History Webcomic / LoveAndCapes

* TheUnreveal: Mark wasn't born with superpowers - and apparently, the story of how he got them is somewhat embarrassing. The comic has [[NoodleIncident a bit of fun]] not telling us his secret origin - the one time he says it onscreen, he's whispering to Abby and the text box is gibberish.

* AdultFear: Paul has this reaction when [[spoiler: Mrs. O'Neill tests positive for COVID and due to being in an immunocompromised group, she needs hospitalization. Owing to the awkward relationship with his parents, she's been a mother figure to him]].

* AdultFear:
** At one point the Psi-Clone [[spoiler: beats Mark in a fight after impersonating him, and returns still in guise as the Crusader. Psi-Clone as fake!Mark cheats on Abby with Amazonia, goes to Vegas, and plans to break off the engagement.]] Abby fortunately realizes that something is wrong just as [[spoiler: the real Crusader shows up]], but for a while she wasn't sure why Mark had become a different person.
** Most superheroes have {{Muggles}} for parents. In one timeline [[spoiler: Mark died fighting the Evil Brain while in the actual timeline Windstar dies]]. The parents in question have to endure their child's death being questioned, since DeathIsCheap, while they deal with the reality of the grief. Some have to undergo multiple times.
** Mark considers [[spoiler: giving up being the Crusader]] to be a more present father for his future child. He doesn't want to be an absent father causing TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes.
** Doc Karma explains Mark and Abby's FreakyFridayFlip with FridgeHorror; Evil Brain meant to put a GrandTheftMe on the Crusader, which might have led the villain to finding a pregnant Abby. Evil Brain previously had no qualms about [[spoiler:murdering Crusader in another timeline]].
** The earliest example comes in the first issue. Abby watches one of Crusader's fights on the news, but his opponent is strong enough to overcome his NighInvulnerability. Suddenly, Abby knows all too well what it's like when someone you really care about has a life-threatening job, and she faces the possibility of losing a loved one in the line of duty. [[spoiler: It hits even harder the day before her wedding - The Evil Brain successfully went back in time and ''killed'' Mark, and Abby has to confront that... particularly when it appears like she didn't successfully save him when she has the chance.]]

He's actually The Crusader, one of the world's most powerful superheroes.

* GutPunch: This is how Abby's stint as the superhero Titania comes to an end; she tries to hold up a collapsing bridge and uses a loud voice to order everyone above her to evacuate. Several people fall, causing her to give a BigNo as she surges forward to rescue them. [[spoiler:She tearfully tells Mark that fifteen people were in the air, but [[WhamLine she only rescued fourteen of them]]. Mark gives her utmost sympathy, knowing that's he hardest partof being hero]].

[[caption-width-right:237:[[{{Film/Superman}} Can you read my mind?]][[note]]No.[[/note]]]]

** Doc Karma explains Mark and Abby's BodySwap with FridgeHorror; Evil Brain meant to put a GrandTheftMe on the Crusader, which might have led the villain to finding a pregnant Abby. Evil Brain previously had no qualms about [[spoiler: murdering Crusader in another timeline]].

* BodySwap: Mark and Abby get one while Abby is pregnant.

* BeardnessProtectionProgram: Subverted. Mark chose for the Crusader to not wear a mask, as it helps to humanize the world's most powerful hero and connect with people; masks tend to be intimidating. However, that also means that it limits his grooming options in maintaining his secret identity. He is at first reluctant to wear a medical mask for the reasons mentioned and the fact that his body cannot harbor the Covid-19 virus anyway, until Darkblade points out that if both of his identities wear a mask, Mark is free to grow a beard like he's always wanted.

* BrattyHalfPoint: James has shades of this, what with begging "Mommy" for bedtime stories and bargaining with Mark to fly and do playtime with powers.

* FormerlyFit: Quincy has gained weight due to all of the workout centers being closed and baking to deal with the stress of the pandemic. 
* HiddenDepths: Quincy while on furlough has started baking to deal with the stress. He offers Mark some cookies when the latter checks on him, and Mark admits they're delicious. 
* ItsThePrincipleOfTheThing: Discussed in a positive way; Mark points out that he doesn't need to wear a mask because he can't get sick with COVID or unwittingly carry it, and he chose not to wear a traditional mask because people would be scared of him. Abby replies that he would set a good example for others if he wore one, for those that are immunocompromised or plain stubborn. Mark admits that she's right and masks up appropriately in and out of costume. 

* StevenUlyssesPerhero: Easy to overlook, as it's downplayed, but Doc Karma's civilian identity is Doctor Carmody.

* EvilTwin: Common enough that the Liberty League refers to it as a "[[PoliceCodesForEverything number 6]]". When Amazonia makes a peace offering of a wedding dress to Abby, Mark (perhaps jokingly) suggests that Amazonia might have been replaced (she wasn't).

* EvilTwin: Common enough that the Liberty League refers to it as a "number 6". When Amazonia makes a peace offering of a wedding dress to Abby, Mark (perhaps jokingly) suggests that Amazonia might have been replaced (she wasn't).

** Amazonia's family in turn [[spoiler: forgives her for choosing Paul over her kingdom. She still has to go into exile, but her sister vows to work on changing the law.]] The revived comic shows that [[spoiler: not only is she able to visit home for two weeks, but she also regained the right to wear her tiara (and likely her royal title to go with it)]].

* MostCommonSuperpower: Hello there, Amazonia! It's genetic, too - when one of Zoe's sisters temporarily visits Earth to be Amazonia [[spoiler: while Zoe is preparing to potentially become the new queen]], she's practically just a PaletteSwap of her sister visually.

** Later annotation by the author is that the powers have to do with being a member of the royal family; Zoe is the youngest sister. The MostCommonSuperpower seems to be inherent in the entire civilisation, though.

* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: Mark is super busy during tax season. After he finally lies down for an evening with Abby, she asks him how their taxes were.

* TheUnfavorite: Quincy is this to the Tennyson family. He's a SmallNameBigEgo broadcaster who had a ''very'' short NFL career. He pretty much ignores what anyone else might want, and it grates on his entire family to no end. Even his mother isn't shy about slipping a shot at him in for the hell of it. [[spoiler: He's also the last to learn about Mark's super identity, only learning at the comic's finale.]]
* TheUnreveal: Mark wasn't born with superpowers - and apparently, the story of how he got them is somewhat embarrassing. The comic has a bit of fun not telling us his secret origin - the one time he says it onscreen, he's whispering to Abby and the text box is gibberish.

* FridgeHorror: Abby realizes it InUniverse when Mark is explaining why Dr. Karma is using a spell to suppress their baby's potential powers ''in utero''. Mark asks Abby if she remembers when, as Crusader, he did a ceremonial opening kickoff for a football game. When she remembers that he literally booted the ball out of the stadium, Mark points out "Babies kick, too."

** Played for laughs silently after Abby's dress fitting. When he learns that Abby and Amazonia have buried the hatchet and bonded over drinks by talking about him, Mark immediately takes a large swig of booze that could render Amazonia (who has a similar power set) blitzed.

* MundaneUtility: SuperSpeed -- great not only for saving people fast and getting to where you're needed quickly, but also great for finishing your secret identity's accounting job in a fraction of the time. Also, as Mark says, having SuperStrength means never having to pay retail for a diamond (it's easy to get a good sized one for an engagement ring when you can just make them by hand).

** Often, it's revealed that Abby doesn't have these, usually for humor. Such as when Mark and Abby spend an evening in Maui, she comes back with a hard-to-explain tan, or the ManOfSteelWomenOfKleenex example above.

''Love and Capes'' was originally a twelve-issue print comic by artist Thom Zahler, with two followup miniseries, ''Ever After'' and ''What to Expect''. Zahler has begun posting it online as a webcomic [[http://www.loveandcapes.com/ here]].

* SuperPowersForADay: Abby has a wizard grant her temporary superpowers so she can understand life as a superhero. Her intention was for it to be literally this trope's name - having superpowers for 24 hours. Just after she drinks the triggering potion, she learns the ''actual'' time-limit is [[spoiler:non-existent. She'll have the powers until she decides she doesn't want them. Which she does, at the end of that story-arc.]]

* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler: Abby and Crusader]] have a baby boy named James (After James Joyce or James T. Kirk). Years later during the Covid arc reveals that [[spoiler: they have a baby girl named Haley, who can glow]].

** Amazonia's family in turn [[spoiler: forgives her for choosing Paul over her kingdom. She still has to go into exile, but her sister vows to work on changing the law.]] The time of the Covid arc shows that [[spoiler: not only is she able to visit home for two weeks, but she also regained the right to wear her tiara (and likely her royal title to go with it)]].

* FalseReassurance: When Amazonia is watching Abby and Mark together, she asks if she will ever [[spoiler: walk down the aisle]] like that with someone she loves. Her mother says in response that many women in their family have done well and are unmarried.

* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: To hear Abby tell it, she was one in her collegiate days. For the most part, it doesn't come up during the comic - but it's worth noting that the only time she ever gets hung over during the comic's run is the time she matches drinks with Amazonia with alcohol powerful enough to make the latter drunk.

* ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex: This isn't in play for Mark and Abby, who are alluded multiple times to have a healthy sex life, so Mark apparently has enough control over his body to not make it an issue. That said, it ''does'' come up after Abby becomes pregnant; a developing fetus most certainly would ''not'' have that control, and Mark and Dr. Karma legitimately fear of what would happen if a Baby of Steel was attempted to be brought to term in a Woman of Kleenex.

* TheMissusAndTheEx: Abby and Amazonia, although they get past the tension eventually.

** Amazonia's family in turn [[spoiler: forgives her for choosing Paul over her kingdom. She still has to go into exile, but her sister's working to change the law.]]

* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler: Abby and Crusader]] have a baby boy named James (After James Joyce or James T. Kirk).

* {{Adorkable}}: Crusader basically gets called out for being a bit of a geek multiple times, such as how he ''always'' makes a joke about the NBA logo when he visits Paul and his basketball court; Darkblade has his moments when he indulges as well, like his insistence at not only attending trivia nights, but getting exactly 60% right to not draw attention.