throwaway line describing the vengeance wishes she'd enact on wronged women's ex-boyfriends: "I'd wish he was a dog or ugly or in love with President [=McKinley=] or something." Three years later, chastising Anya for going soft, Halfrek says: "You were the single-most hard-core vengeance demon on the roster, and everybody knew it. Do I have to mention Mrs. Czolgosz?" President William [=McKinley=] was assassinated by a man named Leon Czolgosz.

-->Hey! You're not supposed to do that!

* DifferentWorldDifferentMovies: A movie marquee advertising ''[[Film/BeingJohnMalkovich Being Jonathan Levinson]]'' changes to "Closed for repairs".

* {{Egopolis}}: Jonathan's face is everywhere in Sunnydale; from billboards to baseball cards. It's a beautiful sight.

* EyesNeverLie: Lampshaded re Faith's GrandTheftMe.

'''Buffy:''' There's no way he could know. I mean you don't just look at someone and say 'Hey that's not your body, get out of that body with your hands up!'\\

* HandsOnApproach: Riley tries to show Buffy how to throw a ball through the mini-basketball hoop in his room. However Buffy is still upset that [[GrandTheftMe Riley slept with Faith]], so she just walks out the door the moment the sexual tension gets too high.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:When the demon gets the drop on Buffy, Jonathan throws himself at it, sending them both into the abyss. Fortunately Buffy grabs Jonathan's ankle to stop him from falling too.]]

* IJustWantToHaveFriends

* ImprovisedWeapon: Jonathan breaks off a stalactite and wields it Captain Kirk-style against the demon.
* IResembleThatRemark / AndHereHeComesNow
-->'''Jonathan:''' Vampires only form nests to make hunting easier. They're not big on the cooperation. They mostly like to hang out all creepy and alone in the shadows. Don't you agree... [turning head] SPIKE?
-->''Sinister guitar music as Spike steps out from behind a bush.''

-->'''Buffy:''' It's Buffy, you [[BigStupidDoodooHead big bleached...stupid guy]].
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: Jonathan [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E1WhenSheWasBad crushed the bones of the Master]], [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E22GraduationDayPart2 blew up a big snake made out of Mayor]] and coached the U.S. Women's Soccer Team to a stunning World Cup victory.
* LanguageOfMagic: "You can't just say 'librum incendere' and-" PHWOOSH!

* MartyStu: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]]. It's Jonathan, and he really is that great. Also, there was magic involved.
* TheMinnesotaFats: Subverted.

* NoSell / AntiMagic: Adam is the only one not affected by Jonathan's spell, because he has absolute knowledge of every part of his body.

* PowerAtAPrice
* PreAssKickingOneLiner

-->"Quick draw's about more than speed. It's also about pointing a stake the right way. And there can be splinter issues."

-->"Twang! Poof!" ''[Tara looks confused]'' "That was the sound -- the crossbow, vampire dusting..."

-->'''Buffy''' (smiling): I remember this. This good.

* SpecialEditionTitle: The spell even spilled over into the TitleSequence, with scenes of Jonathan defusing an IncrediblyObviousBomb and doing a PowerWalk.
* SpottingTheThread
* StalkerWithACrush / {{Squee}}: {{Fangirl}} Karen, over Jonathan (as expected, of course).

* ThrowItIn: As it was raining buckets in Los Angeles at the time, the coffee scene was filmed inside the Expresso Pump (extras can be seen holding umbrellas out on the street) and Karen's encounter with the demon takes place in the pouring rain.
* TwinThreesomeFantasy / NorseByNorsewest: Jonathan has a couple of blonde Swedish twins in his BigFancyHouse. Those lucky twins.
* UnnecessaryCombatRoll
* VocalDissonance: Jonathan crooning a forties pop song. Pro athlete, military genius, star of ''The Matrix'', and '''now''' he's Sinatra. Because he's Jonathan. He's just that cool.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: Riley in his dorm with Buffy. But no smoochies ensue.

* YouGetMeCoffee: Buffy makes a cup of coffee for Jonathan. And what an honor, making coffee for the wonderful, talented, appropriately-heighted Jonathan!

** The AlternateUniverse consisting only of shrimp. The payoff occurs several years later in the spin-off series ''Series/{{Angel}}'' when the Illyria is boasting of all the alternate dimensions she's visited.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:When the demon gets the drop on Buffy, Jonathan throws himself at it sending them both into the abyss. Fortunately Buffy grabs Jonathan's ankle to stop him from falling too.]]

* ShesBack: Living in a world where the Slayer is overshadowed by Jonathan has dramatically effected Buffy's self-confidence and fighting skills. But as she beats on the demon and Jonathan's staggering power wanes, Buffy starts to enjoy herself.

* {{Fanservice}}: Jonathan's swimsuit calendar. %% In-universe, it's clear fanservice. Out of universe, it's debatable depending on sexual preferences and whatnot.

* PerpSweating: Jonathan roughs up Spike to no effect. Spike is surprised when [Betty the Vampire Slayer does the same, and then points out that Jonathan could get every butcher in Sunnydale to stop selling to Spike, in which case he'd get very hungry.

-->Quick draw's about more than speed. It's also about pointing a stake the right way. And there can be splinter issues.

* NiceGuy: Jonathan is unfailingly polite to all his rabid fans (he even lets a chipped Spike know [[VillainCred he's still dangerous]]), and gives Buffy and Riley advice to help patch up their relationship. Part of this is because that's how a superhero is supposed to act (the spell turns him into a paragon of good) but he also enjoys being friends with the Scoobies and clearly still appreciates Buffy saving his life in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E19Earshot Earshot]]".

* StalkerWithACrush / {{Squee}}: Karen, over Jonathan (as expected, of course).

* {{Superhero}}: Unlike [[HeroWithBadPublicity Buffy in the normal universe]], Jonathan is respected and adored by the public, and works in cohesion with the police and the Initiative to fight demons.

* BettyAndVeronica: When Riley wonders why Buffy is avoiding him intimately, Jonathan wisely points out that Faith was sexually experienced and Buffy is worried he'll be comparing. Jonathan's so insightful!
* BigFancyHouse

* ChekhovsGun: Jonathan tells the Initiative about Adam's uranium core, which becomes relevant in the final confrontation with the cyborg BigBad. Thank God for Jonathan!
* TheChick: Spike is shocked when 'Betty' suddenly slams him against the side of a crypt.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Retrospectively in the episode's attitude to earlier events. Faith's rape-by-body-swap of Riley is discussed entirely in terms of Riley proving himself to be a bad boyfriend and an imperceptive lout for not noticing the body swap, and the possibility that he might be in any way traumatised by it is never brought up.

* EquivalentExchange: By turning himself into a paragon of all that is good, Jonathan also creates a demon that is totally evil. WorthIt.

* EverybodyWasKungFuFighting

* [[FanDisservice Fanservice The Likes Of Which The World Has Never Known]]: Jonathan's swimsuit calender.

* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Jonathan, which is the reason he becomes the paragon of excellence that we all knew he should be.

* MartyStu: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]]. It's Jonathan, and he really is that great. Also there was magic involved.
* TheMinnesotaFats: Subverted

* OneHeadTaller: Spoofed during the Initiative's MissionBriefing, when all the soldiers tower over the amazing Jonathon.

* RealityWarper: Jonathan improves the world greatly by making himself the glorious pinnacle of greatness that he should be by way of a spell.

* [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee The Scoobies Who Say Squee]]

* SpecialEditionTitle: The spell even spilled over into the TitleSequence, with scenes of Jonathan defusing an IncrediblyObviousBomb and doing a PowerWalk. Much better than the usual fare, of course; it's Jonathan!

* AwesomeButTemporary: Adam doesn't has to kill Jonathan, as the spell is inherently unstable.

* NiceGuy: Jonathan is unfailingly polite to all his rabid fans (he even lets a chipped Spike know [[VillainCred he's still dangerous]]), and gives Buffy and Riley advice to help patch up their relationship. Part of this is because that's how a superhero is supposed to act, but he also enjoys being friends with the Scoobies and clearly still appreciates Buffy saving his life in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E19Earshot Earshot]]".

* BlackComedy: Jonathan dusts a vampire (being the awesome fighter that he is) and the quarrel he fires sets off the mobile phone in its jacket pocket.

* DoggedNiceGuy: Jonathan is unfailingly polite to all his rabid fans (he even lets a chipped Spike know [[VillainCred he's still dangerous]]), and gives Buffy and Riley advice to help patch up their relationship. Part of this is because that's how a superhero is supposed to act, but he also enjoys being friends with the Scoobies and clearly still appreciates Buffy saving his life in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E19Earshot Earshot]]".

* TwinThreesomeFantasy: Jonathan has a couple of Swedish twins in his BigFancyHouse. Those lucky twins.

* AlwaysSecondBest: Buffy is nervous fighting more than one vampire, and the other Scoobies have trouble respecting her ideas. Understandable when you're overshadowed by the amazing Jonathan.

* DoggedNiceGuy: Jonathan is unfailingly polite to all his rabid fans (he even lets a chipped Spike know he's still dangerous), and gives Buffy and Riley advice to help patch up their relationship. Part of this is because that's how a superhero is supposed to act, but he also enjoys being friends with the Scoobies and clearly still appreciates Buffy saving his life in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E19Earshot Earshot]]".

* BadassBoast / ImpliedDeathThreat: Delivered by the man himself, Jonathan.
-->'''Jonathan:''' Spike, you're the worst type of scum. The second you're back to your old tricks, well; let's just say before you even sniff out your first victim you'll be pretty indistinguishable from, oh what should we say (smirks) instant soup mix?

* PullTheThread

-->Twang! Poof!" ''[Tara looks confused]'' That was the sound -- the crossbow, vampire dusting...

* SpecialEditionTitle: The spell even spilled over into the TitleSequence, with scenes of Jonathan defusing an IncrediblyObviousBomb and doing a PowerWalk. Much better than the usual fair, of course; it's Jonathan!

** Another one comes due in Season 7's "Lessons". Anya has a throwaway line describing the vengeance wishes she'd enact on wronged women's ex-boyfriends: "I'd wish he was a dog or ugly or in love with President McKinley or something." Three years later, chastising Anya for going soft, Halfrek says: "You were the single-most hard-core vengeance demon on the roster, and everybody knew it. Do I have to mention Mrs. Czolgosz?" President William McKinley was assassinated by a man named Leon Czolgosz.

* BadassBoast: Delivered by the man himself, Jonathan.

* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Giles has Jonathan's swimsuit calender. ItWasAGift.

* SmokeOut: Tara does this with magic.