History YMMV / Transmetropolitan

** This series was written relatively early in the gay rights movement entering the political mainstream, and while all sorts of depravity of various kinds is commonplace in the City, it's almost entirely cishet depravity. There are a grand total of three gay characters in the story - one is an overseer of the History Reservations whose sexuality comes up in one line (out of four she has total), and two are the escapees from the Maoist China reservation who have no lines (or names, for that matter) and do nothing but make out on the street.

** Toward the very beginning of the series. Spider's first story is covering the "Transients," who are people transitioning between being human and alien which began as a kind of temporary body mod. Spider finds the whole thing distasteful, says Transients should be treated like the kids they are (in so many words), and there's an overwhelming implication that Fred Christ, the spokesman for the "Transient Movement" protesting in the City, is faking it for the exclusive purpose of getting access to sex. Ellis meant the movement to be a satire on drug addiction and cults, but with transexuality now in the forefront of public discourse, it's very easy to see Transients as a transphobic satire of transexuals, pushing them into the realm of-fo UnfortunateImplications.
** Spider's entire approach to journalism is very much a reaction to [[TheNineties the decade the story was written]], which was a time of apathy and drab political correctness. At that time, his colourful vulgarity and unabashedly biased approach were very much a breath of fresh air. For someone reading in more modern times, where public discourse is considerably cruder and journalism has grown so biased that many people claim that there are now two mutually exclusive versions of the truth, each of which dismisses the other as "fake news"... well, he at once fits in much better as well as comes across less as a heroic rebel and more like just another {{Troll}} looking to stir up outrage for the sake of outrage.
* ValuesResonance: Nevertheless the need for a voice against injustice, political corruption, and for social awareness still run true along with said mindset being the reason behind that "things get better one winter at the time".

* TearJerker:
** A story Spider tells in an interview about a young woman and her brother. It's agonizing.
-->'''Spider:''' [[spoiler:He systematically sexually abused her over a two-year period and she missed him because he was her brother and she loved him.]]
** [[spoiler:Vita's death.]] Spider's reaction shot is ''crushing''. We've seen him angry, excited, confused... it's the first time we've seen him ''horrified''.
** "Business". The whole damn thing. But especially the line "Can we go to Long Pig? They have toys."
-->'''Spider:''' You can let yourself forget that they're just kids so easily.

* ValuesResonance: Nevertheless the need for a voice against injustice, political corruption, and social awareness still run true along with said mindset being the reason behind that "things get better one winter at the time".

** This series was written relatively early in the gay rights movement, and while all sorts of depravity of various kinds is commonplace in the City, it's almost entirely cishet depravity. There are a grand total of three gay characters in the story - one is an overseer of the History Reservations whose sexuality comes up in one line (out of four she has total), and two are the escapees from the Maoist China reservation who have no lines (or names, for that matter) and do nothing but make out on the street.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Senator Gary "The Smiler" Callahan]] is a [[CorruptPolitician sadistic politician]] who desires ultimate power for no reason other than [[MisanthropeSupreme to hurt others]]. On his campaign trail for President, Callahan first shows his cruelty when he has his political advisor shot dead to [[FalseFlagAttack gain sympathy for his cause]]. Once elected {{President|Evil}}, Callahan begins running The City into the ground even more than it already was, orchestrating the release of vicious criminals so as to gun down the ensuing protesters, having all the prostitutes he ever slept with and those who associated with them hunted down and executed to cover up his illicit acts, and ordering several people sniped to lower the City's awareness of an incoming storm, hoping it would wipe out more evidence of his crimes. As [[AntiHero Spider Jerusalem]] begins taking apart his cabinet and ruining his reputation, Callahan slowly becomes more unhinged and desperate for ratings, having his wife and kids killed in an accident to gain sympathy and instituting MartialLaw across the City, setting an entire complex aflame and endangering dozens in the process. In perhaps his most despicable act, Callahan gives his troops the order to use lethal force on a group of young college protesters, leading to dozens of protesters being mowed down. Described by Spider as a man who believes in nothing but his own power, Gary Callahan was a [[CardCarryingVillain self-described]] "Franchise/JamesBond villain" who simply hated every last person on the planet that wasn't himself, and stood out even in this CrapsackWorld as an absolute evil.

** This series was written relatively early in the gay rights movement, and while all sorts of depravity of various kinds is commonplace in the City, it's almost entirely cishet depravity. There are a grand total of three gay characters in the story - one is an overseer of the History Reservations whose sexuality comes up in one line (out of four she has total), and two are the escapees from the Maoist China reservation who have no lines (or names, for that matter) and do nothing but make out on the street.

** Toward the very beginning of the series. Spider's first story is covering the "Transients," who are people transitioning between being human and alien which began as a kind of temporary body mod. Spider finds the whole thing distasteful, says Transients should be treated like the kids they are (in so many words), and there's an overwhelming implication that Fred Christ, the spokesman for the "Transient Movement" protesting in the City, is faking it for the exclusive purpose of getting access to sex. Ellis meant the movement to be a satire on drug addiction and cults, but with transexuality now in the forefront of public discourse, it's very easy to see Transients as a transphobic satire of transexuals, pushing them into the realm ofofo UnfortunateImplications.

** Toward the very beginning of the series. Spider's first story is covering the "Transients," who are people transitioning between being human and alien which began as a kind of temporary body mod. Spider finds the whole thing distasteful, says Transients should be treated like the kids they are (in so many words), and there's an overwhelming implication that Fred Christ, the spokesman for the "Transient Movement" protesting in the City, is faking it for the exclusive purpose of getting access to sex. Ellis meant the movement to be a satire on drug addiction and cults, but with transexuality now in the forefront of public discourse, it's very easy to see Transients as a transphobic satire of transexuals, pushing them into the realm ofof UnfortunateImplications.

** Toward the very beginning of the series. Spider's first story is covering the "Transients," who are people transitioning between being human and alien which began as a kind of temporary body mod. Spider finds the whole thing distasteful, says Transients should be treated like the kids they are (in so many words), and there's an overwhelming implication that Fred Christ, the spokesman for the "Transient Movement" protesting in the City, is faking it for the exclusive purpose of getting access to sex. Ellis meant the movement to be a satire on drug addiction and cults, but with transexuality now in the forefront of public discourse, it's very easy to see Transients as a transphobic satire of transexuals, pushing them into the realm of UnfortunateImplications.

** Toward the very beginning of the series. Spider's first story is covering the "Transients," who are people transitioning between being human and alien which began as a kind of temporary body mod. Spider finds the whole thing distasteful, says Transients should be treated like the kids they are (in so many words), and there's an overwhelming implication that Fred Christ, the spokesman for the "Transient Movement" protesting in the City, is faking it for the exclusive purpose of getting access to sex. Ellis meant the movement to be a satire on drug addiction and cults, but with transexuality now in the forefront of public discourse, it's very easy to see Transients as a transphobic satire of transexuals, pushing them into the realm of UnfortunateImplications.

** Toward the very beginning of the series. Spider's first story is covering the "Transients," who are people transitioning between being human and alien which began as a kind of temporary body mod. Spider finds the whole thing distasteful, says Transients should be treated like the kids they are (in so many words), and there's an overwhelming implication that Fred Christ, the spokesman for the "Transient Movement" protesting in the City, is faking it for the exclusive purpose of getting access to sex. Ellis meant the movement to be a satire on drug addiction and cults, but with transexuality now in the forefront of public discourse, it's very easy to see Transients as a transphobic satire of transexuals, pushing them into the realm of UnfortunateImplications.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: In his acknowledgements, Ellis saves his appreciation for Creator/PatrickStewart for last and jokes that Stewart's wife Wendy Neuss is "smarter than both of us." Stewart and Neuss divorced a year later.

** This series was written relatively early in the gay rights movement, and while all sorts of depravity of various kinds is commonplace in the City, it's almost entirely cishet depravity. There are a grand total of three gay characters in the story - one is an overseer of the History Reservations whose sexuality comes up in one line (out of four she has total), and two are the escapees from the Maoist China reservation who have no lines (or names, for that matter) and do nothing but make out on the street.