1 | '''''Shadowboy''''' is a 2014 Superhero novel narrated by Travis Colfax, the titular Shadowboy at the end of his term as a sidekick. As the only non-powered member of a family of Heroes, Travis doubts his ability to continue as a solo member of the Hero Community. Thanks largely to a literal {{Hero Insurance}} requirement for people with a strong connection to active Heroes, he can't afford to walk away. |
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3 | While the bulk of the community's attention is on an alien threat, Travis tracks down a handful of missing gang members only to stumble onto a carefully hidden plot by the amoral {{Omnidisciplinary Scientist}} Doctor Omicron. Though soundly beaten, Travis agrees to remain active until Omicron can be tracked down and his plans foiled. |
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5 | It has a sequel {{Literature/Shadowdemon}} |
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7 | The Author's home page is at http://evcombine.net |
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9 | ---- |
10 | !!''Shadowboy'' provides examples of the following tropes: |
11 | |
12 | * AbsurdlySharpBlade: Icerazor's sword is among the few things reliably able to carve through force fields and psychic constructs, making steel (galvanized pipe, Omicron bots) mundane in comparison. |
13 | * ActionGirl: Pam, though her first outing ended poorly. |
14 | * ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: (Lampshaded) - Travis admits to using overly showy moves when he has an audience, despite the act coming back to bite him immediately. |
15 | * BadassCape: Jack wears one, though the wind doesn't always cooperate. |
16 | * BadassLongcoat: Doctor Omicron's heavy black labcoat acts as one. |
17 | * TheBigGuy: Or Girl -- Pam after gaining her powers. |
18 | * BirthdayBeginning: Both Shadowboy and Shadowdemon start near Travis' birthday. |
19 | * BodyHorror: Implied off-screen for Pam's transformation, and [[spoiler:Jasmine Greeler]]'s death. |
20 | * DarkAgeOfSupernames: Razordemon, also notable that the character picked up the name during the dark age. |
21 | * EldritchAbomination: Masquerade partly summons one during his final battle. |
22 | * ElectronicEyes: [[spoiler:Travis']] replacement after his run-in with Uth-sk. |
23 | * EvilGenius: Doctor Omicron |
24 | * EvilPaysBetter: Working at the Community Fund gives little in the way of disposable income, especially after paying for Hero Insurance. |
25 | * EyeScream: [[spoiler:Travis']] encounter with Uth-sk. |
26 | -->'''Uth-sk:''' Fine, we'll move on. It's time for an examination of the primitive human eye. |
27 | * EyepatchOfPower: [[spoiler:Travis]] gets one for his civilian identity because he shouldn't be able to afford the electronic replacement. |
28 | * FlyingBrick: Jack |
29 | %%* FragileSpeedster: Nora |
30 | * HalfHumanHybrid: Xiv, the result of attempting to reverse engineer a male dragon from fragmentary female DNA. |
31 | * HeroInsurance: Literal Hero Insurance issued by the government with premiums adjusted for the licencee's destructive potential. |
32 | * HeroWithBadPublicity: The backstory for Miss Pain and her motivation for joining the team. |
33 | * HormoneAddledTeenager: Visible mostly in Travis' narration, which leads to occurrences of Male Gaze |
34 | * IdleRich: Jack keeps up this persona for his Secret Identity. |
35 | * KilledOffForReal: Both Cupric and Agent Six suffer this fate. |
36 | * TheLancer: Miss Pain |
37 | * TheLeader: Travis |
38 | * LeaderWannabe: Miss Pain at first |
39 | * MagicPants: (Averted) The Shapeshifting bestowed by Project Thirteen devastates clothing. Pam's outfit had to be specially made to allow partial transformation without taking damage. |
40 | * MaleGaze: The Narrator being an aforementioned Hormone Addled Teenager. |
41 | * ManInTheMachine: Doctor Omicron, after what the Nazis did to him, he could only survive in a life support suit, which he has built up into powered armor. |
42 | * MechaMooks: Omicron Bots, being cheap, easily replaced robots Doctor Omicron regards as disposable. |
43 | * TheMedic: Stephanie |
44 | * MissingMom: Mrs. Colfax was dead before the events of the story, as is the previous Ixahau. |
45 | * {{Mooks}}: A plethora, including Omicron Bots, Final Star Cultists, Ygnaza soldiers and Morlock Society members. |
46 | * MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Doctor Omicron |
47 | * NoSell: By Several Characters, most notably, Xiao shrugs off everything Travis and Xiv throw at him until the very end of the fight. |
48 | * NumberTwo: Stephanie as the only other member with a leadership endorsement, and takes over the role of team lead when Travis is out of commission. |
49 | * OhCrap: Valeria's appearance for Travis, followed soon thereafter with one for Doctor Omicron when Travis notes that the only thing separating them is a thin polycarbonate window. Comes back in the Sequel when Donny speaks the phrase verbatim as he realizes he's the target of a cluster bomb. |
50 | * OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Doctor Omicron |
51 | * OnlyInItForTheMoney: Doctor Omicron only aids the Final Star Cultists for the paycheck, and even offers his services to the heroes against the Ygnaza for the right price. |
52 | * PartialTransformation: Pam and the survivors of Project Thirteen can opt to only partially switch between forms. |
53 | * PowersDoTheFighting: Miss Pain works this way as she fights using psychic constructs. |
54 | * PsychicPowers: Miss Pain, more in the sequel with Serar and Irvin Keyes. |
55 | * TheReliableOne: Travis sees himself as this and strives towards that goal. Got him elected leader of the team. |
56 | * RetiredBadass: Neutrino and an informed trait of the entire Fund Board. |
57 | * SecretIdentity: Everyone has one because criminals started targeting family. |
58 | * ShootingSuperman: Averted -- the Greelers realize in short order that their bullets do nothing to Jack. |
59 | * TheSneakyGuy: Travis, lacking powers, relies more on stealth to survive. |
60 | * SquishyWizard: Stephanie has to build up power before an attack, and has few defenses beyond her magic. |
61 | * StandardSuperheroSetting: Fully embraced short of Death is Cheap. |
62 | * TheStoic: Stephanie, because Magic requires a great deal of mental discipline. |
63 | * SuperpowerfulGenetics: Virtually everyone with a powered parent inherited the potential. |
64 | * SwallowedWhole: Travis suffers this fate at the hands of Valeria, but manages to escape. |
65 | * TalkativeLoon: Masquerade talks to everyone, even himself. He doesn't wait for a response most of the time. |
66 | * TheTeamBenefactor: The Community Fund as embodied by Neutrino. |
67 | * TeamPet: Xiv, arguably |
68 | * TeamPrimaDonna: Miss Pain started this way, but got better. |
69 | * TerrorHero: Razordemon treats his reputation as a weapon all its own. |
70 | * TrophyRoom: Albeit one that is mostly empty |
71 | * VoluntaryShapeshifting: Pam and the survivors of Project Thirteen gained the ability to change between human and demi-dragon forms. |
72 | * WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Other than being slightly east of the great plains, the location of New Port Arthur is never given. |
73 | * YeOldeNuclearSilo: The team moves into a renovated Gruefield 18 Nuclear Missile facility. |
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