History Series / Misfits

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Kelly delivers a few nasty punches, kicks, and the like to deserving targets over the course of the series. At one point she even gets to headbutt [[spoiler:Hitler, then kicks him a few times while he's on the ground]]

** Interestingly, juvenile delinquents gain comic book super powers at the [[UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Wertham]] Community Centre.

* TemporalParadox: Several PlotHoles could be explained if the Time Loop isn't totally stable, but more like a recurring event in multiple AlternateTimelines. Specifically, [[spoiler:the photo of Simon and Alisha in Las Vegas and Future!Simon possessing TV footage from the ASBO-5 timeline.]] Alternatively, these could be artifacts from Alternate Timelines that happened, but didn't become part of the ''Stable'' Time Loop.

** Alisha's first power makes anybody who's touched her by overcome by lust for her, and she used it to have sex with many men, including Curtis. He gets very angry at this afterward, and says she raped him later.

The Series is described by Website/TheOtherWiki as a "live-action superhero comedy drama", but is more frequently deemed ''Franchise/XMen'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Literature/{{Trainspotting}}''.

** We're looking at you, [[CovertPervert Simon]]. [[{{Invisibility}} Well, we're]] ''[[{{Invisibility}} not]]'', but you know...
*** Later he uses his power to rob a bank van, and Nathan {{lampshades}} this by noting how odd it is that a bunch of young offenders didn't think of using their powers to commit crimes earlier.
** Also, Alisha definitely uses her power for questionable purposes at times (not that it even ''has'' any non-questionable purposes, but still...)
** "If I had your power, I'd wait til I came, then go back a couple of seconds and just... hover."
** Just take a moment and imagine if Rudy or Nathan had gotten Jess's X-ray vision. If you're not horrified there's something wrong with you...
** Alex's power literally requires intercourse. While he hasn't, he could easily just convince people he found attractive that they were better off without their powers.
** Imagine the situation with [[spoiler:Brian the milk guy]], but instead of being a murderer, he's completely innocent. What's to stop Curtis from making up a story about a future psycho-killer so that he can murder someone? The other Misfits wouldn't know he's lying. He could just say 'guys, I've just turned back time, and Bob kills us all in the future - we have to kill him first'.

* FanDisservice: Plenty in Series 1. ''Both'' seem to revolve around Nathan; a middle-aged naked man running around naked, thinking he's a dog; and the revelation the GirlOfTheWeek Nathan has sex with is really a 82-year old woman, as her true age is shown mid-orgasm. It's really as disturbing as it sounds, and Nathan's horrified reaction is...understandable.

* GenderBender: [[spoiler: In season 3 episode 1, Curtis' new power is the ability to transform into a woman at will]]. This ability was only shown in season 3 episodes 1, 2, 5, and 6.
* GenreDeconstruction: Of superheroes by showing what happens when a MassEmpoweringEvent occurs to normal people who have nether the qualities or aspirations to be heroes or villains, placing the show firmly in the {{Capepunk}} genre.
** The concept of PersonalityPowers is thoroughly explored in the show, explaining how this can result in [[BlessedWithSuck useless and even dangerous abilities]]. Meanwhile the few who get genuinely impressive powers can [[CursedWithAwesome rarely control them or use them in any meaningful way]]. Curtis gains the power to travel through time, but can only use it when he feels regret, while Alisha makes her sexually desirable through touch, but means that she can't touch anyone ever since her power is always active. Meanwhile many of the villains are in fact victims of abilities they literally can't control, from having their barely controlled tempers becoming violent rages to a video game player gaining the "power" of delusions that make him believe he's in a ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' game.
** Very few of the "villains" of the show are unsympathetic or without redeeming qualities. For the most part, they're just like the Misfits themselves: ordinary people with abilities they didn't want and can't really control. As a result it's not uncommon for the Misfits to feel sorry for having to kill the villains, and in other situations being able to reason with them into stopping whatever they're doing.
** From the first episode the show has mocked the very concept of superheroes and the idea that the Misfits gang could even become superheroes. While this idea has gone through a DeconReconSwitch at several points, overall the show takes a very cynical view on the idea that anyone has the qualities to be superheroes. The closest to reach it is Superhoodie, but he [[spoiler:was Simon from the future and only dedicated to protecting the StableTimeLoop he was in, making him willing to let certain characters die so everything happens as planned]]. Meanwhile the Jumper Posse was created by Rudy Two based on a prophetic jumper that led him to believe he was meant to help Sam, Karen and Helen to become proper superheroes. However within just a year the trio became supervillains who killed civilians over minor crimes like littering, unable to handle the selfishness and apathy of the people they were meant to protect.

** The concept of PersonalityPowers is thoroughly explored in the show, explaining how this can result in [[BlessedWithSuck useless and even dangerous abilities]]. Meanwhile the few who get genuinely impressive powers can [[CursedWithAwesome rarely control them or use them in any meaningful way]]. Curtis gains the power to travel through time, but can only use it when he feels regret, while Alisha makes her sexually desirable through touch, but means that she can't touch anyone ever since her power is always active. Meanwhile many of the villains are in fact victims of abilities they literally can't control, from having their barely controlled tempers becoming violent rages to a video game over gaining the "power" of delusions that make him believe he's in a ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' game.

** The concept of PersonalityPowers is thoroughly explored in the show, explaining how this can result in useless and even dangerous abilities instead of anything useful. Curtis gains the power to travel through time, but can only use it when he feels regret, while Alisha makes her sexually desirable through touch, but means that she can't touch anyone ever since her power is always active. Meanwhile many of the villains are in fact victims of abilities they literally can't control, from having their barely controlled tempers becoming violent rages to a video game over gaining the "power" of delusions that make him believe he's in a ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' game.

* GenreDeconstruction: Of superheroes, placing the show firmly in the {{Capepunk}} genre.

* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: {{Averted}}: Despite living on a relatively insular estate together and all being around the same age, most of the gang had never met each other before starting community service together. The exceptions are Alisha, Rudy, and Curtis - Alisha and Rudy were in Sixth Form together, and they briefly met Curtis there when he gave a motivational speech to their class.

Not to be confused with [[Music/TheMisfits the band of the same name]]. Or ''Series/MisfitsOfScience'', which has a similar premise.

* HollywoodGenetics: Jess, a fairly light young Black woman (possibly mixed race) has a baby with a White man who is darker-skinned than her. This is quite unlikely, genetically.

* TokenMinorityCouple: Initially played straight with Alisha and Curtis, who are both Black, but averted after they split up.
* TomTheDarkLord: Almost everyone the misfits meet, villains included, was a normal person before the storm. They tend to keep their original names with a couple notable exceptions. [[spoiler:E.g. Monsieur Grand Fromage]]

* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Played with - Nathan mentions this to Curtis as a laugh, who uses this line seriously to try and break up with Sam. It works - but only because Sam recognized it from Spider-Man and got angry.

** There are quite a few joking references to Franchise/SpiderMan, usually made by Nathan.

* GenderBender: [[spoiler:Curtis' new power is the ability to transform into a woman at will]].

* PowerWalk: Parodied several times, to hilarious effect.

* ButNotTooBlack: A trend with the black female characters. The show's original cast has Alicia, a black girl with light skin, in stark contrast with dark-skinned Curtis (and Tony the probation worker, another dark-skinned black man-a supporting character who's quickly killed off). In the later cast, Jess too is light-skinned. Both actresses are biracial. All the supporting black female characters are similarly light-skinned, played by biracial actresses as well. The exceptions to this are Nikki, a recurring character whose played by a biracial actress as well but darker skinned than the rest, and Curtis' [[GenderBender female]] [[SexShifter form]], who has dark skin like him.