Line #78 ComicBook/MorningGlories


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MorningGlories-01-cov_02_2356.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:250: [[ArcWords For a Better Future]]]]
3
4	An ongoing comic book series written by Creator/NickSpencer and illustrated by Joe Eisma. It tells the story of six new students (Casey, Ike, Jun, Zoe, Hunter and Jade) at the very prestigious Morning Glory Academy. Each one of them has a dark and/or strange past and they all share the same birthday. The plot follows the six students separately and as a group as they explore the mysterious and shadowy purpose of this dizzying BoardingSchoolOfHorrors. The phrase "for a better future" is thrown around a lot by the staff, but it's hard to tell what that entails. The teachers are down right sadistic, the campus contains strange horrors and there's a ghost-like man stalking around who [[BloodLust really enjoys making a mess of people]]. To top it all off, Daramount, the woman in charge of the these six students (nicknamed the Morning Glories) is trying to systematically break them in increasingly creative ways.
5
6	The tone and feel of the story so far is something akin to ''Series/{{Lost}}'' in its earlier seasons: lots of character exploration and flashbacks amid completely baffling events that [[EpilepticTrees seem to hint toward a bizarre and complicated machination]]. It has also been compared to Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt in that it's about students exploring the weirdness of a boarding school with possibly dark purposes.
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8	Warning: spoilers are beyond this point.
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10	----
11	!!Tropes Include
12
13	* AbusiveParents: Sprinkled throughout, but most notably [[spoiler: Kseniya to Irina]] and [[spoiler: the Headmaster to Daramount]].
14	** Possibly [[spoiler: Hunter's dad]], too.
15	* TheAce: Casey, with heavy hints of being [[BrokenAce broken]].
16	* ActionGirl: Casey, Vanessa, and Irina fit this.
17	** [[spoiler: Zoe and Irina both qualify as a DarkActionGirl]].
18	* AncientConspiracy: Complete with a multi-generational OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness.
19	* TheAntiNihilist: Vanessa's application essay was titled "Why It's Not Too Late to Save the World."
20	* AnyoneCanDie: Set up in the very first issue when Brendan is suddenly and brutally killed by [[spoiler: David]]. Becomes active with the deaths of [[spoiler: Casey's Parents, Jun and Hisao's mother & Maggie, along many students]]. These deaths become even more confusing considering that [[JigsawPuzzlePlot the story alternates between past, present, and future, and implements time travel]]. It starts hitting increasingly close to home with the deaths of [[spoiler: Zoe]] and [[spoiler: Hisao]]. Taken even further with the deaths of [[spoiler: past!Vanessa, Guillaume, one of the Ian clones and Fortunato]].
21	* ArcWords: So far we have...
22	** "The hour of our release draws near."
23	** "All will be free."
24	** "For a better future... "
25	** "What did you see when your eyes were opened?"
26	** And we have an Arc Person in [[spoiler: Abraham]].
27	*** And also in [[spoiler: David]].
28	** Not a word per se, but 8:13 (or 813) appears a lot of times throughout the series.
29	* AudienceSurrogate: Hunter, arguably, since he's the most "normal" of the Glories. Possibly [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in #27 when he's spouting off theories about what the hell is going on to Future Jade and bombarding her with questions the audience almost definitely has.
30	* AxCrazy: Pamela and the faculty in a HUGE way. [[spoiler: And maybe Zoe.]]
31	** [[spoiler: Definitely Zoe.]]
32	* BefriendingTheEnemy: Hunter, arguably, if the Truants can be considered "the enemy."
33	* BeneathTheMask: Everyone.
34	* BigBad: The Headmaster [[spoiler: also known as the Scientist]], with Miss Daramount acting as their muscle.
35	* BilingualBonus: SO MUCH in #23. You have about six characters suddenly and unintentionally all speaking different languages.
36	* BlessedWithSuck: Poor Hunter. His apparent "ability" is that all clocks read 8:13 to him most of the time and he can't hear alarm clocks.
37	* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Casey (blonde), Zoe (brunette) and Jade (redhead).
38	* BreakTheCutie: Daramount's goal for just about all of them, but especially Casey, Jade, and Fortunato.
39	** [[spoiler: Also Daramount to Hodge as children, in a way.]]
40	** [[spoiler: And arguably Hodge to Vanessa.]]
41	* BreakTheHaughty: Daramount's goal for Zoe and Ike.
42	* TheCaligula: Ike. He's like a character out of a Brett Easton Ellis novel. [[spoiler:At least, that's how he wants to be seen]].
43	* CallingTheOldManOut: Ike to [[spoiler: Abraham]], on two occasions.
44	* TheCameo: [[spoiler:Zoe's]] lawyer in #15 is [[Series/BreakingBad Saul]] [[Series/BetterCallSaul Goodman.]]
45	* CloneJesus: [[spoiler: Ian]] was created in a laboratory (one of six) with abilities taken from some kind of divine force, although it's unclear which.
46	* ColdBloodedTorture: On a regular basis.
47	* TheComicallySerious: Hisao and Fortunato to a degree.
48	* CondescendingCompassion: Zoe accuses Casey of this, being nice to Hunter only because she can't imagine him getting the attention of a pretty girl any other way.
49	* CoveredWithScars: Irina's mother, Kseniya, with a bonus EyepatchOfPower.
50	* CreepyChild: Nurse Nine was one in her youth.
51	* DamselInDistress: Jade in particularly horrifying form.
52	** And perhaps [[spoiler: Megan.]]
53	* DangerousSixteenthBirthday: Or more accurately, [[spoiler: dangerous May 4th birthday]], though Casey, and presumably the other new students, are celebrating their sixteenth birthday at the start of the series.
54	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Morning Glories is the epitome of this trope.
55	* DeadpanSnarker: Mainly Ike, and mainly of the {{Jerkass}} variety. Zoe, Casey, Daramount, and Hodge occasionally get in on the fun too.
56	** So does Hunter, once his [[spoiler: little trip with the Truants starts]].
57	** Also, Ian. Oh, ''Ian''.
58	* DeadPersonImpersonation: [[spoiler: Jun spent years pretending to be his brother Hisao, believing him to have died in a fire as a child. Following Hisao's final, fatal twin switch, he's pretending to be Hisao, pretending to be Jun.]]
59	* DeityOfHumanOrigin: Honestly, ''possibly'' all of the kids, but canonically [[spoiler: Ian]].
60	* DepravedBisexual: [[spoiler: Ike alluded to making out with guys because it was "in" and he's none too shy with a knife.]]
61	* DimensionalTraveler: [[spoiler: Possibly Jade depending how you interpret her scenes with her older self and the mysterious lover she sees when she's asleep or unconscious.]] Also Miss Hodge, on a regular basis.
62	* DrivenToSuicide: Akiko's father.
63	* DrowningPit: The death trap in #2.
64	* EmoTeen: Jade. Lampshaded by Zoe.
65	* EvilTwin: [[spoiler: Brainwashed!Jun to Hisao]].
66	** Unfortunately for Hunter.
67	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Hunter's crush on Casey.
68	* EyeScream: [[spoiler: Fortunato]] in #35.
69	* FieryRedhead: Jade starts out being on the weepier side of things, but she definitely has a BerserkButton.
70	** Plus, she is a redhead who literally [[spoiler: sets fires. She has a history of committing arson]].
71	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The story thrives on it.
72	* GenreSavvy: Hunter is the most prominent example, even going so far as to Lampshade the mystery tropes he and the other kids are all falling prey to and proposing that they try being honest and upfront with each other instead of keeping secrets. He's promptly shot down by Jun.
73	** Casey dabbles in this, too, if her MeetCute scene with Hunter is anything to go by.
74	** So are the AV Club kids, for obvious reasons.
75	* GentleGiant: Hisao.
76	* GiveGeeksAChance: Hunter and Casey. DiscussedTrope when Zoe tells him he shouldn't be with a girl who thinks she's doing him a favor by being nice to him.
77	* GoodIsNotSoft:
78	** Casey in spades. She's not even a little afraid to get violent.
79	** During her [[spoiler: time as Danielle Clarkson, she kills people. Like, many people]].
80	* GreatBigBookOfEverything: [[spoiler: Hunter]] seems to find one in his "dream" in #28, titled "Morning Glory Academy Test Answers Book." We don't see what's inside it, but based on his reaction, it's the answers to ''everything''.
81	---> Holy shit—this is '''it''', isn't it? It's all in '''here'''! And I can just—I can '''read''' it?
82	* GuyOnGuyIsHot: Akiko seems to think this way.
83	* HandBehindHead: Hunter's defining CharacterTic from the get-go.
84	* HiddenDepths: A recurring theme with literally every main character, along with BeneathTheMask.
85	* TheIdealist:
86	** Despite Hunter's occasional cynicism (i.e. in #31 in regards to life after death), Nick has stated that he is most definitely TheHeart of the Glories and that any stories that feature him at the center are "slightly sunnier" because of his unfaltering "hope and optimism."
87	** Akiko is the very same except ''without'' an ounce of any cynicism whatsoever, especially as of #37, her issue. She could even make ''Jade'' smile.
88	* ImplausibleSynchrony: Hunter's ability tampers with his perception of time displayed in clocks, which results in this trope. Every clock he sees reads it's 8:13 down to the second.
89	* {{Jerkass}}: Ike personifies this.
90	* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Ike again. Whenever you think he might be starting to show a soft side or losing the mask, surprise. The vague niceness was an act. He's still terrible.
91	* JigsawPuzzlePlot: In spades! Good luck figuring out any of the mysteries on your own.
92	* LampshadeHanging: Hunter is the most guilty of this.
93	* LockedInARoom: Zoe and Hunter, alone together in the woods during Woodrun. CharacterDevelopment, naturally, ensues.
94	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Ironically, Casey, [[spoiler: for now. It remains to be seen whether she'll ever get her memories back from her time as Clarkson]], and she definitely missed a lot while Woodrun was going on.
95	* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Hisao.]]
96	** [[spoiler: Although Nick Spencer repeatedly said that Zoe was this trope in #19, as of #38, it looks like she's back.]]
97	* ManslaughterProvocation: [[spoiler: Zoe thought her best friend was being raped by their English teacher, so she bashed him on the head. They burned the body in an incinerator]].
98	* MeaningfulName: Abraham. [[spoiler:And Isaac, or Ike.]]
99	* MeetCute: Hunter and Casey.
100	* MsFanservice: Oh, Zoe.
101	* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Alarmingly common.
102	* NeverTheSelvesShallMeet: Averted with Jade, [[spoiler: who frequently encounters and has discussions with future versions of herself.]]
103	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Zoe.
104	* OracularUrchin: [[spoiler: Zoe, as a small child in India.]]
105	** And her ArcWords: "Faith is putting your hand in someone else's and learning to take the good with the bad."
106	* OstentatiousSecret: A few members of the staff love waving it in the students' faces that there's things going on that they don't know about.
107	* PortalToThePast: The cave.
108	* PlatonicCave: Played straight with younger Miss Hodge, where the shadows and fire in the cave actually happen.
109	* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Both of the main groups of kids, to a degree, but the AV Club is definitely this on the lighter side.
110	* ReallyGetsAround: Zoe and Ike.
111	* RedOniBlueOni: There are many potential combinations, but the most obvious one is [[spoiler: [[SiblingYinYang the Fukayama twins]]. Jun is the red to Hisao's blue]].
112	** Ms Daramount is the blue to Ms Hodge's red.
113	* RememberTheNewGuy: Isabel, the student council president of Morning Glory academy - and also apparently someone who Casey knew. While Isabel's absence is explained as being undercover, she doesn't appear until she talks to Casey in a flashback and then suddenly... there she is.
114	* RichBitch: Implied with Zoe and played very straight with Ike.
115	* RousingSpeech: Irina has what she certainly thinks is one in #28.
116	** Jade gets one that's slightly more well-received in #34.
117	* RuinsOfTheModernAge: We're treated to a double-page splash of [[spoiler: the ruins of Morning Glory Academy itself, when Future Jade takes Hunter to them in #27. When he asks, shocked, what happened, she replies with, "War. Destruction. Death. You know—human being stuff," heavily implying that the future as it currently stands is [[AfterTheEnd not exactly sunshine and roses]].]]
118	* SadistTeacher: Daramount really enjoys messing with the kids under her charge.
119	* SchoolClubFront: The AV Club.
120	* SelfMadeOrphan: Ike's mother isn't sure whether or not he killed his father. [[spoiler: He did. [[MindScrew Or did he?]]]]
121	* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: [[spoiler: Casey tries to prevent her future self from going to MGA. Doesn't work when she orders her dad to forget everything.]]
122	* ShadowDictator: The Headmaster. Possibly doubles with ShroudedInMyth.
123	---> '''Casey''': You know, I'm starting to doubt this guy is even ''real''...
124	* ShoutOut: Usually courtesy of Hunter.
125	---> Oh, man, we are about one dianoga away from [[Franchise/StarWars the trash compactor scene in—]]
126	---> If we don't win this game I have a feeling Zoe's gonna go the full [[Film/KillBill Gogo Yubari]] on us...
127	---> ...And I'm stuck living out Futurama. Except I don't even know what year it is. ...It was 2999. [[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} On Futurama]].
128	* SlasherSmile: Oh boy.
129	* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Series/{{Lost}}'' as a TeenDrama.
130	* StalkerWithACrush: Implied with [[spoiler:Jade]]. Apparently she had fallen hard for [[spoiler:a teacher named Marcus]].
131	* StraightGay: Guillame and Hisao are very casually revealed to be gay and in love.
132	** And although it hasn't been explicitly stated in canon, Word of God says that Hannah and Esi are dating.
133	* SubliminalSeduction: A possible case with the slide show in the beginning.
134	* ThemeNaming: Important characters are named after Biblical patriarchs (Abraham, Issac, David).
135	* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: [[spoiler:Headmaster turns out to a very non-threatening looking background character previously referred to as the Scientist.]]
136	* TriggerPhrase: For Casey's dad, the MGA logo.
137	* TwinSwitch: [[spoiler: The character we know as Jun is really Hisao and vice versa. Twice.]]
138	* WillTheyOrWontThey: Lampshaded by Casey in regards to her and Hunter the moment they meet, although she wants to avert it, saying that she doesn't have the time for it.
139	* WellDoneSonGuy: Arguably Ike.
140	* WhamEpisode: ''Every issue'' has a WHAM moment of some kind.
141	** Perhaps issue 1 sets the tone the best, when [[spoiler: Jade attempts to contact her father, only for him to tell her that he's never had a daughter. She tells the others, and Casey asks for an explanation from the RA, who tells her that it's part of the protocol for the Academy to encourage parents to pretend to their children that they don't exist as a way to cultivate independence. Casey, horrified, says that her parents would never do that, and the RA says that indeed her parents refused--and then opens a door to reveal Casey's parents' mutilated bodies]]
142	** #19 is pretty high up there, too, with [[spoiler: Zoe's death]].
143	*** Even more for #38, later on, when we see on the last page that [[spoiler: Zoe is alive]].
144	** And #33, with the reveal of [[spoiler: Hisao and Jun's final "swap."]]
145	** #49. [[spoiler: Guillaume breaks the [[YouCantFightFate towerball law]], Vanessa overcomes the communications interference around the academy, and as the grounds are rocked by tremors, Casey finally comes face to face with the [[BigBad Headmaster]].]]
146	** #50 [[spoiler: past!Vanessa, Ian, Guillaume and Fortunato are all killed and Casey is seemingly thrown into the past]]
147	* WhamLine: [[spoiler: "You are not Hisao. I am."]]
148	** [[spoiler: "Hello, father."]]
149	** [[spoiler: "Call me Jade."]]
150	** [[spoiler: "I am Jun."]]
151	* YouAlreadyChangedThePast: [[spoiler: Casey and Miss Hodge, at least - it could also be the main way time travel works in this universe, as we don't have too many details.]]
152	* YouKilledMyFather: [[spoiler: Casey]], to Daramount.
153	---> You killed my parents. Go to hell.

Context ComicBook / MorningGlories