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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.
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3[[quoteright:328:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/442a1908_eb0b_49f5_98c9_4cf75aa1c785.png]]
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5->''23 years ago, twelve strange children were born in England at exactly the same moment. 6 years ago, the world ended. This is the story of what happened next.''
6
7''[=FreakAngels=]'' is a {{webcomic}} written by Creator/WarrenEllis, with art by Paul Duffield.
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9Set [[AfterTheEnd six years after apocalyptic flooding destroys modern civilization]] (at least in Great Britain), the story follows the self-styled "[=FreakAngels=]", a dozen 23-year-olds born at the exact same moment, all with purple eyes, pale skin and an array of mental powers that include telekinesis, telepathy, mind control, and unique individual gifts.
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11The comic is set in the London district of Whitechapel, now flooded with a good 20 feet of water, and populated by refugees. The [=FreakAngels=] are essentially in charge. They're responsible for the steam-powered machines that purify water, the scavenging of artifacts from the pre-flood days, defense against raiders from other neighborhoods, and general enforcement of order. But the raids are getting bolder, the population of Whitechapel is growing too large for their jury-rigged equipment to feed, and the exiled twelfth [=FreakAngel=] is looking for revenge on his old family.
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13Ellis and Duffield turned out six full-color pages a week; it ended at 144 episodes (six volumes of the paper edition) on August 5, 2011. As well as on the [[http://www.freakangels.com/ ''Freakangels'' page]] (the page appears to be down as of April 2023), the collected editions are available via the Avatar Press website on paper and digitally.
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15Website/{{Crunchyroll}} aired an AnimatedAdaptation in 2022.
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17-------
18!!This comic provides examples of:
19
20* AfterTheEnd:
21** Particularly notable is that the [=FreakAngels=] ''caused'' the end. [[TheAtoner One of their main motivations for protecting Whitechapel is to make up for it]].
22** [[spoiler:Subverted: Episode 130 reveals that apparently only Britain is destroyed and shielded from the world.]]
23* AlphabeticalThemeNaming: All the [=FreakAngels=]' names contain the letter K or a hard C.
24* AppropriatedAppellation: The [=FreakAngels=] used to be called, among other things, "mutant freaks" and "angels of destruction."
25* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: When Kait shows the [=FreakAngels=] her potential new jail:
26-->'''KK:''' --fucking torture chamber, Kait!\
27'''Karl:''' You can read fucking minds, Kait, so why are you operating the Whitechapel wing of Abu Fucking Ghraib over there--\
28'''Arkady:''' ''It smells of poo!''
29* {{Ascended Fan|boy}}girl: Kait, who grew up on cop shows and has appointed herself the chief of police for Whitechapel.
30* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: The ending heavily implies that [[spoiler:the Freakangels moved themselves outside of time, and this was where their "future" selves were communicating from whenever one of the "present" selves died. [[MindScrew Or something]].]]
31* BackAlleyDoctor: Miki. Each of the [=FreakAngels=] is a self-taught but very competent back-alley specialist in a different area. Their power "package" let them master their professions by reading the minds of experts.
32* BackFromTheDead: Mark was thought dead early on, and came back. Two characters [[spoiler:(Luke and Connor) come back after being shot point-blank in the head.]] Another may have done it more than once. [[spoiler:In fact, it's posited that none of the [=FreakAngels=] can actually die, and as of the ending, it looks like that might be true.]]
33* BadassNormal: Alice gets dubbed an "Honorary [=FreakAngel=]" on her first day in town, mostly for keeping her cool when Whitechapel comes under attack. A week later, she proves her badassery when she [[spoiler:takes out Luke with her trusty shotgun, after he's already seriously injured Kirk and nearly killed KK.]]
34* TheBeautifulElite: The [=FreakAngels=] are all fairly attractive with their perfect white skin and exotic eye and hair colours. The otherworldly look makes them even more distinct from everyone else, additional to their powers and own moral code. That most other humans are often starved or otherwise ill helps too.
35%%* BedmateReveal: The first episode.%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample
36* BerserkButton: KK's real name sets her off like nothing else.
37* BewareTheNiceOnes: The normally sweet and rather offkey Arkady is a force to be reckoned with if her buttons get pushed.
38-->Do you know what that was, Luke? That was exactly one second of my overdose experience when we were fifteen. If you ever do something like this again, I am going to give you ''five minutes'' of that.
39%%* TheBigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:Conner and Arkady.]] SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample
40* BrainBleach:
41** This is one among the many [=FreakAngel=] powers. It is applied (usually by Sirrka) to the traumatized people they encounter in Whitechapel. In the case that happens "on-screen" she doesn't even ask if the girl actually ''wants'' her brain bleached. In this case and others, it seems the [=FreakAngels=] apply brain bleach not just out of mercy, but also to keep their powers secret.
42** The [=FreakAngels=] are often treated to TooMuchInformation from their friends, invoking this trope. See the Perverse Sexual Lust entry below.
43** This is also poor Connor's reaction to reaching his TooMuchInformation limit for one day. This scene came very soon after a very similar reveal concerning his mother. ''[[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=605&page=3 "No no no that is not an interesting fact and I don't want it in my head."]]''
44** [[spoiler:Luke and Mark]] both get their brains, if not ''bleached'', then at least thoroughly laundered. It makes them less crazy, but not much more pleasant.
45* BrickJoke:
46** The comic begins with KK waking up to discover she screwed a kid from Lambeth. In Episode 8, it's mentioned that Arkady had been in the market the previous week predicting the future. One prediction was that KK would shag someone from Lambeth. See MadOracle, below.
47** Alice was introduced in the second episode of the comic. In the second-to-''last'' episode, [[spoiler:she is paired with a new supporting character named [[AliceAndBob Bob]].]]
48* BullyingADragon: Hunting down a group of teenagers who can blow up stuff with their minds and deflect artillery strikes was bound to end up badly. Especially if said children would love to be left alone. Cue [[spoiler:a disaster that left Great Britain in ruins.]]
49* BunnyEarsLawyer: Arkady has {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies and is hard to take seriously, but she's by far the strongest and most skilled user of the [=FreakAngels=] powers.
50* ButtMonkey: Luke. In one day, he gets punched and [[GroinAttack crotch-stomped]] by Kirk, pistol-whipped by Jack, and Arkady {{Mind Rape}}s him (see BewareTheNiceOnes above), leaving him crying in the foetal position on the floor in a puddle of his own urine. A week later, he gets whacked in the face by Alice, [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] by Sirkka and Caz, chained up in Kait's dungeon, shot in both legs by Kirk, blasted by Alice's shotgun, and finally [[spoiler:''shot through the head'', which he recovers from.]] [[MoralEventHorizon Not that he didn't deserve it.]] After he [[spoiler: comes BackFromTheDead]], [[spoiler:[[ShutUpHannibal KK breaks a chair over his head]], then Miki telekinetically castrates him and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking draws a dick on his forehead while he's unconscious]]]].
51* CameBackStrong: [[spoiler:All of the [=FreakAngels=] have this ability. Every time they "die", the powers they wield are stronger and more finely-controlled when they get back up.]]
52* CameBackWrong: Mild but still there. [[spoiler:Mark's first "death" saw him tumble face down into a river with a hole in the back of his head. He healed while immersed in filthy water - so he was brain-damaged in addition to being paranoid, megalomaniacal and a laundry list of other issues.]]
53* ChekhovsGun: Connor tells Alice in Episode 33 that she'll probably never meet an American. By the end, [[spoiler:the Americans have arrived in Whitechapel and Alice is shown interacting with them.]]
54* CityOfCanals: Whitechapel has become a City of Flooded Streets in the wake of its destruction.
55* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Arkady, [[JustifiedTrope attributed]] to brain damage from a drug overdose and generally spending her spare time pushing the limits of her brain.
56* ClusterFBomb: Miki, [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=91&page=4 when she's finally had enough]] of Kait and Arkady arguing.
57* ComboPlatterPowers: Every [=FreakAngel=] can use telepathy to talk to the others, read minds, see through someone else's eyes, and project their own thoughts and memories. They can use telekinesis in a variety of ways, from deflecting bullets to causing [[StuffBlowingUp explosions]]. They regenerate from serious injury and can go for weeks without food, water, or sleep. Together, they can manipulate time, reshape wood on the cellular level, reverse the chemical reaction of expended gunpowder on the ''molecular'' level and build time moats. They even eventually learn [[spoiler:that they're effectively immortal]]. Invoked by Arkady, who apparently spends much of her time [[HowDoIShotWeb developing new tricks]], such as teleportation. It's hinted (and possible, within the realm of pseudo-science) that all their powers are simply manipulations of an incredibly potent personal electromagnetic field.
58* CrazySurvivalist: Kait has aspects with this, which clashes oddly with her role as Whitechapel's self-appointed constable.
59* DeathGlare: Arkady manages [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=449&page=4 an impressive (and terrifying) one]].
60* [[EmbarrassingFirstName Embarrassing First]], [[EmbarrassingMiddleName Middle]] ''and'' Last Name: KK, or should I say [[spoiler:[[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=41&page=3 Kolfinnia Kokokoho]]]]? It gets worse - [[WhoNamesTheirKidDude Who The Fook Names Their Kid]] [[spoiler:[[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=41&page=4 Kolfinnia Kokokoho Titching]]]]?
61* {{Expy}}: The [=FreakAngels=]' PsychicPowers being that much stronger when in concert and their eventual [[spoiler:ascension beyond physical form]] to save the world takes more than a little from Ellis' earlier run on ''ComicBook/XMan'', in which a group of villains did the former and the hero did the latter.
62* FantasticRacism: Against people from Lambeth.
63* FaceHeelTurn: Mark is a rather tragic example. [[spoiler:In flashbacks he's an idealistic fourteen year old boy who wanted to use the package to help mankind. In the present he's a psychopath who got exiled for mind controlling dozens of helpless civilians]]. Luke also seems to have had one sometime in the past that he's aware of and been trying to pretend is perfectly justifiable (though admittedly he had some JerkAss tendencies in the flashbacks).
64* GatlingGood: [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=48&page=6 And it fires metal bolts.]]
65* AGodAmI: Luke's general attitude towards the package, believing that he is part of the "master race" and that having power means he should be able to use it on "lesser souls". Connor hints that this attitude is the primary reason behind his JerkAss tendencies. [[spoiler:Though after being shot in the head and given a thorough neurological scrubbing, he's dropped the attitude. Still a jerk, though.]]
66* {{Gorn}}: Forget the below-mentioned YourHeadASplode -- we've got Your ''Torso'' A-splode! Not to mention the loving rendition of shattering bones and tearing flesh...
67%%* GroinAttack: [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=387&page=6 Poor, poor Jack...]]%%Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples
68* TheHeart: Connor is the most compassionate and empathetic of the group. The others [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway tend to think of him as rather useless]] (unlike the others, he doesn't have a unique specialty power, and he seems to be the weakest), but they do admit that he's generally the one who's managed to keep them working together (and the idea that they've started killing each other is enough to make Connor want to leave forever). Consequentially [[spoiler:his package upgrade gives him the ability to [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower join all of the Freakangels together into a unified mindspace where their powers are dramatically increased]].]]
69* HeelFaceBrainwashing: [[spoiler:Luke, consensually and by request because [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he's ashamed to realize how low he's fallen]].]]
70* HeterosexualLifePartners: Kirk and Karl seem to only be able to stand each other, [[spoiler:tried to murder Mark]] and kept the secret to themselves, and despite their many interactions have the rare accomplishment of never fighting with one another. Though they don't get much focus, it's implied that they share a strong bond. As of episode 139, [[RelationshipUpgrade they're either an item or are at least considering becoming one]].
71-->'''Karl:''' If you think I'm kissing you in front of this shower of bastards you're fucking insane.
72* HumansAreWhite: A side effect of the "package" is pale skin and purple eyes, which even Carolyn (black), Miki (Asian), and KK (possibly part Islander) have. They all retain other racial characteristics, but people often have to look twice before figuring that out.
73* IneffectualLoner: Jack is constantly called out on this. His tendency to go off on his own is seen as him shirking his emotional responsibilities.
74* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Cruelly subverted. Jack is in love with Sirkka and doesn't approve of her polyamorous ways, but rather than object, he just stays away from her. This makes Sirkka, who loves him back, absolutely miserable.
75* UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper: A murder in Book 3 is done seemingly as a tribute to Jack the Ripper, using the same modus operandi (slashed throat, mutilated stomach) in the same location (Whitechapel).
76* {{Jerkass}}: Luke in particular, but all of the [=FreakAngels=] to an extent. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Connor, who points out that they really are all a bunch of evil arseholes who can do nothing but yell at each other and fuck up.
77%%* KatanasAreJustBetter: Summarily deconstructed by [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=285&page=5 Kaitlyn]].%%Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples
78* LetsGetDangerous: In one panel, the [=FreakAngels=] snap from a bunch of bickering kids to [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=75&page=4 the psychic hive mind that punched a hole in reality]].
79* MadOracle: A referenced NoodleIncident in which Arkady randomly predicted three people dying and [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne KK shagging a kid from Lambeth]], then developed short-term amnesia and forgot the entire event. An alternative explanation is that this foreshadows a future plot line. In the scene were Arkady says she doesn't remember visiting the market, she also talks about how she's considering the possibility of time travel. The implication seems to be that the Arkady who made the predictions in the marketplace might have been Arkady traveling back from some point in the future.
80* MagicSkirt: KK. Her skirt is about twice as wide as a belt and made from some ruffly material, but the PantyShot proves elusive.
81* MindControlEyes: Not always used -- people who [[spoiler:Mark manipulated to kill the [=FreakAngels=]]] don't show this, but the girl who [[spoiler:Luke rapes]] does have them.
82* MindOverManners: A recurring and frequent source of drama, as the [=FreakAngels=] have a taboo against brainwashing people; this is discussed in-universe several times. Oddly, they don't have any rules to deal with violence, and [[spoiler:Kait]] is never punished for [[spoiler:torturing people for dubious reasons, nor has anyone been punished for their murder attempts]].
83%%* MindRape: One of the [=FreakAngel=] powers.%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample
84* MoodWhiplash: [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=378&page=5 Luke's]] [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=378&page=6 rant]]. [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=625&page=5 Given a callback of sorts]].
85* MoreThanMindControl: Sirkka's method of helping abuse victims. It includes physical clean-up and healing as well as a few FakeMemories to account for lost time. Some other [=FreakAngels=] don't agree with wiping the victim's memories, but [[InvertedTrope Sirkka's reasons for doing so are undeniably benevolent]].
86* MsFanservice:
87** KK, possibly with a dose of AuthorAppeal. She also appears on the cover of both print volumes, and all the promotional material for the comic.
88** Arkady also tends to wear see-through clothing. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d when a character asks Arkady to at ''least'' wear panties. She's been wearing underwear for a good long while now, though they are still visible through her skirt.
89** Sirkka, due to her... [[ReallyGetsAround amorous ways]], and particularly when her package upgrade occurs with her naked and writhing on her bed.
90* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
91** In Episode 0122, [[spoiler:Luke]] appears to be having one of these moments, [[spoiler:saying the only thing to do is "get rid of him" and then for the others to sort out why they're here...while crying]].
92** Evidently, this is the reason for [[spoiler:Mark's activities. He was responsible for breaking the country as badly as it did, and he went crazy with guilt. Even worse when you remember all his good intentions as a thirteen-year-old kid]].
93* NearDeathExperience: Apparently [[spoiler:any one of these unpacks a [=FreakAngel=]'s package further]].
94* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:The [=FreakAngels=] had initially wanted to simply cause a huge, showy, but not really lethal shake-up, for the sake of getting the army off their back. Their ''severe'' underestimation of just how powerful they were, plus the amount of pain and frustration they poured into their efforts, along with Mark steering them while his mental state was so unbalanced, caused them to instead bring about an immensely destructive disaster which pretty much ended civilization, at least in Britain.]]
95* NotSoDifferentRemark: Connor frequently lampshades that every [=FreakAngel=] is as much of a Jerkass as Luke and Mark.
96%%* OhCrap: [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=322&page=4 Teleportation's a bitch]].%%Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples
97* OnlySixFaces: The [=FreakAngels=] all look a ''lot'' alike. This is a deliberate facet of the story; Ellis has stated that the core idea of the comic is "what if Literature/{{the Midwich Cuckoos}} survived, grew up, and then fucked up?" That being said, some of the character designs have changed noticeably since the beginning. Compare [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=23&page=6 KK here]] with [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=563&page=5 KK here]], for instance.
98* OneWordTitle: Also a {{Portmantitle}}, since it's a compound word.
99%%* TheOphelia: Arkady.%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample
100%%* PayEvilUntoEvil: Mixed with a bit of {{Squick}} -- [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=102 this page and the following ones]]. May induce FridgeLogic on Page 4.%%Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples
101* PersonOfMassDestruction: Any single [=FreakAngel=] can completely dominate a person's mind or tearing them apart telekinetically, and can shield him- or herself against small arms fire. Two or three working in concert can demolish buildings, blast apart small armies, and cause large explosions, as well as protecting themselves from heavy machine guns and artillery. [[spoiler:All twelve of them were able to strike the planet so hard that it caused catastrophic earthquakes, flooded Britain, disrupted the Earth's geomagnetic field and seems to have broken time and space.]]
102* PerverseSexualLust:
103** Regarding ''Series/QuincyME'', a detective drama from the 1970s and 80s...
104--->'''Kait:''' I fucking loved ''Quincy''. In fact, I would have ''done'' Quincy, so less of your lip.\
105'''Miki:''' [[BrainBleach You would have]]...\
106'''Kait:''' He was a crimefighting genius and he always had hot young chicks on his boat. Quincy's cock was a foot long.
107** It gets worse:
108--->'''Kait:''' You're confessing to murder. Two people just confessed murder to me in the same minute. Why aren't I happy? I swear I had masturbation fantasies about this.\
109'''Karl:''' Oh, Christ, Kait! {{Too much information}}! Is this my punishment? I have to think about you in an interrogation cell in front of a weeping criminal and rubbing one out?\
110'''Kait:''' ''[lip bite]''...And then Quincy walks in.\
111'''Karl:''' Aaaaaah!
112** Karl later asks Arkady to [[BrainBleach wipe that conversation from his mind]]. He's probably joking.
113** [[spoiler:Thanks to Kait's package upgrade, [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=522 it looks like]] [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=522&page=2 she'll be able to act upon this.]]]]
114%%* {{Polyamory}}: Sirkka.%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample
115* SandInMyEyes: In Episode 0122 [[spoiler:Luke]] starts to cry after giving a speech where he says he knows he's a horrible human being and asks the rest to put him down. Upon realizing this, he comments [[TearJerker "Something's wrong with my eye."]]
116* SecretKeeper: Alice is the only person in Whitechapel who knows that the [=FreakAngels=] really have superpowers.
117* ShoutOut: The afterlife apparently does ''not'' include [[Series/{{Blackadder}} Satan and his little wizards]].
118* {{Steampunk}}: KK has a [[ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines steam-powered helicopter]], not to mention the steam-powered, crank-operated ''[[GatlingGood Gatling gun]]''.
119* TearsOfBlood: These start showing up [[spoiler:as the [=FreakAngels=]' reconstruction of Whitechapel becomes more and more advanced, indicating that their bodies are breaking down under the strain.]]
120* ThereAreNoTherapists: Played with. Sirkka is the local equivalent of a psychologist and helps abuse victims and people {{Mind Rape}}d by Mark. Her ''own'' love life, on the other hand, is a total mess. Other [=FreakAngels=] [[DysfunctionJunction are not much better]] with the group consisting of TheOphelia, an IneffectualLoner, a KnightTemplar, a guy [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone driven crazy by his own guilt]], AGodAmI wannabe and a few other dysfunctional personality types. Some hide it better than others. At the end they all get a quick therapy from [[spoiler:Arkady]] of all people. and [[spoiler:Luke]] is [[HeelFaceBrainwashing fixed]] on his own request. Even [[spoiler:Mark]] seems to be much more sane. It is implied that their problems [[EpiphanyTherapy don't magically disappear]], but they will eventually get over their issues with some [[PowerOfLove love]] and hard work. [=FreakAngels=] are TrueCompanions after all.
121* ThroatLight: Although the [=FreakAngels=] have GlowingEyes whenever they use their powers, at the times that they're doing something ''really'' powerful, usually together, this trope applies.
122* TotallyRadical:
123** Arkady: "I can has vodka."
124** KK: "All your forthcoming bone fractures are belong to us."
125* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening: Every "upgrade" to the package is painful and terrifying [[spoiler:due to the whole "death" part]].
126* TrueCompanions: The [=FreakAngels=] before the catastrophe. After this event most of them [[DysfunctionJunction got their own issues]] and the group broke apart. [[spoiler:At the end, they are together again, though perhaps not completely healed. But they have all the time in the world to work on that.]]
127* UnexplainedRecovery: "I don't want to say 'I got better' because it's a rotten cliché, but..."
128* WebcomicTime: In the first thirteen months of its run, the comic covered a grand total of one day. Then there was a one-week TimeSkip, and the following two years covered another day.
129* WeWillUseWikiWordsInTheFuture: Or at least our psychic twenty-something overlords will. They also use WebOriginal/{{LOLcat|s}} speak and other internet memes; see TotallyRadical above.
130* WhatTheHellHero: Sirkka for her MoreThanMindControl method of helping abuse victims, Kait for keeping a prison/torture chamber, and later [[spoiler:Miki for using her package upgrade to castrate Luke]].
131* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys: KK's "bike" helicopter, Jack's steam-boat and the steam-powered Gatling guns. They built them out of scrounged materials using expertise borrowed from expert brains.
132%%* WrenchWench: KK and Caz. %%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample
133* YourHeadASplode: Another of the [=FreakAngels=]' powers. Presumably the judicious application of telekinesis or a force field. Seen in a flashback.
134%%* YourMom: [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=545&page=5 Kait to Connor]], with [[http://www.freakangels.com/?p=545&page=6 an epic follow-up]].%%Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples

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