History Webcomic / BlackMudPuppy

* SeldomSeenSpecies: Aside from Xolotl being trapped as an axolotl, the other psychopomps also take on salamander forms, including a siren, an olm, an arboreal salamander, and a hellbender. There are also the sawback turtles that Slider-Man uses as weapons.

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: During the climax of "All Bleeding Stops, Eventually", Simon is permanently killed by Mictlantecuhtli, Xolotl sacrifices himself to renew the universe, destroying Siren (per her wishes) and Mictlantecuhtli in the process, and Charon takes all of Xolotl's surviving allies to the Underworld to avoid the same destruction (essentially killing them, though presumably allowing them to be brought back later). Subverted in that Xolotl survived the aftermath after all.]]

* RealityEnsues: The B-Vengers try to foil a bank robbery so they can be considered real superheroes, but given that almost none of their powers are directly applicable to combat, they are nearly all killed. [[spoiler:In the end, it takes a HeroicSacrifice from Slider-Man, the only slightly competent member of the team, to save them.]]

* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler:We are led to believe that Quetzalcoatl gives Xolotl a hard time as part of the latter's punishment, but the reveal that Xolotl's banishment was for entirely different reasons suggests that Quetzalcoatl was being difficult partly out of amusement, showing that he also displays ImmortalImmaturity. They are twin brothers, after all.]]

* TyrannosaurusRex: Hitlersaurus.

* ArtMajorBiology: Slider-Man was supposedly raised by turtles, most of which don't practice parental care.

* BiggerBad: In "Salamanders from Hell", it is revealed that Siren intends to [[spoiler:allow Mictlantecuhtli into the mortal world, implying this trope]]. Come "Mexican Standoff", [[spoiler:she succeeds, and the first thing Mictlantecuhtli does is knock her out and take over the role of BigBad]].

** [[spoiler: Xolotl is ''not'' the Aztec God of the Dead.]] Once again, it pays to be well-versed in Aztec mythology.

* ShownTheirWork: There are a good number of herpetology references throughout the comic. It's also clear that the artist has read up on Aztec mythology.

* EverythingsBetterWithPlatypi: The Sacred Platypus.

The Black Mudpuppy is a fantasy/superhero webcomic telling the adventures and misadventures of Aztec god Xolotl. After being banished into the body of an axolotl for more than 400 years, he is offered the opportunity to regain his godhood status by doing good deeds among mortals.

** Xolotl is a JerkAss, [[spoiler:but ultimately a good guy]].

* EverythingsBetterWithPlatypuses: The Sacred Platypus.

* HiddenHeartOfGold: Although appearing selfish in nature, the Black Mudpuppy [[spoiler: allows Quetzalcoatl to trap him once again in an axolotl body in order to rescue his friend from hell.]]\\

* HopeSpot: In "Salamanders from Hell", Xolotl [[spoiler:stops Hellbender's rampage, only to find that Siren had intended him to. There's also Quetzalcoatl joining the fight, which ends up not doing much good at all.]]

* JerkassGenie: The Sacred Platypus.
* JerkassGod: Xolotl (prior to CharacterDevelopment), Hel, and especially Mictlantecuhtli.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The artist had been working under the misconception that [[spoiler: Xolotl was the Aztec God of the Dead when he first began the comic. Learning of his mistake inspired the ultimate reveal in "Salamanders from Hell".]]

** In "All Bleeding Stops Eventually", the obsidian dagger reveals that [[spoiler:the Black Mudpuppy's entire origin story never happened. Quetzalcoatl did transform Xolotl into a salamander, but he did it to hide his brother from the wrath of the other deities rather than as a punishment. The transformation caused Xolotl to lose most of his memories, hence why he does not remember his actual history.]]

* SuperHeroOrigin: Lampshaded and presented early on in the comic. [[spoiler: It's almost entirely false. The real story is later revealed in "All Bleeding Stops Eventually".]]

* DontFearTheReaper: Many death-associated gods are featured in this comic, thus this trope applies (or doesn't apply) to each of them in different ways. Charon is shown to be irritable in his early appearances, but it's hard to blame him when he's sharing most of his screentime with [[ImmortalImmaturity Xolotl]]. He's otherwise shown to be a good person merely doing his job, even [[spoiler:volunteering to help defeat Mictlantecuhtli and implicitly agreeing not to take Simon's life while Xolotl was negotiating with Cipactli for a way out of Mictlan]]. Mercury is heroic after his transformation into the White Waterdog. Xolotl is a JerkAss, [[spoiler:but ultimately a good guy]]. Hel and her followers are evil, though [[FreudianExcuse she has a reason for it]]. Mictlantecuhtli averts this entirely by being very much a nasty person for no apparent reason.

* ArcVillain: Up until the introduction of Hel, each chapter featured its own villain who would be defeated by the end of the arc.

** Xolotl has regeneration powers, but they have some unreliable side effects in his current state. The one time he is shown using them, he grew an extra, uncontrollable arm in addition to the one he'd been trying to restore.

** [[spoiler: Xolotl becomes the sun at the end of "All Bleeding Stops, Eventually" with full awareness that it will probably destroy him. The last page hints that he managed to survive, however, which is later confirmed in Cycle 2.]]

** At the end of "All Bleeding Stops, Eventually", [[spoiler:Simon is killed for real and Mictlantecuhtli has desolated so much of the world that Xolotl is forced to become the sun and reboot the universe, potentially destroying himself. However, Mictlantecuhtli is defeated, the world is renewed, and Xolotl is implied to have survived.]]

** [[spoiler: Xolotl becomes the sun at the end of "All Bleeding Stops, Eventually" with full awareness that it will probably destroy him. The last page hints that he managed to survive, however.]]

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: During the climax of "All Bleeding Stops, Eventually", Simon is permanently killed by Mictlantecuhtli, Xolotl sacrifices himself to renew the universe, destroying Siren (per her wishes) and Mictlantecuhtli in the process, and Charon takes all of Xolotl's surviving allies to the Underworld to avoid the same destruction (essentially killing them, though presumably allowing them to be brought back later). Subverted in that Xolotl seems to have survived the aftermath after all.]]

* SmallTaxonomyPools: Somewhat averted. Axolotls and other exotic animals are featured here.

* AltText: Most pages had one prior to the entire comic migrating to a new platform on Tapastic. The comic was restored later on at its original site, but the AltText was not saved.

* BigBad: Almost every story arc has one, but the only ones that have lasted multiple chapters are Hel/Siren and Mictlantecuhtli.

** At the end of "All Bleeding Stops, Eventually", [[spoiler:Simon is killed for real and Mictlantecuhtli has desolated so much of the world that Xolotl is forced to become the sun and reboot the universe, potentially destroying himself. However, Mictlantecuhtli is defeated, the world is renewed, Xolotl is implied to have survived.]]

** [[spoiler:Implied for Xolotl after he turns into the sun and remakes the universe.]]

* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:The quail seen in Xolotl's flashback later shows up and helps the herores save the White Waterdog and battle Mictlantecuhtli.]]

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[spoiler:After Mictlantecuhtli kills Simon, Xolotl goes berserk and manages to knock the death god to the ground.]]