History WesternAnimation / SupermanVSTheElite

* ILoveNuclearPower: Atomic Skull.

* NeverMyFault: Professor Baxter's [[AngryBlackMan son blames]] Superman for [[spoiler:his father's death]] when in reality it's mostly his own because [[spoiler:he's the one who dragged his father into the danger zone just so he could get a close-up look at The Elite]]. Near the end, just as [[spoiler:Superman is seemingly about to finish off Manchester Black]], he [[HeelRealization pretty much admits to finally understanding why]] Superman [[spoiler:didn't kill Atomic Skull]] back then.

* DirtyCoward: The Elite are cocky, arrogant, and cheerfully murderous antiheroes who enjoy killing bad guys and lecturing Superman on how [[GoodIsOldFashioned his morals are outdated]]... as long as they're the ones on the giving end, not receiving it. [[spoiler:When Superman stops holding back and uses their own rules and logic against them, they sing an entirely different tune; by the end, Black, BroughtDownToNormal and at Supes' mercy, breaks down and cries like a scared little girl on live TV.]]

** In his fight against the bioweapon bug monster Superman initially doesn't fare very well. Once he stops holding back however, he curb stomps it. [[spoiler:Guess how his final confrontation with the Elite goes.]]

* MightMakesRight: Manchester Black is portrayed in the wrong for arguing that. Later on, Superman [[spoiler: completely deconstructs this by faking his MoralEventHorizon and pretending to kill Manchester's team, showing that his might does ''not'' make it right at all.]]

* [[WellIntentionedExtremists Well-Intentioned Extremists]]: The Elite, at least before they [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jump off the slippery slope]]. They admire Superman, but they also truly believe that their brutal, fascistic approach to heroics, which culminate in their ruling the world by force as de facto dictators, is the only way to save humanity from itself.

* {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s: The Elite, at least before they [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jump off the slippery slope]]. They admire Superman, but they also truly believe that their brutal approach to heroics is the only way to save the world.

* NiceHat: The Hat, of course.

** When Superman decides to break his ThouShaltNotKill rule. [[spoiler:It turns out he just knocked out or disabled the Elite and had his Superman robots carry people off to make it appear as if they had died.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: When Black reveals his past to Superman, he leaves out certain elements - for example, [[spoiler:that he killed his father, and that when he stopped the train from killing his sister, he ended up killing about a dozen people.]]

** Atomic Skull mentions [[Comicbook/{{Invasion}} the Meta-Gene Bomb]] which gave him his powers.

* AdultFear:
-->'''Clark Kent:''' I heard a child say that he wanted to be in the Elite when he grows up because "[[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior it would be fun to kill bad guys]]." ''Fun'' to ''kill''.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: The Elite operate on a PayEvilUntoEvil mentality. [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] when they kill the leaders of Pokolistan and Bialya. Regardless of who started the war and brutal their attempts at winning are, it's clear that killing the entire governments of both countries is a '''terrible''' idea that does nothing to resolve the underlying issues.

* VillainHasAPoint: The Elite are not wrong that Supes ThouShallNotKill policy leads to the villains re-offending and killing more people, and the civilians do agree that some villains ''need'' to be killed. The problem is when killing becomes their first response to any problem, resulting in a KnightTemplar mentality.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: The film thoroughly and intelligently explores this trope. While it winds up picking a side, it never resorts to being {{Anvilicious}} about it and we are still presented with defensible arguments for the opposing side.
* SmoochOfVictory: Menagerie gives one to Superman (which he gives no indication of wanting). Lois does not approve.
* SmugSuper: Manchester, oh so very much.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: In the original comics, [[spoiler:Pamela[=/=]Menagerie ended up getting lobotomized by Manchester Black]].

* AdaptationalModesty: Menagerie wears a revealing outfit, but her comic counterpart was clearly naked outside of the alien creatures covering her. Coldcast in the comic was bare chested in the comic aside from his chains, here he wears a shirt.

** The Hat. Complete with VomitDiscretionShot.
** Also, Manchester Black's father. [[UnreliableNarrator Probably.]]

* AntiHero: The Elite can be considered this or straight-up villains.

* AxCrazy: Atomic Skull, who gleefully murders countless innocent people just to draw Superman out.

* BadassLongcoat: Manchester Black sports one.

** An unwanted one from Menagerie to Superman.

* BloodFromTheMouth: Superman of all people is not immune to this, courtesy of the Elite's powers.

* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:How Manchester Black kills Atomic Skull.]]

* BrokenPedestal: In the movie version Manchester Black and the rest of the Elite deeply respect and admire Superman when they first meet him, even standing speechless for a bit. Of course, all that goes right out the window when he tries to enforce ThouShaltNotKill on them.

* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Atomic Skull.]]

* DreadlockWarrior: Coldcast of the Elite.

* EvilBrit: Manchester Black.

* EvilLawyerJoke: Atomic Skull cracks one when he mentions the people he's killed in order to draw out Superman.
* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt:

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler: Superman eventually decides to give the Elite an object lesson in this.]]

* ImaginationBasedSuperpower: The power of Elite member, The Hat, with his hat.

* KnightTemplar: The Elite. [[spoiler: Subverted with Superman.]]
* LanternJawOfJustice: Superman, as tradition, though more so in the movie due to the cartoony art style.

* NoShirtLongJacket: Manchester's appearance. That's not a Union Jack shirt. That's a Union Jack ''tattoo''.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: The Elite's modus operandi. [[spoiler: Which, much to their horror, they find they're not immune from themselves.]]

* PurpleIsPowerful: Atomic Skull.

* SecretKeeper: Lois and the Kents, of course.

* ScaryBlackMan: Coldcast.
* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler:Manchester Black. See AbusiveParents.]]

* AdaptationDyeJob: The Hat's [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue hair]] is changed to black.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Manchester Black has purple hair.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: The main conflict. Superman adamantly sticks to his ThouShaltNotKill policy even as the Elite gains public support for killing the bad guys, and when the Elite later declare that ''they'' decide who the villains are, and that "people who endanger innocent lives" can apply to more than just criminals and terrorists, it shows how the Elite's methods can lead to JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and HeWhoFightsMonsters territory. On the other hand, the Elite believe their way is better since Superman just beating up criminals and having them thrown in {{Cardboard Prison}}s leads to JokerImmunity and allows villains like the Atomic Skull to just keep killing. Additionally, they have no regard for innocent bystanders, calling them "sheep" during the final battle.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Manchester Black and the Elite are convinced they are heroes carrying out neccessary acts to improve the world. They would be if they were in dark comic like ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'', but they are in a Superman story so their attitude instead makes them into villains.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Superman is facing off four incredibly powerful metahumans, all of whom have a despicable lack of respect for life, all of whom have no qualms about killing him for sport, and he has lost almost all of the support of every person on Earth. He has every chance and every reason to take The Elite down violently, permanently, and no one will blame him for it. And so he goes out and proves to the world what he truly is: [[spoiler: He's Superman.]]

* {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s: The Elite, at least before they jump over the MoralEventHorizon. They admire Superman, but they also truly believe that their brutal approach to heroics is the only way to save the world.

* TheUnfettered: The Elite. They initially demonstrate a willingness, nay, eagerness, to kill criminals. But the more the movie goes the more they show how little principles they have, murdering the leaders of two entire countries, and preparing to kill Superman after he punched Manchester Black after he dissaproved of the move. [[spoiler: When Superman is pretending to be out to kill the Elite, Manchest Black is prepared to destroy Metropolis, just to save his own skin.]]

* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: This is The Elite's underlying philosphy, which leads them into conflict with Superman. [[spoiler:It's notable that Superman defeats them through a combination of force and a BatmanGambit that demonstrates how their beliefs can lead to disastrous consequences.]]

** Manchester on the other hand [[spoiler: demonstrates how, for all his talk about improving the world, that he will destroy an entire city just to save their own skin.]]

* NotSoDifferent: Manchester attempts this on Supes at the end. Superman scoffs, "''Chester''..." and proceeds to show that he had taken precautions.

* & While they aren't as bad as Atomic Skull, [[spoiler:the leaders of Bialya and Pokolistan]] are both {{jerkass}}es and warmongers. Their deaths at the hands of The Elite evoke some NightmareFuel, but not much sympathy.

** As if to refute this argument, Terrence later ''begs'' Superman not to kill Manchester Black, [[MoralityChainBeyondTheGrave echoing his father's sentiments]]. Additionally, ''ComicBook/ActionComics [[ComicBook/DCRebirth Rebirth]]'' has Atomic Skull pull a HeelFaceTurn and join Maggie Sawyer's squad on the Metropolis PD.

** The Elite on the other hand [[spoiler: demonstrate how, for all their talk about improving the world, that they will destroy an entire city just to save their own skin.]]

* UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish: There's even a brief soccer/football argument.
-->'''Coldcast:''' Only thing shuts him up is a soccer game.\\
'''Manchester Black:''' Football, you uneducated yank.

* BadPowersBadPeople: The Elite subvert this. They have AntagonistAbilities but working with Superman in rescuing people from a collaspsing subway demonstrates that they can use their powers to save people, they just aren't any good at it and have no desire to learn.