History Series / Beetleborgs

** In some ways, Les Fortunes is this to his brother.
** Boron serves as one to Roboborg.

** Vilor, one of the villains in ''Metallix'', is this.

* PoweredArmor: The Beetleborg suits.
* ProductPlacement: The entire "Convention Dimension" episode takes place at San Diego Comic Con, with the only other costumed characters seen coming from either other shows on Fox Kids (''WesternAnimation/TheTick'', ''WesternAnimation/XMen'') or shows dubbed by Saban (''Anime/SamuraiPizzaCats'').

* LighterAndSofter: Compared to Saban's other live-action works, such as ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' and ''Series/VRTroopers'', this series simply embraces its silliness and keeps a very lighthearted tone.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

%%* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Boron in the final episode]].

%%%%* SuperRobot: Roboborg and Boron.

%%* TerribleTrio: Noxic, Typhus, and Jara in season 1. The Crustaceans in season 2. The kids even namedrop the trope in reference to the former.

%%* ThreeAmigos: The titular heroes.

%%* TitleThemeTune: One for each season.
%%* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Nano and Roland's mother, Abbie, respectively.

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Boron in the final episode]].

* SunnydaleSyndrome: The Magnavores run down the street in broad daylight, committing havok and assaulting people, but nobody notices until they're being explicitly threatened. This isn't even counting the constant MonsterOfTheWeek battles, or the fact that the comic book superheroes everyone in town seems to love so much are constantly showing up to save the day.

* SuperRobot: Roboborg and Boron.

* TerribleTrio: Noxic, Typhus, and Jara in season 1. The Crustaceans in season 2. The kids even namedrop the trope in reference to the former.

* ThreeAmigos: The titular heroes.

* TitleThemeTune: One for each season.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Nano and Roland's mother, Abbie, respectively.

** Trying to remove a curse from the archaeologists that unearthed Mums results in drew losing his powers but not losing his suit. Without his SuperStrength and the armor being powered, Drew can't move. A suit of PoweredArmor tends to be ''very'' heavy when it's not functioning, especially for a young kid.

* {{Leitmotif}}: Each of the StockSuperpowers has an audio track to match.

* StockSuperpowers: Their "civilian powers":
** [[SuperSpeed Roland runs like nobody can.]]
** [[MindOverMatter Drew moves things with no hands.]]
** [[SuperStrength Jo's stronger than any human.]]
** Josh has {{Invisibility}}.

* {{Deconstruction}}: The kids summon Roboborg to fight the Crustaceans in town...and RealityEnsues and something ''that'' big trying to move around a small town accidentally causes a lot of damage without intending to. The kids decide to keep summoning Roboborg in town as an 'in case of emergencies' thing from then on. [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Zordon had a point about saving the giant robot only for when needed.]]

* RealityEnsues:
** At the convention, the kids try to get in [[ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself as the Beetleborgs]] since Art Fortunes is a special guest. While it works, the staff gets suspicious at the presence of a second set of 'actors' running around.
** Trying to remove a curse from the archaeologists that unearthed Mums results in drew losing his powers but not losing his suit. Without his SuperStrength and the armor being powered, Drew can't move. A suit of PoweredArmor tends to be ''very'' heavy when it's not functioning, especially for a young kid.
** Vexor gets fed up with the TerribleTrio being incompetent idiots and several times tries to create or recruit a far more competent replacement for them.
** Josh's White Blaster Beetleborg powers are explicitly made to defeat Shadowborg...but as Shadowborg points out, he's also the ''least'' [[UnskilledButStrong experienced of the lot]], having literally only been one for a few minutes. As a result while he fairs better than the PowerTrio did and actually injures Shadowborg, he can't take him one on one and only manages to barely snatch the gems containing the other three's stolen powers by the skin of his teeth.
** Les Fortunes' creations are all much stronger than the Magnavores...but he's also just one guy, he can only draw them so fast and this causes problems. They try to avert this by getting his comics published, but the Beetleborgs manage to foil that scheme.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: On several occasions, the bad guys prove to be more than the Beetleborgs can handle.

* TheNthDoctor: Halfway through season 1, Shannon Chandler exited the series as Jo and was replaced by Brittany Konarzewski, and it's addressed in the series. Wolfgang is playing with a magic book and accidentally casts a spell that "changes" Jo's appearance and voice. Flabber knows a counterspell, but it won't affect anyone who witnesses it. Thus, the main characters and Flabber still see Jo in her altered appearance, but everyone else could still see and hear her as she originally was.

* RedIsHeroic: Averted, the blue Beetleborg is the leader, not red, who turned out to be TheSmurfettePrinciple.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** In one episode, a "personal trainer" for the monsters looks more like an S&M leatherdaddy, complete with flail.
--> Fangula: "Are we paying extra for the abuse?"
** "Frankenbeans", while the name for one of the Hillhurst monsters, can also be used as a slang term for male genitalia. Think about it... "Frank and beans".

%%

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beetleborgs.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Just three typical, average kids.]]

''Beetleborgs'' was a live-action series produced by Creator/SabanEntertainment and aired on Creator/FoxKids. Called ''Big Bad Beetleborgs'' in the first season and changed to ''Beetleborgs Metallix'' in the second. A ''Franchise/PowerRangers''-like {{Sentai}} show, it incorporated footage from a Japanese show (in this case, the ''Series/MetalHeroes'' shows, ''Series/JuukouBFighter'' and ''Series/BFighterKabuto'') with new footage created in the United States. The show lasted from September 1996 to March 1998.

* FrickinLaserBeams: The Sonic Lasers in season 1 and the Data Lasers in season 2; both can fire a variety of different beams and effects (via a keypad on the side for the Sonic Lasers, and different Input Cards for the Data Lasers).

It was about three typical all-American kids: Drew [=McCormick=], his sister Jo, and their [[BlackBestFriend best friend]] Roland Williams, whose family owns the local comic shop, where they spend most of their time. On a dare from some bullies, they go inside the local "HauntedHouse." Once inside, they free Flabber, a wacky ghost with Elvis Presley's hair, Jay Leno's chin and Liberace's wardrobe filtered through [[WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine a Blue Meanie]], who had been imprisoned in the mansion's pipe organ. Flabber cannot thank the kids enough, so he offers to grant a wish for them. The three young comic book fans know what they want, and that is to be able to transform into their favorite superheroes, ''The Big Bad Beetleborgs''. Flabber grants their wish, and the children are given the power to turn into the heroes, but now that the heroes exist in the real world, [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the villains from the comic book likewise come to life]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero to spread chaos]] (via the MonsterOfTheWeek).

It was about three typical all-American kids: Drew [=McCormick=], his sister Jo, and their [[BlackBestFriend best friend]] Roland Williams, whose family owns the local comic shop, where they spend most of their time. On a dare from some bullies, they go inside the local "HauntedHouse." Once inside, they free Flabber, a wacky ghost with Elvis Presley's hair, Jay Leno's chin, Liberace's wardrobe filtered through [[WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine a Blue Meanie]], who had been imprisoned in the mansion's pipe organ. Flabber cannot thank the kids enough, so he offers to grant a wish for them. The three young comic book fans know what they want, and that is to be able to transform into their favorite superheroes, ''The Big Bad Beetleborgs''. Flabber grants their wish, and the children are given the power to turn into the heroes, but now that the heroes exist in the real world, [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the villains from the comic book likewise come to life]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero to spread chaos]] (via the MonsterOfTheWeek).

The three friends, with their new powers and a little help from Flabber, must stop them. This is complicated by the "House Monsters", comic relief monsters (Count Fangula, a vampire; Wolfgang, a werewolf; Mums, a mummy; Frankenbeans, a FrankensteinsMonster, and later Little Ghoul [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a... er, little ghoul]]), who often try to eat the kids, but generally have to settle for eating the screen-time and [[ChewingTheScenery the scenery.]]

* AdaptationalVillainy: Queen Magna from episode 12 was originally an ally of the B-Fighters in the source material.

** In the finale of ''B-Fighter'', previous heroes [[Series/TokusouRoboJanperson Janperson and Gun Gibson]] and the ''Series/BlueSwat'' team returned to aid the B-Fighters against Sorceress Jagul, who had revived their respective {{Big Bad}}s Bill Goldy and Mademoiselle Q, along with other monsters. The first phase of this battle was adapted into the episode ''Convention Dimension'', which featured Janperson, Gun Gibson, Bill Goldy and Mademoiselle Q as Karato, Silver Ray, Goldex and Wingar (respectively), but the Blue Swat team were cut completely, likely due to their abundance of uncostumed Japanese actors in-scene.

* AdpatationalVillainy: Queen Magna from episode 12 was originally an ally of the B-Fighters in the source material.

* HelloNurse: