History VisualNovel / HenchmanStory

** There's a quick dig at a [[SuicideSquad Sabotage Squad]] that goes through members so fast that it was once just [[ComicBook/HarleyQuinn one girl with a baseball bat and Jersey accent]].

* ShoutOut: Stan's introduction, [[https://www.pcinvasion.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/HenchmanStory_CG_1-800x400.jpg having just been thrown into a trash can by Miss Dynamo as she walks away]], is a reference to Peter Parker [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/f/f7/Peter_Parker_%28Earth-616%29_from_Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_50_0001.jpg throwing away his superhero outfit]] in "Franchise/SpiderMan No More!".

** The [[UnholyMatrimony Twisted]] ending has Madame Scorpion mention that Stan's been practicing a catchphrase that goes as "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, etcetera etcetera". The actual quote is from ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' and it says "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women."

* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler:If Shining Nova gets captured by Madame Scorpion during her escape, Scorpion will make numerous sadistic threats about breaking her spirit and taking off the "torture-kiddy gloves". Ironically, she only goes through with it if Stan makes a last-minute HeelFaceTurn and tries to rescue Nova, as the villain routes have [[EnemyMine Nova working with Lord Bedlam]] to arrange her escape before Scorpion gets the chance.]]

* WeCanRuleTogether: Madame Scorpion spends much of the early game grooming Stan to be her underling, but this trope comes in full force [[spoiler:when she thwarts Shining Nova's escape, with her speech to Stan being a classic example of villainous temptation. Depending on your choice, Stan can agree with her, stand against her, or comply with her only to backstab her later on (either by helping Nova escape, or [[ICanRuleAlone taking over himself]])]]

** [[spoiler:Speaking of romancing Scorpion, in the routes where Stan does so, she'll emphatically state that she wants him to conduct himself as an equal to her, as she has nothing but utter contempt for the people who've propositioned her solely to fulfill their fantasies of being trampled on and degraded. If you botch the climactic confrontation with her in the hero route, Scorpion will go on a sadistic monologue about all the horrible ways she plans to degrade Stan while literally stepping on him.]]

** [[spoiler:When Madame Scorpion asks Stan to manipulate Nova into sharing her backup plan, no matter what Stan does Nova will ''always'' find a way to outwit her, either by seeing through his lies, or successfully convincing him to [[HeelFaceTurn actually change sides]]. The difference is that with Stan as her partner, Nova has an actual shot at turning the tables on Scorpion because Stan is good at what he does. If Stan is not on her side, however, Nova resorts to [[EnemyMine teaming up with]] ''Lord Bedlam'' instead, which thoroughly dooms her prospects from the outset. Indeed, the second Madame Scorpion finds out that Bedlam is acting suspiciously, she makes no move to stop him, correctly predicting that anything he tries to attempt is bound to blow up in his face sooner or later.]]

** There's a quick dig at a [[SuicideSquad Sabotage Squad]] that goes through members so fast that it was once just [[DCEU:HarleyQuinn one girl with a baseball bat and Jersey accent]].

* Punch-Clock Villain: The somewhat obvious title aside, the story features a surpisingly well thought out and nuanced case of PlayerandProtagonistIntegration where the player can treat Stan's job as just that -- a job, and you're given numerous opportunities to determine Stan's [[MinionWithAnFInEvil level]] [[HalfHeartedHenchman of]] [[devotion]] [[EliteMooks to]] [[MookFaceTurn his]] [[FromNobodytoNightmare job]]. Many of the game's endings are also determined by these choices, one even being appropriately titled "Henchman of the Year". Even beyond the player's control, this seems to be Stan's position by default, as he displays no inherently malicious intent or zealous devotion to his boss's cause. To him, being a henchman is just a job like any other, which is even reflected in the dialogue choices regarding his career path.

* Punch-Clock Villain: The somewhat obvious title aside, the story features a surpisingly well thought out and nuanced case of PlayerandProtagonistIntegration where the player can treat Stan's job as just that -- a job, and you're given numerous opportunities to determine Stan's [[MinionWithAnFInEvil level]] [[Half-Hearted Henchman of]] [[devotion]] [[Elite Mooks to]] [[Mook–FaceTurn his]] [[FromNobodytoNightmare job]]. Many of the game's endings are also determined by these choices, one even being appropriately titled "Henchman of the Year". Even beyond the player's control, this seems to be Stan's position by default, as he displays no inherently malicious intent or zealous devotion to his boss's cause. To him, being a henchman is just a job like any other, which is even reflected in the dialogue choices regarding his career path.

** There's a quick dig at a [[SuicideSquad Sabotage Squad]] that goes through members so fast that it was once just [[HarleyQuinn one girl with a baseball bat and Jersey accent]].

* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler:As vicious as Crimson Dynamo is to Stan during his henchman career, in the A Real Dynamo and Agent Stan routes, she's quick to forgive him once she realizes he's genuinely on Nova's side, even when Stan points out his role in getting her arrested. As it turns out, she genuinely does believe that Stan was just making the best decisions he could at the time, and if he's willing to help Nova now, that's all that matters. This is in contrast to her demeanor if Stan just escapes with Nova from the outset, with her briefly wondering if his HeelFaceTurn is [[FakeDefector some sort of elaborate trap]].]]

** On the one hand, all Stan has to do to become a villain is [[spoiler:stick to the career path he's already on instead of throwing it all away on a gamble at Shining Nova's urging. The villain route also has weaker antagonists, with Crimson Dynamo the only one posing any real threat, and Nova herself rendered largely ineffectual thanks to a botched EnemyMine with Lord Bedlam. In contrast, the hero route has Stan face the full brunt of Scorpion's and Bedlam's forces, including Scorpion herself who does not hold back.]]

* EvilIsPetty: [[spoiler:In the [[ICanRuleAlone Lord Stanley]] ending, Stan has betrayed all his bosses and is more powerful than ever, and Shining Nova and Crimson Dynamo are shown to be utterly terrified of him as he picks off superheroes one by one. And what does he do to the superheroes he captures? Well, when Captain Commodore is brought before him, Stan reminisces about the time Commodore punched him in the face, but when Commodore starts getting defiant, Stan demands that his underlings...shave his mustache. He even acknowledges how petty he's being, but he no longer cares.]]

** [[spoiler:After critically wounding Crimson Dynamo in the villain route and forcing her to retreat, Madame Scorpion says that even if she somehow recovers, she'll always live in fear of Scorpion's shadow, knowing that she could be vanquished at any moment, which in some ways is even more satisfying than killing her. Though Dynamo does survive thanks to Nova's intervention, the fact that the heroes never pose a serious threat again (with the [[ICanRuleAlone Lord Stanley]] ending explicitly showing how Nova's still worried about Dynamo's safety) suggests that Scorpion's analysis was on point.]]

** [[spoiler:Should Stan genuinely turn against Scorpion at the last minute, he'll partner with Crimson Dynamo. He then has to decide whether to stick to Nova's original plan of destroying Scorpion's supercomputer, or simply prioritizing Nova's rescue. If he destroys the supercomputer, Scorpion is permanently stopped, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero but at a heavy price, as Nova loses Stan who gets captured and brainwashed into becoming an assassin.]] If Stan decides to go straight for rescuing Nova, the operation goes off with far fewer hitches and no lasting damage, but at the cost of leaving Scorpion to fight another day.]]

* FriendlyEnemy: Stan has this dynamic with Crimson Dynamo at the start of the story, as she's happy to exchange barbs and quips with him before brutally beating him to a pulp. [[spoiler:This dynamic stops after Madame Scorpion enters the picture, as Dynamo truly ''loathes'' Scorpion, and Scorpion herself is happy to sadistically taunt her and make her even angrier. Scorpion later deconstructs this trope in a conversation with Stan, saying that having a friendly dynamic with your enemy doesn't give you any tactical advantage over them, but having the ability to psychologically toy with them them ''does''.]]

* {{Sadist}}: Madame Scorpion, ''in spades''. Her very first scene has her taunting Crimson Dynamo with a surprise attack, and the vicious grin on her face clearly shows that she ''relishes'' how Dynamo immediately loses her composure upon seeing her. She generally reserves her sadism for her enemies, but still finds ways to toy with the feelings of even those who work for her, especially Stan. [[spoiler:Shining Nova, of course, is on the receiving end of her vicious urges should she be captured, as Scorpion fakes an attempt to kill Stan just to mess with her, and then ''immediately'' pretends to proposition Stan just to mess with her ''again''. If Stan commits to being a villain and romances Scorpion, she will admit that even her feelings for him are partially motivated by sadism, as she relishes the idea of Nova caring about Stanley, even as she claims him. And if Stan has a HeelFaceTurn in the A Real Dynamo route, he sees another instance of Scorpion's sadism that is played much more darkly; Nova being subjected to ColdBloodedTorture.]]

* StealthBasedMission: [[spoiler:What the A Real Dynamo route amounts to, as Stan, after allowing Nova to get captured, has a last-minute change of heart and agrees with Crimson Dynamo to prioritize her rescue. Stan convinces Dynamo to sneak into the base via a hidden entrance, and they make it a point to avoid confrontation as much as possible. The fight scenes in this route are noticeably shorter, with Dynamo frequently blowing past or [[OneHitKO one-shotting]] her enemies in short order, and even though Stan does get caught by Madame Scorpion (who makes her displeasure, very, ''very'' clear) Dynamo is quick to bail him out and hightail it out of there despite Scorpion's attempts to goad her into a fight.]]

* ThisIsUnforgivable: [[spoiler:Near the end of the villain route, Nova furiously chews out Stan for lying to her, and his role in nearly getting Crimson Dynamo killed, calling his actions unforgivable. Not that it amounts to much, as her subsequent attempt to [[TakingYouWithMe blow up her suit and take down Stan and Madame Scorpion]] is quickly cut short.]]

* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Stan becomes one to Lord Bedlam in the villain route, working with Madame Scorpion to slowly edge him out of his own organization, which Bedlam catches on to and retaliates by [[EnemyMine teaming up with Shining Nova]]. Depending on your choices, Stan can [[UpToEleven become one again]] by betraying ''Madame Scorpion'' in order to [[ICanRuleAlone rule alone]]]].

* ArchEnemy: Gets hilariously [[InvokedTrope invoked]] in the Super hero path; [[spoiler: should Stan undergo a HeelFaceTurn and betray Lord Bedlam's organization to help Shining Nova, Lord Bedlam is first outraged over the betrayal but will then get giddy over the prospect that this will officially make Stan his nemesis. In the endings where Stan does end up becoming a Superhero, Lord Bedlam will reiterate that Stan is now his arch-nemesis.]]

** In all but one of the villain endings, [[spoiler: Madame Scorpion soundly defeats her opponents and continues her reign of terror unabated. And in the one ending she doesn't, it's because [[ICanRuleAlone Stan backstabs her]] and becomes an evil mastermind himself.]]
** The two [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere Road Untaken]] endings imply that [[spoiler: Madame Scorpion succeeds in her villainous ambitions as well, with both her and Lord Bedlam still at large. The key difference here is that Stan decides to either quit his job as a henchman or refuse to help Nova out after escaping with her.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: The ''A Real Dynamo'' ending. [[spoiler: Stan undergoes a HeelFaceTurn after having a last moment change of heart. While he and Dynamo manage to save Nova's life, Scorpion escapes and goes into hiding with her Network entact. Stan is still forced to undergo probation as a form of rehabilitation program and he and Nova are on shaky terms due to his not following through on her request. Despite this, he actually does form a new friendship with Dynamo.]]

* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler: If Shining Nova gets captured by Madame Scorpion during her escape, Scorpion will make numerous sadistic threats about breaking her spirit and taking off the "torture-kiddy gloves". Ironically, she only goes through with it if Stan makes a last-minute HeelFaceTurn and tries to rescue Nova, as the villain routes have [[EnemyMine Nova working with Lord Bedlam]] to arrange her escape before Scorpion gets the chance.]]

** The Road Untaken endings are probably the most somber of the endings. In this, Stan pulls a ScrewThisImOutOfHere [[spoiler: after either betraying Nova or deciding not to help Nova out any further either after escaping with her. In both endings, Stan ends up living off the grid in the forest, fearing for his life if Madame Scorpion is ever going to find him. In the first ending, [[UncertainDoom it's implied that the captured Nova was killed by Madame Scorpion]] while in the second, Nova and Dynamo's infiltration attempt fails. The two end up having a falling out and Nova retires from super heroics entirely.]]
** Agent Stan also offers another rather somber one; [[spoiler: it comes about if Stan originally sides with Madame Scorpion but then opts to switch sides to help Shining Nova during the interrogation. After recruiting Dynamo to complete the mission, if Stan opts to stick to the original plan, he gets injured during the final escape. His body gets recovered by an organization, implied to be the surviving Scorpion Group, who experiment on him to turn him into a Super Soldier, an amnesiac special agent who carries out assassinations for them. He gets found by Nova and Dynamo but he has no memories of either, and though he doesn't fight them, he does warn them to stay out of his way.]]

** [[spoiler: On the one hand, all Stan has to do to become a villain is stick to the career path he's already on instead of throwing it all away on a gamble at Shining Nova's urging. The villain route also has weaker antagonists, with Crimson Dynamo the only one posing any real threat, and Nova herself rendered largely ineffectual thanks to a botched EnemyMine with Lord Bedlam. In contrast, the hero route has Stan face the full brunt of Scorpion's and Bedlam's forces, including Scorpion herself who does not hold back.]]
** [[spoiler:On the other hand, Scorpion herself is much harder to pursue as a LoveInterest than Nova, as you have to carefully manage her RelationshipValues and repeatedly prove Stan's penchant for villainy, as well as his interest in her. Fall short, and she'll reject you. Furthermore, Scorpion's romance starts out as a FriendsWithBenefits arrangement, and there are even more dialogue checks you have to clear in order to unlock a RelationshipUpgrade with her. Nova, by contrast, can be romanced in any route where you escape with her instead of arrest her, regardless of Stan's prior actions.]]
** [[spoiler:Furthermore, Scorpion in general is also a much more demanding person than Nova, as she fully expects Stan to hold his own in difficult situations and has no intention of coddling him. Even if Stan proves his loyalty to her by arresting Nova when she tries to escape, Scorpion still has him undergo a final test of character to see if he can fully sever his lingering attachments to Nova and commit to being a villain. Also, while Scorpion is tolerant of Stan being conflicted or indecisive (though this does make her harder to pursue as a LoveInterest), she'll be utterly merciless if Stan turns on her, with no way to get back in her good graces. Nova, by contrast, is unconditionally supportive of Stan if he helps her escape and would gladly throw herself in harm's way to protect him, and even if you do initially arrest her, she'll still throw in a LastSecondChance for him (overlapping with Scorpion's "final test"), albeit with some hard feelings.]]

* JustFriends: There's a special ending that actually focuses on Stan striking up an unlikely friendship with Dynamo. [[spoiler: This can only be achieved by siding with Scorpion after Nova's revelations, but then switching sides once more during the Interrogation. Should Stan agree with Dynamo's plan to prioritize rescuing Nova, this will be the ending.]]

* MeetCute: [[spoiler: Stan's first encounter with Kate/Victoria involves her kicking his ass and shooting him with an elephant tranquilizer. On purpose. When Kate first reveals her true identity as Shining Nova, she makes sure to arm herself with the same tranquilizer gun to drive the point home.]]
* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Stan being a literal PunchClockVillain starts off the game with an actual aversion to violence or killing. He doesn't even really believe in Lord Bedlam's ideologies, simply working for him for the job security. [[spoiler: Shining Nova, sensing this, tries to bring the best out of Stan and convince him to turn good. Madame Scorpion, meanwhile, sees potential out of Stan to be a great villain and wants to bring the worst out of him.]]