History WesternAnimation / Exosquad

* AbandonShip: After Captain Marcus's unsuccessful attempt to liberate the homeworlds, [[spoiler:the ''Resolute's'' crew is forced to take to the escape pods. Captain Marcus stays aboard.]]

* AgentProvocateur: Captain Barca is one, constantly enticing younger [[SpacePirates Pirates]] to rebel against Simbacca, while on Phaeton's payroll.

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Shiva's death]] is treated as an extremely tragic moment, so much so that [[spoiler:he's the only of Phaeton's generals to be commemorated, as the Exoscouts give him a makeshift grave. Mind you, the scouts didn't know he was one of Phaeton's generals, they thought he was a soldier, and the fact that some of them were crying was largely due to the fact they had little experience with death, and not because they felt Shiva's deeds in particular earned him commiseration]].
* TheAlcoholic: A few scenes imply Bronski to be this, most notably one in the first episode. It would explain [[{{Gasshole}} the belching]], at least.

* AntiVillain: Captain Marcus. He's not strictly ''evil'', nor even particularly villainous by the standards set by the Neosapiens, he's simply an incompetent JerkAss who is desperate to save the Homeworlds before the Neosapiens solidify their hold on them.
** Even when he was in open disagreement with Admiral Winfield, Captain Marcus chewed out a fellow captain for questioning the Admiral's ''courage'', which he considered above reproach.

* ArtificialLimbs: Which are treated realistically. James received an artificial arm to replace the one he lost in battle. It takes some time to get used to it. When he tried to flip a page from a book, he ended up ripping it and he mentioned that brushing his teeth isn't any easier.

* AttackAttackAttack: Marcus' default strategies

* BadBoss: Captain Marcus and Phaeton. The former is a temperamental incompetent willing to court-martial his own officers for pointing out the flaws in his decisions and who regularly leads his forces to defeat, even leading TheMutiny against his ''own'' more benevolent boss. The latter, implicitly insane due to his Automutation Syndrome, develops a habit of executing his generals for failure and replacing them with clones of themselves.

* BigBad: Governor General Phaeton is the ruler of the [[TheEmpire Neosapien Commonwealth]] who leads the [[AlienInvasion Neosapien invasion]] on Earth and Venus so he can subjugate humanity.
* BigEater: Wolf Bronsky.

* BigGood: Admiral Winfield.

* BlindObedience: Livia, Phaeton's aide and most passionate follower. Only his revelation that he intends to use his doomsday weapon to blow up the Earth shakes her faith in him.

* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Nara Burns, Rita Torres, and Maggie Weston, respectively.
** Except that both Torres and Weston have reddish hair and Maggie's is actually a darker shade.

** Automutation Syndrome, a Neosapien degrading disease that Phaeton suffers after his being caught in the demolition of Olympus Mons. It causes him to begin breaking down, essentially ''liquefying whilst still alive to feel it'', and forces him to wear a specialised E-frame/power armor suit as life-support to hold his body together.

* BoisterousBruiser: Wolf Bronsky.

* BrainUploading: [[spoiler:Alec's black-box is uploaded into a cloned body in the final episode]].

* CallToAgriculture: [[spoiler:Admiral Winfield retires to a farm after the war]].
* CannotSpitItOut: Not only are Nara and Marsala both unable to express their feelings for each other, they each have instances where they unknowingly slap the other down.
** Dealt with in the final episode, where Nara is on the verge of professing love to Marsala, only for him to gently but firmly rebuff her while expressing the hope that in the future, he can remain a friend to her, [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy and her children]].
** There's shades of this with [=DeLeon=] and Weston too, though it's more subtle and doesn't get as much airtime as Nara/Marsala.
* TheCaptain: Admiral Winfield for [=ExoFleet=], Jonas Simbacca for the Pirate Clans.
* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: J.T. Marsh and Rita Torres have this dynamic going on: he is an OfficerAndAGentleman, she is a rough-and-tough career sergeant.
* CassandraTruth: Both the Admiral and JT warn Captain Marcus that if the fleet goes full speed ahead to liberate Earth, it'll result in the slower ships not being able to keep up and leave the fleet in a bad strategic position that the Neosapians will take advantage of. Captain Marcus refuses to listen to them. Guess what happens?

* CharacterCatchphrase:
** Marsh: "Frame up!"
** Torres: "Can it, Bronski!"
** Butler: "Any heroes in here?" "No, sir!" "Good! The only heroes I've ever seen were dead!"
** Bronski: *belch*

* ChainLightning: Maggie's E-frame is upgraded with such a weapon.
* CharacterDevelopment: Napier hates Neosapiens, even before the start of the series. He's very distrustful of Marsala, even after the latter saved his life. By season 2, he's gotten over it and now openly trust him. By the end of the series, he's willing to make peace with Shiva to rebuild all that was lost.

* {{Cincinnatus}}: Admiral Winfield becomes a rancher after the war. Marsh planned on leaving the [=ExoFleet=] to "build things," presumably architecture or construction, but when the show is CutShort, he's still in the [=ExoFleet=].
* LesCollaborateurs: The Mayor of UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}[=/=]Phaeton City, [[spoiler:Diana]], Amanda Connor, Professor Algernon initially.
** Phaeton was a collaborator for the ''Terran'' side in the first war.
** One sign of the show's complexity (at least, for a Western cartoon) is that each of the collaborators above had their own reason for helping the Neosapiens. The Mayor of [[strike:Chicago]] Phaeton City was trying to save his own neck, [[spoiler:Diana]]'s family was being held ransom, Amanda Connor genuinely bought into Phaeton's propaganda and was a supporter of Neosapien rights to begin with, Algernon worked for the Neos because they, unlike human [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucrats]], ''didn't'' interfere with [[ForScience his research]], and Barca was in it for his own gain and hoping to get a KlingonPromotion by removing Simbacca. And Phaeton is, well, [[ManipulativeBastard Phaeton]].
* TheCommiesMadeMeDoIt: [[spoiler:Diana]].
* CommunicationsOfficer: Alec [=DeLeon=], with his specialized Communications E-frame (which has a big honking [[BuffySpeak radar-dish thing]] on top).

* CopiedTheMoralsToo: At one point Phaeton makes a Neosapien-human hybrid using the body of Alice Noretti as the human template, and programs her to infiltrate the [=ExoFleet=] and kill [[BigGood Admiral Winfield]]. She ultimately dies rather than follow through with the programming.

* {{Cyborg}}: James becomes this for [[spoiler:his final appearance]], having been wounded in a prior episode.

* DeathGlare: Rita to one of the pirates.
* DeathMarch: In the episode "Scorched Venus", a member of the eponymous squad, Nara Burns, is captured by the [[ArtificialHuman Neosapiens]] after a botched deployment to Venus (which, in the setting, has been terraformed to have breathable atmosphere) and is forcibly marched together with other Terran prisoners to [[PrisonersWork help construct a secret GRAF Shield facility]]. Many of Burns' fellow captives die en route, which lies right across a Venusian desert.
* DeathNotification: Butler personally records a message to the family of every jumptrooper who dies under his command, despite the fact that he has no way to deliver these messages, or even to know that the trooper has any surviving family left on the Home Worlds.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Marsala, a Neosapien who fights for the [=ExoFleet=]. Other unnamed Neosapiens can be seen amongst the [=ExoFleet=]'s ranks, though they are a very underrepresented minority.

* TheDyingWalk: [[spoiler:Nara's brother James does a variant of this at the end of his attempt to save Marsala from some former Venus Resistance members who want to kill all Neosapiens]].

* ElectronicEyes: James loses one of his eye and it's replaced with an artificial one.

* EverybodysDeadDave: Colleen O'Reilly's graduating class, wiped out during the Neosapiens' initial assault.

* EvilOverlord: Phaeton.
* EvilutionaryBiologist: Ketzer and Praetorius. The former tries to merge Terran and plant DNA, while the latter created the various Neosapien offshoots.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:Captain Marcus]]
-->''Go back and tell [[spoiler:Winfield]] to watch. Tell him... [[spoiler:Matthew Marcus]]... knew how to die.''
* FaceHeelTurn: Phaeton was a trusted governor-general of Mars and former collaborator to the humans. [[spoiler:And Captain Marcus was a loyal officer, if HotBlooded and incompetent, before he mutinied against Admiral Winfield.]]

* FakeDefector: Marsala in Episode 12.

* AFatherToHisMen: Admiral Winfield cares greatly about all those under his jurisdiction.

* ForScience: Professor Algernon, who doesn't really care if he works for humans or Neosapiens so long as he can work; human {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s wouldn't stop pestering him, so when the Neos conquered Mars, he offered their leading scientist, Xenobius, all of his research in exchange for being shielded from the drudgery. He only permits Able Squad to extract him because he realized Xenobius had grown to ''hate'' him for being smarter than him.

* {{Gasshole}}: Bronski; as noted above, a belch is practically his catchphrase.
* GeneralFailure: Captain Marcus.
* GeneralRipper: Also Captain Marcus.

* GentleGiant: Marsala, due to being a Neosapien, is considerably larger than any human and many times stronger, but he's also patient, thoughtful and even-tempered.
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Somewhat in spite of her image as an experienced and battle-hardened soldier, Nara Burns keeps a big, stuffed rabbit in her quarters. It may seem strange and amusing at first, but it turns more poignant when you see her cuddling it in her sleep, during one of her nightmares.
* GoingDownWithTheShip [[spoiler:Captain Marcus. As detestable as he was, he definitely knew how to die]].

* HateSink: The show goes out of its way to make Captain Marcus as much of a bastard as possible. After [[spoiler:his death]], he's mostly forgotten about. There's also Phaeton, who's a fairly obvious stand-in for [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler a certain mustachioed demagogue]].
* HeelFaceTurn: The Pirate Clans, Professor Algernon.
** This is also Marsala's backstory-- he was a rebel leader in the first war. (Well, sorta. It's kinda tough to cast the Neosapiens as villains in their first war as they were just fighting for their freedom--nothing like the megalomania that typified Phaeton's leadership in the second. You could say that the Neosapien liberation movement as a whole underwent a FaceHeelTurn instead.) [[spoiler:He seemingly does it again, turning the squad over to [[BigBad Phaeton]] once they arrive on Mars, but it turns out to be a BatmanGambit.]]
** [[spoiler:Galba, although he only did because he thinks Phaeton is insane and the Neosapiens can no longer win the war.]]
* HiddenDepths: Livia and Hanley are both very knowledgeable about art, and Bronski is a train enthusiast.

* HonorBeforeReason: A positive example from Thrax, who refuses to kill thousands of Terrans prisoners with a hydrogen bomb just to destroy Able Squad and the Resistance.
* HotBlooded: Captain Marcus deconstructs this trope; his endless belligerence and insistence on leaping into combat at the slightest excuse causes massive tactical errors that hinder the Terran cause. [[spoiler:Ultimately, this leads him to leap right into a battle he can't escape from and gets him killed.]]

** [[spoiler:Captain Marcus, in a moment of atonement for his monumental stupidity, uses the damaged Resolute to buy the rest of [=ExoFleet=] time to escape]].
** [[spoiler:James, brother of Nara, dies rescuing Marsala from Terran extremists]].
** [[spoiler:Alec dies impersonating Typhonus to get the Neo fleet on the Moon to retreat, though Algernon and Galba later find a way to revive him]].

* InsufferableGenius: Professor Algernon and the Neo Megas.

* IOweYouMyLife: Life debts are an important part of the Pirate Clans' culture. Marsh calls in his on Jubail, a Pirate warrior whose life he spared in a duel, to drop charges against Torres.

* ItsPersonal: James to Draconis because of his parents' death. Unfortunately, he led the Resistance without proper backup and Draconis got the upper-hand. Also, While Phaeton will often say that Admiral Winfield is his greatest adversary, he has a deep, personal hatred of J.T. Marsh following their battle at Olympus Mons that left him with Automutation disease, and he spends a good portion of the second season seeking revenge against Marsh.

* TheLadette: Sgt. Rita Torres.
* TheLancer: Alec [=DeLeon=] to JT Marsh, sometimes Marsala to Marsh and Marsh to Admiral Winfield.
* LastOfHisKind: By the end of the series, Galba is the last of the Neo Megas. The rest have been exterminated by Phaeton.

* LikesOlderWomen: Kaz Takagi, always chasing after Maggie Weston.

* LuminescentBlush: Nara when Marsala saved her life from falling off a mountain.

* MadScientist: Dr. Ketzer. He's geneticist that spliced plants with human genes and is very much mentally disturbed.
* MaleGaze: When Alec comments that Phaeton can't appreciate the finer things in life, he (and the camera) focus directly on Maggie's posterior.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Algernon for Xenobius.

* MilitaryMaverick: Takagi starts as a minor example, and gets worse when he's hanging around with Yuri Stavrogan. Stavrogan himself is a big deconstruction of the trope: he's an AcePilot, one of the best in the fleet, but his disregard for regs, being a bad influence on other, younger troopers, and his tendency to go all LeeroyJenkins all caused him to become a reserve pilot, meaning that he only gets to fly when a squad is understrength or to fill in for someone who's injured. No commanding officer wants to keep Stavrogan in their unit because he's too undisciplined and causes too many problems. Sure enough, at the end of his first appearance he gets transferred to a unit for repairing E-frames because once again he's almost gotten multiple people killed due to disobeying orders and encouraging others to do the same.
** Stavrogan does get better in his second appearance, when the entire squad that he'd been working with is wiped out by Neos. ''That'' appears to have finally gotten him to wise up. While much more focused on the mission and troop safety, he does still use some well-played LoopholeAbuse to get around one particular order.
--->'''Stavrogan:''' J.T said not to risk the squad by trying to rescue him. But orders are meant to be interpreted... and my interpretation is that he meant not to risk the ''whole'' squad trying to save him. (Stavrogan takes half the squad to successfully go back and save J.T.)
* MindProbe
* MindRape: After Phaeton's chief finance minister discovers his invasion plans and refuses to go along, Phaeton forgoes simply killing him for something [[FateWorseThanDeath much worse]]:
-->Phaeton: "Take him to the neural research center. If he thinks like a slave, we will give him the mind of one."

* TheMole

* TheMutiny: Captain Marcus pulls one on Winfield during the events of the Olympus Mons episodes.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Livia, when she finally realizes that Phaeton is an OmnicidalManiac, and stares in horror at the enormous anti-matter bombs he's set up.

* TheNeidermeyer: Capt Marcus is the worst example. He's both a GeneralRipper and GeneralFailure all rolled into one. His battle plans usually involve rushing to fight a foe without proper planning or preperation, then being overwhelmed by that foe while he either freezes up or panics.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: The [=ExoFleet=] needs to make an alliance with the pirate clans to stand a chance against the Neosapien forces. Thing is, the pirates have decades of resentment towards the [=ExoFleet=], and figure the Neosapiens will continue to not bother them, so they are going to turn down the alliance. Then Neosapien General Typhonus leads an attack, hoping to stop the alliance, but by attacking the pirates and giving Marsh a chance to rescue pirate leader Simbacca, he cemented the [=ExoFleet=]/pirate alliance. This leads to Phaeton executing Typhonus, then replacing him with a clone.

* NoIndoorVoice: Rita Torres. {{Justified|Trope}}, as she's a sergeant.

* OffhandBackhand: Marsala pulls one on a Neosapien who tried to attack him from behind.
* OhCrap: Phaeton's reaction to having his E-Frame dropped into lava is understandable. [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out his Neo-Frame is actually specially designed to have a much higher heat tolerance, allowing him to survive the immersion with no problems.]]
** When Lysander realized he just stepped on a fusion pack ready to explode.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Professor Algernon is a partial subversion. On the one hand, he is skilled in theoretical physics (discovering the Gravitational Focus Effect which "cannot be explained by normal physics"), numerous forms of engineering (building the GRAF Shield, upgrading Able Squad's E-Frames), and neuroscience (curing Dark Matter Syndrome). He's also skilled at VR painting. However, when consulted on the subject of genetics, he is quick to point out that it isn't his field and can provide no assistance.
* TheOnlyBeliever: Galba was this regarding the Neomega coup attempt against Phaeton. While the other Neomegas professed a desire to make peace with humanity after deposing Phaeton and stop the bloodshed of the war, only Galba truly believed in it, the rest of the conspirators were simply planning to put themselves in charge and not bungle the war the way the increasingly unstable Phaeton was. Strangely enough it saves Galba's life, as the other Neomegas order his arrest when they think their coup has succeeded, and Phaeton mistakenly believes they tried to arrest Galba because he was loyal to Phaeton.

* ParentalAbandonment: The parents of Nara Burns and James Burns are killed in the invasion of Venus.

* PhraseCatcher: Rita Torres to Bronski: "Can it, Bronski!"
* ThePlan: Marsala, despite his Neosapien programming, is a master of this. He even fools Phaeton who had become TheChessmaster.

* PlantPerson: What Ketzer generally turns people into.

* PowerGlows: [[spoiler:Whenever Nara displays her mysterious plant powers.]]

* PsychicPowers:
** Livanus, and [[spoiler:Nara Burns]].

* {{Pun}}: In one episode, a member of [[LaResistance The Resistance]] is talking trash about the [=ExoFleet=] and how useless they've been during the war (mind you, [=ExoFleet=] had spent much of its time up till this point fighting the Neosapien fleet, helping the Resistance cells on various planets, and doing covert ops on Mars). Marsala walks up to the man and drops a tray of food on him, apologizing and claiming that he's "All Thumbs."[[note]]Neosapiens such as Marsala have hands made of up of four fingers, two of which are opposable thumbs.[[/note]]
* PunishedForSympathy: The Neosapien ace Thrax is demoted for repeatedly showing mercy to Terrans, such as refusing to finish off Kaz Takagi after winning a space duel against him on Mercury and disobeying direct orders to [[spoiler:detonate thermonuclear explosives under Venus City, that would've killed Terran soldiers and captured civilians inside]].

* TheQuisling: Several, but the one that fits the trope to a T is the mayor of [[strike:Chicago]] Phaeton City.
** Dude was brown-nosing Phaeton ''before'' the Neosapiens even invaded. Though it was kind of justified then, as Phaeton was an honored planetary governor.

** Admiral Winfield. Level headed, always willing to listen to those who serve under him, and does not compromise his morals in rough situations.
** Simbacca is this after his HeelFaceTurn, and was already a noble leader when the Pirate Clans were hostile.
** Shiva seems to be the closest thing the Neos' high command has. The other notable Neo generals are Draconis, who is a genocidal maniac, and Typhonus, an ambitious backstabber willing to jeopardize the Neo war effort for his own advancement. Shiva is a much more loyal soldier who doesn't engage in their egregious acts of brutality or petty betrayals, and after the war Shiva prevents a fanatical Neo from assassinating human targets because it would just bring disaster on the defeated Neos.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath:
** [[spoiler:Captain Marcus]]
** [[spoiler:Diana betrayed the Resistance so the Neosapiens will reunite her with her exiled family. She learned they lied and they were sent to the sun to be disposed of. This prompts her to help J.T. Marsh who rejects her aid. Diana then feints rejoining the Neosapiens so she can learn of Professor Algernon's whereabouts. She succeeds and gives the location to J.T. Marsh, only to be arrested and executed offscreen.]]
* RedplicaBaron: Thrax, a Neosapien pilot, is known for the large number of pilots he's shot down, and for piloting a red Y-wing. Upon actually meeting him, we also see that he is an honourable warrior who will choose not to execute an opponent after they are shot down and helpless.

* RightForTheWrongReasons: When trying to come up with a strategy to destroy a human base apparently protected by a GRAF Shield, Typhonus suggests an all-out attack from many different points, [[WeHaveReserves hoping to overwhelm the defenses through numbers and destroy the base before the Shield can target each incoming ship]]. Phaeton overrules the strategy and berates Typhonus for coming up with a strategy that would have gotten Typhonus' entire command killed. Except the GRAF Shield on the human base shorted out after a single use, so if Typhonus had gone ahead with his plan, he would have surely destroyed the base.
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Lieutenant Alice Noretti. First seen at a briefing for the E-Frame squad leaders in the first episode, then as a BadassBystander, then joined Able Squad and died on her first mission in the same episode, then was brought back as a [[HalfHumanHybrid cloned Neosapien-Terran]] infiltrator, and finally killed herself in a bid to prevent her Neosapien programming forcing her to harm her former comrades. Marsh kept a photo of her in his E-Frame throughout the entire series]].
** [[spoiler:Yuri Stavrogan, an AcePilot who deconstructs the MilitaryMaverick trope in his first appearance, gets some character development and saves J.T's life in his second appearance, and then gets unexpected killed in the final hours of the war.]]

* SergeantRock:
** Rita Torres. "Who are you, somebody's mother?" "That's SERGEANT Mother to you!"
** In the same episode, when she gets called Sir, she fires back "You got sand in your eyes? I'm a Sergeant! I ''work'' for a living!"
* ScoutOut: The [=ExoScouts=] Troop 119 were on a camp out on Mars when the war broke out. Their Scoutmaster went for help at some point but was never seen again, presumed dead. They have been relying on their scout skills to stay alive on Mars until such time that they can be rescued. Ironically, the first time they encounter any [=ExoFleet=] forces, they end up having to rescue Sgt. Torres.

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: The source of Nara's romantic attraction to Marsala and lampshaded when James voices his disapproval of her attraction because Marsala isn't a human.
-->'''Nara:''' Marsala is intelligent, gentle, kind, brave, and totally unselfish. [[HumansAreBastards I guess he isn't human is he!]]

* SmugSnake: Typhonus is an arrogant commander who thinks he's a FourStarBadass (he insists on calling himself the best general Phaeton has despite Phaeton stating otherwise), and while he's not incompetent the repeated failures of his attempts to defeat the Exo-Fleet or usurp Phaeton places him squarely here.

* SphereOfDestruction: Marsh's Solar Flare.

* TheStarscream: Draconis and Typhonus both have plans to overthrow Phaeton.

* SuperPrototype: Phaeton's command E-Frame is far more powerful than others, capable of shrugging off attacks that would destroy a mass-produced model. Overlaps with AceCustom.

* SupportingLeader: Sean Napier, who does the groundwork and coordination for the Earth Resistance.
* SurroundedByIdiots: Phaeton usually blames military failures on the incompetence of his Generals. Fair enough, but he also acts surprised when [[SendInTheClones clones]] of those same Generals fail him again.
** Late in the series, Draconis' clone bemoans that he must pay the price for one of his predecessors betraying Phaeton, having been relegated to a miserable assignment. Draconis is probably the only example of Phaeton learning from his mistakes.

* TakingYouWithMe: When it looks like Phaeton is going to lose the war [[spoiler:he builds a doomsday weapon that will blow up Earth and take the invading [=ExoFleet=] with it. Due to the fact that he was dying from Automutation Syndrome, he wanted to ensure that no one outlived him.]]
* TeensAreMonsters: The [=ExoScouts=] are incredibly bratty and malicious to one another, as well as Sgt. Torres, an [=ExoFleet=] non-com, outright trying to murder her after earlier rescuing her just because she was a challenge to their leader's authority. Slightly justified in that they've been surviving on their own in the wastes of Mars for the better part of ''two years'', producing a ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'' scenario.

* TokenHeroicOrc: We see a few Neosapiens serving in [=ExoFleet=] against Phaeton's regime, most notably Marsala. There's also Galba, the only Neo Mega who sought genuine peace between humans and Neosapiens as opposed to [[spoiler:overthrowing both species like his broodmates]].
* TooDumbToLive: Captain Marcus. [[spoiler:This resulted in his death when he took the fleet into a battle it wasn't ready for.]]
* TownGirls: The three ladies from Able Squad, Nara (femme), Maggie (neither), and Torres (butch).

* TradingBarsForStripes: Alec chose to serve in [=ExoFleet=] rather than serve time in prison.

* TwentyFourHourArmor: Phaeton, although it's more a "24-hour E-Frame". [[spoiler:Which doubles as his life support later on]].
* TykeBomb: Phaeton had a Neosapien clone of Alice created using her recovered DNA. Alice was Able Squad's first casualty when she died in episode 6. Her purpose was to infiltrate Able Squad and assassinate Admiral Winfield.

* VillainousBreakdown: After being defeated by J.T. Marsh in the first season finale and developing Automutation as a result, Phaeton slowly begins breaking down mentally.

* WeHaveReserves: Phaeton actually has many of his subordinates cloned in case they died or double-crossed him.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Captain Marcus. Also, Marsala, when he used to lead the Neosapiens.

** When Marsh is promoted to Commander, he is given command of two squads, counting Able Squad. This second squad is almost never seen.

* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Amanda Connor. While she is working for the Neosapiens, she's more misguided than evil.
* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have To Be Spiders]]: Bronski really hates spiders. When Neo Spiders are after him, he freaks more than usual.
* WorthyOpponent:
** Thrax and Kaz Takagi.
** Simbacca invokes this trope by name when referring to Marsh and Winfield.
** General Shiva is noted several times to have the respect of his human opponents. When Marsh realizes that he has just shot Shiva down and sent Shiva spiraling to certain death on Venus, Marsh sadly shakes his head and says that Shiva was the best of the Neo leaders, it's just too bad he's fighting for a bad cause.
* WrenchWench: Maggie Weston is the mechanic of the team who works on their mechs.
* YouHaveFailedMe: Not surprising, seeing as how Phaeton could easily replace an executed general... with a clone of said general. Mind you, Phaeton does tend to give them several chances first.
** Which is kind of funny in that he presumes that the clone would not repeat the mistakes of the executed predecessor.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Phaeton views the human slaves as this. Once he wins the war, he will breed billions of Neosapiens to replace them as citizens and workforce.
* YouKilledMyFather: [[spoiler:Nara, who loses her parents and brother in Phaeton's war, is the one to kill him]].

* CharClone: Thrax. TheRival, flies a red E-frame, does a HeelFaceTurn. Granted, he isn't a blonde, but given that he's a Neo, that's acceptable.

* EatTheDog: ''There aren't any dogs on Venus. Not after the famine.''
** Most likely ParentalBonus as well since kids would assume the animals starved with the humans.
** ''Strange I haven't even heard a bird in a year. Even the pigeons are gone.'' In the ruined New York City.

A Western-made HumongousMecha (well, for certain values of "humongous", anyway) series produced in 1993 by Will Meugniot and Creator/{{Universal}} Cartoon Studios for first-run syndication (with later reruns on Universal-owned Creator/USANetwork).

* TakingYouWithMe: When it looks like Phaeton is going to lose the war [[spoiler:he builds a doomsday weapon that will blow up Earth and take the invading [=ExoFleet=] with it.]]

* ItsPersonal: James to Draconis because of his parents' death. Unfortunately, he led the Resistance without proper backup and Draconis got the upper-hand.

* TheStarscream: Draconis and Typhonus.

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Shiva's death]] is treated as an extremely tragic moment, so much so that [[spoiler:he's the only of Phaeton's generals to be commemorated as the Exoscouts give him a makeshift grave]].

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Shiva's first death]] is treated as an extremely tragic moment, so much so that [[spoiler:he's the only of Phaeton's generals to be commemorated as the Exoscouts give him a makeshift grave]].

* DesignerBabies: The Neosapiens, were artificially created in a lab [[LegoGenetics as were their various spin-offs.]]

* ItsPersonal: James to Draconis of because his parents' death. Unfortunately, he led the Resistance without proper backup and Draconis got the upper-hand.

* MildlyMilitary: Not as bad as some shows, especially considering this is a cartoon, but Able Squad sure does get away with a lot. In the first episode Lt. Marsh leads an unplanned expedition to Olympus Mons on Mars, and Captain Marcus is about to punish them for it, until Admiral Winfield covers for them. They do get punished later, after the war starts, when Marcus takes command of the fleet and Marsh refuses to follow an order, on the grounds that Marcus' actions would lead to everyone being killed, and Marcus intends to execute Marsh for it. Marcus' plan nearly does get everyone killed, until Winfield resumes command, and Marsh's sentence is reduced from death to a year in the brig, a punishment shared by the rest of Able squad for breaking Marsh out to save him from execution. Under Admiral Winfield, they never really had issue with any of his orders. Also, the rank system seems a bit vague at times. Able Squad has three lieutenants in it, one sergeant, and the rest are presumably Exo Troopers (which is probably equivalent to Private). Maggie Weston is a technician, and therefore probably not in the normal chain of command, but that doesn't explain why both Marsh and Burns are lieutenants. (The closest thing to an explanation is a brief segment narrated by Admiral Winfield which talks about how some people say that Burns is inexperienced, implying that perhaps she was a fresh graduate from officer training at the start of the series then assigned under a more experienced officer to learn the trade.) This gets cleared up later in the show when Marsh is promoted to Commander. To add to the confusion, in one episode, a character talks about when Lt. Marsh was an Ensign, which is the only time a Naval rank is mentioned in regards to an E-Frame pilot.

* InvisibilityCloak: The Pirate Clans have this as their main advantage over [=ExoFleet=], and are willing to share once the two join forces.

* MildlyMilitary: Not as bad as some shows, especially considering this is a cartoon, but Able Squad sure does get away with a lot. In the first episode Lt. Marsh leads an unplanned expedition to Olympus Mons on Mars, and when Captain Marcus is about to punish them for it, until Admiral Winfield covers for them. They do get punished later, after the war starts, when Marcus takes command of the fleet and Marsh refuses to follow an order, on the grounds that Marcus' actions would lead to everyone being killed, and Marcus intends to execute Marsh for it. Marcus' plan nearly does get everyone killed, until Winfield resumes command, and Marsh's sentence is reduced from death to a year in the brig, a punishment shared by the rest of Able squad for breaking Marsh out to save him from execution. Under Admiral Winfield, they never really had issue with any of his orders. Also, the rank system seems a bit vague at times. Able Squad has three lieutenants in it, one sergeant, and the rest are presumably Exo Troopers (which is probably equivalent to Private). Maggie Weston is a technician, and therefore probably not in the normal chain of command, but that doesn't explain why both Marsh and Burns are lieutenants. (The closest thing to an explanation is a brief segment narrated by Admiral Winfield which talks about how some people say that Burns is inexperienced, implying that perhaps she was a fresh graduate from officer training at the start of the series then assigned under a more experienced officer to learn the trade.) This gets cleared up later in the show when Marsh is promoted to Commander. To add to the confusion, in one episode, a character talks about when Lt. Marsh was an Ensign, which is the only time a Naval rank is mentioned in regards to an E-Frame pilot.

* MildlyMilitary: Not as bad as some shows, especially considering this is a cartoon, but Able Squad sure does get away with a lot. In the first episode Lt. Marsh leads an unplanned expedition to Olympus Mons on Mars, and when Captain Marsh is about to punish them for it, Admiral Winfield covers for them. They do get punished later, after the war starts, when Marcus takes command of the fleet and Marsh refuses to follow an order, on the grounds that Marcus' actions would lead to everyone being killed, and Marcus intends to execute Marsh for it. Marcus' plan nearly does get everyone killed, until Winfield resumes command, and Marsh's sentence is reduced from death to a year in the brig, a punishment shared by the rest of Able squad for breaking Marsh out to save him from execution. Under Admiral Winfield, they never really had issue with any of his orders. Also, the rank system seems a bit vague at times. Able Squad has three lieutenants in it, one sergeant, and the rest are presumably Exo Troopers (which is probably equivalent to Private). Maggie Weston is a technician, and therefore probably not in the normal chain of command, but that doesn't explain why both Marsh and Burns are lieutenants. (The closest thing to an explanation is a brief segment narrated by Admiral Winfield which talks about how some people say that Burns is inexperienced, implying that perhaps she was a fresh graduate from officer training at the start of the series then assigned under a more experienced officer to learn the trade.) This gets cleared up later in the show when Marsh is promoted to Commander. To add to the confusion, in one episode, a character talks about when Lt. Marsh was an Ensign, which is the only time a Naval rank is mentioned in regards to an E-Frame pilot.

* MildlyMilitary: Not as bad as some shows, especially considering this is a cartoon, but Able Squad sure does get away with a lot. They got thrown in the brig once for a year by Captain Marsh for refusing to follow an order that may have cost them the war, which is pretty harsh, but under Admiral Winfield, they never really had any issues. Also, the rank system seems a bit vague at times. Able Squad has three lieutenants in it, one sergeant, and the rest are presumably Exo Troopers (which is probably equivalent to Private). Maggie Weston is a technician, and therefore probably not in the normal chain of command, but that doesn't explain why both Marsh and Burns are lieutenants. (The closest thing to an explanation is a brief segment narrated by Admiral Winfield which talks about how some people say that Burns is inexperienced, implying that perhaps she was a fresh graduate from officer training at the start of the series then assigned under a more experienced officer to learn the trade.) This gets cleared up later in the show when Marsh is promoted to Commander. To add to the confusion, in one episode, a character talks about when Lt. Marsh was an Ensign, which is the only time a Naval rank is mentioned in regards to an E-Frame pilot.

* MildlyMilitary: Not as bad as some shows, especially considering this is a cartoon, but Able Squad sure does get away with a lot. They got thrown in the brig once for a year, which is pretty harsh, but after that, they could have flown past the Resolute mooning Admiral Winfield, and wouldn't have even gotten a slap on the wrist for it. Also, the rank system seems a bit vague at times. Able Squad has three lieutenants in it, one sergeant, and the rest are presumably Exo Troopers (which is probably equivalent to Private). Maggie Weston is a technician, and therefore probably not in the normal chain of command, but that doesn't explain why both Marsh and Burns are lieutenants. (The closest thing to an explanation is a brief segment narrated by Admiral Winfield which talks about how some people say that Burns is inexperienced, implying that perhaps she was a fresh graduate from officer training at the start of the series then assigned under a more experienced officer to learn the trade.) This gets cleared up later in the show when Marsh is promoted to Commander. To add to the confusion, in one episode, a character talks about when Lt. Marsh was an Ensign, which is the only time a Naval rank is mentioned in regards to an E-Frame pilot.

* DesignerBabies: The Neosapiens, [[LegoGenetics and their various spin-offs.]]

* LegoGenetics: Neo Warriors and Neo Lords.

** The Neo-Warriors and Neo-Lords are biological examples.

** The Neo-Megas can communicate with each other across large distances using super-sonic frequencies. Functionally, it's indistinguishable from telepathy except dogs can hear it too.

** Admiral Winfield.

* ThrownOutTheAirlock: During the climax of "The Last Man," a hangar door is openend and a Neo Mega ends up in the vacuum of space, while several memebrs of the [=ExoFleet=] nearly join him. Later, in "Flesh Crawls," [[spoiler:a shape-shifter]] opens a hangar door, which results in two pirates being spaced.