Line #24 Literature/TheUltraViolets


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
2
3
4
5	[[quoteright:206:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_ultra_violets_shrink_7678.jpg]]
6	[[caption-width-right:206:Center-clockwise: Iris, Cheri, Scarlet, and Opal]]
7
8	->''The Fuschia is Now!''
9
10	''The Ultra Violets'' is a book series by Sophie Bell, following the adventures of superpowered middle-school student quartet, Iris, Cheri, Scarlet, and Opaline. Illustrations are by Chris Battle, and Ethan Beavers.)
11
12	The four were just regular girls until a sleepover at the Fascination Lab ([=FLab=], for short) on the 42nd floor of the Highly Questionable Tower ended up triggering a chain reaction that culminated in the four best friends getting covered in a mysterious purple goo, Heliotropium.
13
14	Four years later, after unintentionally exposing themselves to the chemical once more, the girls discover the stuff gave them more than the need for a decontamination shower--it had given them superpowers!
15
16	* Iris gained superheated rainbow beams and the ability to create art anywhere she chooses,
17	* Cheri super-math skills and the ability to talk to animals,
18	* Scarlet wicked dancing skills (and later, when her skills evolve, super-strength),
19	* And Opaline electric and weather manipulation powers.
20
21	Together, the four form the Ultra Violets, a superhero team dedicated to protecting Sync City from the evil schemes of [=BeauTek=], from mind-controlling perfumes to evil mutants manufactured at the Mall of No Returns!
22
23	[[AC:Books in the series:]]
24	# ''The Ultra Violets''
25	# ''Power to the Purple''
26	# ''Lilac Attack''
27
28	----
29
30	!! The series provides examples of:
31
32	* AbsentMindedProfessor: Candace, though the book [[{{Justified\|Trope}} justifies]] this as her being so busy things naturally slip through the cracks.
33	* AffectionateParody: Of the superhero genre. The girls are genuinely heroic and deal with some very serious threats, what with [=BeauTek=] having so many questionable science experiments and projects for world domination. ''However'', before Book 2, Iris's powers are limited to changing the colors of things and making disguises, Scarlet is a DanceBattler, and their mascot is a skunk who can change the odors he releases. The villains they fight are also incredibly comedic, ridiculous, and hard to take seriously until they finally put up a fight or get up to some serious, unquestionable evil.
34	* AmbiguouslyBrown: Cheri. Her skin color is much, much darker than the rest of the primarily light-skinned cast but it's never mentioned what race she is nor does it become that important.
35	* AndTheAdventureContinues: All 3 books end this way, even the GrandFinale.
36	* {{Angrish}}: Develon Louder, CEO of [=BeauTek=], is fond of this. Though she already has no volume control and has it constantly on 11, she devolves into unintelligible gibberish when she's furious.
37	* BadLiar / SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Doctors Jones, Tyler, and Henderson deny the existence of Helitropium, and fail miserably.
38	* BewareTheNiceOnes: [[spoiler:Opaline.]] Book 1 has her as a ShrinkingViolet and trying to be the kind, polite girl the others have always known her as until [[spoiler:The Kiss That Changed Everything]] where she quickly gains better control of her powers, a much more assertive but ''evil'' personality.
39	* BigBad: Develon Louder, as the CEO of [=BeauTek=], is personally responsible or has overseen much of her company's incredibly ethically questionable to outright morally evil projects, such as the genetically augmented monster minions.
40	* BioAugmentation:
41	** Helitropium is capable of genetically modifying any living being on earth.
42	** This is [=BeauTek's=] shtick, from mind controlling perfume to evil mutants through largely biological processes and means, rather than robots.
43	* BlandNameProduct: Obviously, as the actual copyrighted names would cost too much for a passing joke.
44	** ''Smashface'', (Facebook) Sync City's social networking site of choice, alongside ''Tweeker'' (Twitter).
45	** ''Furi'' (''Apple'''s Siri) is the voiced assistant in Cheri's phone
46	** ''Game-Boi'' for the ''Nintendo'' Gameboy.
47	** ''XY-Box'' for the ''Microsoft'' [=XBox=]
48	** ''Ikipedia'' for ''Wikipedia''.
49	** Iris uses an ''iCan''(''Apple'' iPad) for drawing.
50	* BullyHunter: Scarlet targets other bullies, constantly getting into fights with students who start them first against others who can't fight back.
51	* BumblingSidekick: Agent Sydney Bristow to Agent Jack Baxter. While Baxter is as professional and competent as he can get despite his age, Bristow acts more realistically in that he keeps getting stuck, exposing his cover, and otherwise bumbling about.
52	* ChekhovsGunman / ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:The Clown performing the raging saxophone solo comes back to distract Opal's brainwashed army. His saxophone also comes in handy for saving Iris and the students of Chronic Prep.]]
53	* ColorfulThemeNaming: All four Ultra Violets are named after colours.
54	* ContinuityNod: Sebastian refers to the "Wolfman in a top-hat" Iris painted with him in the subway, in book 1.
55	** Scarlet does indeed audition for the school musical in book 2.
56	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Develon Louder, CEO of [=BeauTek=]. She's loud, driven, and insane. She's also one of the most talented and powerful businesswomen in Sync City.
57	* CuteBruiser: Scarlet. She's one of the shortest, most conventionally adorable members of the cast but she can and ''will'' kick your ass, especially those of the people that bully weaker students.
58	* DanceBattler: Scarlet, [[spoiler:most especially when she gets her super-strength.]]
59	* DidYouThinkICantFeel: A big gripe of Opal, [[spoiler:and the reason behind her defecting to the Dark Side.]]
60	* DoubleAgent / DefectingForLove: [[spoiler:Jack Baxter]] becomes this for the Ultra Violets and [[spoiler:[=BeauTek=]]]. His motivation? [[spoiler:Scarlet.]] It probably also helps his mother is Devon Louder, who isn't the most sterling example of being a good human being at the best of times.
61	* [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength Does Not Know Her Own Strength]]: [[spoiler:Scarlet frequently destroys things and the scenery in book 2, as she has yet to master her newfound super-strength.]]
62	* EvilInc: [=BeauTek=], under the guise of a biocosmetics company, works on various ethically questionable and outright evil experiments like their army of mutants.
63	* {{Expy}}: The LemonyNarrator is a gender-flipped version of the one from ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''.
64	* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Opal.]]
65	* TheFaceless: As with classic cartoons, the faces of the Ultra Violets' mothers are never seen.
66	** An interesting example with Opal's mom, who plays a fairly large part in some scenes but never shows up in any illustrations.
67	* TheFashionista: Despite Iris's powers being the most useful for make-up and changing appearances, Cheri is the most competent when it comes to fashion, make-up, and looking good.
68	* {{Foil}}: Agents Bristow and Baxter. One is well-trained, professional, and unyielding as a mountain, the other is unfit, incompetent, and a push-over at the slightest discomfort.
69	* {{Foreshadowing}}: After Scarlet mentions that she danced both the male and female roles in ''Swan Lake,'' a ballet she hadn't even seen, Cheri asks if she was in a tutu when she did, and that they could use ones for their outfits. Cut to book 2 and Scarlet is now wearing a tutu alongside her usual get-up.
70	** Karyn has what appears to be [[spoiler:a lizard tail poking out of her shorts. In the next book, she's now K-Liz, a human-lizard mutant.]]
71	** [[spoiler: Opal]]'s powers are foreshadowed early when the static electricity in their hairbrush causes their hair to frizz up.
72	* FourGirlEnsemble: The Ultra Violets are composed of 4 superpowered girls and one skunk mascot.
73	* GirlinessUpgrade: Scarlet gets a minor one in book 2, where she dons a tutu, comfortably wears ballerina slippers, and auditions for school plays.
74	* GreenAesop: Sync City is very eco-friendly, and booming with all organic and sustainable techniques, actively endorsed by the characters.
75	* GroinAttack: After miscalculating her speed and trajectory, Cheri accidentally hits [[spoiler:Mantis Man]] in the crotch with her [[ImprovisedWeapon lacrosse stick with stiletto point]].
76	* GoshDangItToHeck: As the series is aimed at children, actual cursing is forbidden.
77	** ''"Oh swell no."''
78	** OMV, for ''"Oh My Violet."''
79	* GreasySpoon: ''Tom's Diner.'' It is described as stereotypical as you can get, with the pot of coffee, the waitress, and serving classics like pie.
80	* HashHouseLingo: Prevalent in ''Tom's Diner,'' of course. When ordering something normal, expect the waitress to relay it to the kitchen with the strangest language you can think of.
81	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Between all three books, [[spoiler: Opal]] goes from a friend of the Ultra Violets, to the second book’s main antagonist, then finally becoming a hero.
82	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Opal, again. After turning against the group at the end of Book 1 and becoming the antagonist for almost all of Book 2, she eventually comes back to being a hero by Book 3.]]
83	* HopeSpot: Several with [[spoiler:Opal]] during the entirety of Book 2, when the group ''seems' like they're finally getting through to her and convince her [[spoiler:to stop being evil and return to being their friend]] only to ultimately fail.
84	* HoverBoard: Sebastian and his boys ride them, as part of the setting's futuristic, environmentally-friendly bent.
85	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: ColourfulThemeNaming, focused on variants of purple: ''The Ultra Violets'', ''Power to the Purple'', ''Lilac Attack''.
86	* IJustWantToBeSpecial: For most of book 1, Opal is without her powers--or, at least, she hasn't figured out how to activate them.
87	* ImprovisedWeapon: During [[spoiler:Mantis Man's]] attack at the park, Cheri builds a lacrosse stick with a stiletto point as a weapon.
88	* InMediasRes: Book 2 starts with a BANG!, so much that it begins at chapter 2.
89	* InSeriesNickname: Iris is occasionally referred to as "Riri", Cheri as "Cher", and Scarlet as "Scar".
90	* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: Felippe, Cheri's potential LoveInterest, doesn't appear until about halfway through the final book.
91	* LateArrivalSpoiler: Those who are just arriving will learn that [[spoiler:Opal defects to [=BeauTek=] and back again, alongside many of the past book's major events being discussed and used extensively as jumping points for the later book's events.]]
92	* LemonyNarrator: The author is fond of pointing things out, explicitly mentioning this was an event earlier in the story or the last book, and oftentimes playing around with the chapter names.
93	* LoveMakesYouEvil / RageBreakingPoint: [[spoiler:Opal’s breaking point is seeing Cheri kissing Albert (though it really was the other way around), and joins [=BeauTek=] soon after.]]
94	* MadScientist: Candace has shades of this. She laments that she can't erase the girls memories after the Helitropium incident because her Neuoranalyser was still in beta testing.
95	-->The girls, grabbing each other's hands, took a step backward as one.
96	** Fascination Lab and [=BeauTek=] seem to hire them by the batch. Though the latter is explicitly evil, [=FLab=] does not exactly shy away from some strange, questionable experiments.
97	* TheMakeover: Cheri subtly gets Albert to change his appearance through social media, thinking Opal would like him better with a new appearance.
98	* MostWritersAreAdults: Despite being ostensibly a children's series, the entire series has a number of extremely outdated references that would only be gotten by audiences at around the same age range as the author. The young, pre-10's demographic wouldn't even catch what "Helter Skelter" is. It's gotten to the point that aging up the characters a bit may have actually benefited the story.
99	* {{Mutants}}: Beautek has an entire army of them, manufactured in the Mall Of No Returns.
100	* NamedAfterSomeoneFamous: Albert Feinstein, mathlete.
101	* NerdsAreSexy: Opaline's crush on Albert. It's surprisingly (and refreshingly) not PlayedForLaughs.
102	* NotWhatItLooksLike: [[spoiler:The Kiss That Changed Everything.]]
103	* OneOfTheBoys: Scarlet was sidekick to the toughest boys in school in the 4 years between the incident and the first chapter of book 1.
104	* ParentsAsPeople: All four of the Ultra Violets’ mothers are brilliant scientists, with schedules so busy, they rarely, if ever, have time for their kids. They pretty much left them to their own devices, in the care of their siblings, or in Iris’s and Opal's case, sent them off to Astronaut Offspring Boarding School and an All-Girls Boarding School, respectively.
105	* PersonalityPowers: Zig-zagged between this and PowerStereotypeFlip, depending on the person:
106	** Iris is an imaginative and artistic person who has the power to create art anywhere.
107	** Cheri’s love for animals makes her perfect for her animal-communicating powers, but her math-based powers are at complete odds with her role as the fashionista.
108	** Scarlet’s DanceBattler powers don’t fit her tomboyish personality [[spoiler: but her SuperStrength gained in the second book sure does.]]
109	** [[spoiler: Opal’s ShockAndAwe powers only truly manifest themselves after she’s become a much more aggressive and volatile person.]]
110	* PowerIncontinence: When Iris gets flustered, she begins to “rainbow,” shooting out random drawings, with her face breaking out in colourful patterns.
111	** Opal has a more dramatic example in book 1, [[spoiler:when her powers manifest and she quits the team after The Kiss That Changed Everything.]]
112	* ThePowerOfFriendship: The Ultra Violets activate their powers by joining their pinkies together, and later on amplify them by that same gesture.
113	* PubertySuperpower: The girls only develop their superpowers when they are re-exposed to Heliotropium, at age 11-12. Opal being powerless (or so she thinks) for most of book 1 is suspiciously similar to a girl watching her friends develop quickly and noticeably while she's still the same.
114	* PunnyName:
115	** The food district of Sync City is called the ''Kitchen Sync.''
116	** The girl's favourite hangout, a gourmet ice-cream parlor, is named ''Gellato Be Kidding Me.''
117	** A recurring theme with the animals Cheri smuggles from the shelter. The Daschund is named ''Salami.'' The Chihuahua ''Dogiego.''
118	* PuppyLove: The series is full of youthful romances between the pre-teens/teen cast. Ironically enough for the one you'd most expect to be interested in romance, due to being TheFashionista of the group, Cheri is the only girl yet to be paired up with anyone.
119	* PurpleIsPowerful: Done frequently, especially pertaining to [[TheLeader Iris]]:
120	** What’s the first sign that the girls are developing super powers? Iris’ hair becoming purple almost overnight.
121	** Alongside her art-based powers, Iris can also shoot out purple rays of light.
122	** This is [[InvokedTrope invoked]] when going by their superhero group name: The Ultraviolets.
123	** The chemical that gave the girls their powers was purple. Even the name of it, "heliotropium", is based on a plant where the most commonly-found species grows purple flowers.
124	* RaisedByDudes: Scarlet and her three older brothers, which explains her incredibly tomboyish behavior and propensity for the most stereotypically male manner of solving problems: ''violence.''
125	* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Jack Baxter]] is actually Devon Louder's son.
126	* SavedForTheSequel: Lampshaded by the author. [[spoiler:What is going on in the sub-sub-parking lot of the Mall Of No Returns?]]
127	** [[spoiler:Who's sabotaging the [=FLab=]?]]
128	* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Opal has samples of the other Ultra Violet's hair, and her mother has them stored at [=BeautTek=].]]
129	* ShipperOnDeck: Cheri. She considers [[spoiler:being an agent for their arch-nemesis]] as a minor speed bump on the road of Romance.
130	* ShockAndAwe: Opaline. Though initially she's only able to cause static electricity, by Book 2, she realizes she can cause thunderclouds and electric weather disturbances.
131	* ShoutOut: The author is incredibly fond of making pop-culture references, even ones that reach WAY before the target audience was even ''born''.
132	** At one point, Scarlet mounts a pretend-pony and rides it [[Music/{{Psy}} Gangnam Style.]]
133	** The girls just happened to get turned into superheroes on the [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy 42nd]] floor of the Highly Questionable Tower.
134	** Sync City's animal shelter is called Helter Shelter.
135	** Upon having an epiphany, the girls suddenly start singing about it to the tune of [[Music/CarlyRaeJepsen Call Me Maybe.]]
136	** Scarlet enjoys [[Franchise/HarryPotter Butterbeer]] a lot. The [[GreasySpoon Tom's Diner]] waitress even calls it the Harry Classic!
137	** Cheri points out that Scarlet has a Franchise/{{Batman}} lunchbox. Scarlet retorts that not everyone is obsessed with Franchise/MyLittlePony. Iris then exclaims [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic "But Friendship IS Magic!"]]
138	** [[spoiler:To cooldown Opal after her powers manifest during her major meltdown,]] Iris summons a ''Triple'' Rainbow and some unicorns.
139	** Scarlet begins singing [[Music/LadyGaga "Just Dance"]] to herself during the disastrous ballet recital. A helpful cellist sings the male parts.
140	** Scarlet knows that hips don't lie.
141	** Cheri once shouts [[WesternAnimation/GoDiegoGo "Go Dogiego, go!"]]
142	** During their practicing for the "talent show" at the sleepover 4 years ago, Iris is described as going into a "tiger crouch" looking for "hidden dragons."
143	** In the second novel, [[spoiler: Opal]] says [[Music/{{Rihanna}} "O na na, what's my name?"]] when brainwashing the students.
144	* ShoutOutThemeNaming: [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Odor sound familiar to you?]]
145	* ShowerOfAngst: After discovering her hair has mysteriously turned purple, Iris spends a traumatic couple of hours in the shower, trying to wash it off--only to discover it's permanent.
146	* ShrinkingViolet: Opaline. She's incredibly shy and reserved throughout Book 1, but breaks out of her shell [[spoiler:and falls into villainy]] by Book 2.
147	* SignificantGreenEyedRedHead: Cheri has the rare combination of red hair and green eyes, and is one of the protagonists of the book and oftentimes helps move the plot when social graces and extroversion are needed to solve a problem.
148	* SpeaksFluentAnimal: Cheri. Hilariously, "animal talk" is lolspeak.
149	* SpyCatsuit: Really just leotards and tights, but “catsuit” sounds [[RuleOfCool so much cooler.]]
150	* SuperStrength: [[spoiler:Scarlet]], in Book 2, realizes she can now lift up furniture, people, and many other heavy objects with little to no effort.
151	* SweetTooth: Iris is fond of fruity lollipops.
152	* TeamMom: As she was mostly responsible for the girls being exposed to Helitropium, Candace takes it upon herself to be the girls guardian, mission control, and well-intentioned Big Sister.
153	** Lampshaded and used as a joke frequently. Whenever the girls meet at ''Tom's Diner'', the waitress always mistakes Candace for the girls' mother.
154	* TeamPet: Darth Odor acts one for the group, being their shared pet and acting as an additional head when the girls are unable to act or are hampered by their size or the limits of their powers.
155	* TeenGenius: Candace is one, being half the age of the other adult professionals in FLAB or even younger, is just as capable a scientist and even acts as the primary support for the Ultra Violets, studying their powers, inventing gadgets, and doing research for them while they're busy with school.
156	* ThemeNaming: The four main characters are named after colors.
157	* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: Where would superhuman math skills come in handy, you might ask? [[spoiler:A poker game.]]
158	* TimeSkip: The prologue begins four years ago, when the girls were first exposed to Helitropium, then jumps forward to the present day by chapter 1.
159	* ToiletHumour: Very, very literally when [[spoiler:the girls discover the Black Swans, Agents Baxter and Bristow, spying on them in [[ItMakesSenseInContext the boy's bathroom after the secret poker game]], and Bristow really, ''really'' has to go.]]
160	* TomboyishPonytail: Scarlet, one of the most physically active and tomboyish of the group, wears her hair in a ponytail.
161	* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Scarlet, come book 2. She wears a tutu now and makes it work.
162	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The cover and back summary of book 2 [[spoiler:reveals that Opal has turned evil, and now commands an army of [=BeauTek=] mutants. Book 3 reveals she flip-flops straight back to the heroes.]]
163	** If one isn't careful with opening the book (and one probably isn't), the climactic scenes of each book is illustrated on the inside of the back cover.
164	* TrueCompanions: The Ultra Violets swear to [[spoiler:bring Opal back to the good side.]]
165	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture[=/=]NextSundayAD: Heavily implied, if not outright stated.
166	* UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo: In the second book, Opal’s crush Albert Feinstein falls in love with her. However, she doesn’t reciprocate anymore due to seeing his post-makeover self as fake.
167	* VisualPun: Book 2, Cheri is wearing a catsuit, with a tail, ears, and a Hello Kitty Bling Ring.
168	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The second book ends with [[spoiler:BeauTek obtaining the Ultra Violets' hair samples, presumably for experiments or cloning]]. This is ''never'' brought up in the third book.

Context Literature / TheUltraViolets