Line #19 Webcomic/OfMiceAndMayhem


1	[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rrangers.png]]
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3	From 1989 to 1993, ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' aired on American free TV. Also in the 90s, several more or less official comics were released for young readers (and, unbeknownst to the [[Creator/{{Disney}} House of Mouse]], the growing ranks of dedicated fans). In January 2003, however, one guy from UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity outdid it all single-handedly when he published a fan work he had created over the course of three years: ''Of Mice and Mayhem''.
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5	It is a WebComic, or rather a [[WebComic Web]] GraphicNovel: It follows a {{Comic Book\|s}} page layout and, unlike the serial format of most web fiction, the entire story--all 232 pages, including a front and back cover--was published at once.
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7	Instead of throwing the show's concept over and making up something entirely new, ''Of Mice and Mayhem'' picks up where the show left off, and that is presumably after the episode "Good Times, Bat Times". Three of [[EnsembleDarkhorse the most popular one-shot characters]] have joined the Rescue Rangers (giving at least two of them an extra popularity boost), and this extra personnel, together with their individual abilities, is direly needed on the case the Rangers are thrown into, a case that doesn't only [[DarkerAndEdgier go beyond anything ever seen in official material]], but also takes several months to solve. Since the target audience isn't the same as the show's at that time--the first generation of fans who had all grown up by then rather than the kids who watched ''CDRR'' on Creator/ToonDisney--the author could increase the overall intensity by multiple notches.
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9	While some accuse it of being a bad excuse for blatant {{Shipping}} promotion, most fans regard ''Of Mice and Mayhem'' as one of the greatest creations ever done by a ''Rescue Rangers'' fan and "up there" together with Mike Demcio's FanFiction epic ''Fanfic/RhymeAndReason''. It is often considered superior to the show as well as the official comics, both story-wise and artwork-wise, and it received fandom awards by the dozen.
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11	[[http://cdrrhq.ru/comics/?author=Fischer&comics=mom_eng Click here]] to read this fan crafting (or view it on the comic's [[https://www.facebook.com/OfMiceandMayhem Facebook page]]). Prepare for a sleepless night or two after taking it in. [[note]]Sadly, the artist's original site, http://www.electricfishmusic.com/001.html, appears to be down permanently.[[/note]] A colorized (albeit edited-down) version has been posted on [[http://deviantart.com DeviantArt]] and can be found [[https://www.deviantart.com/rozumek1993/gallery/38448851/Of-mice-and-Mayhem-english-version here]].
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13	Fans will be delighted to know that the author ''is'' planning a sequel, but it won't be finished for some time.
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15	----
16	!!Of Tropes and Mayhem:
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18	* EightiesHair: Gadget's [[FurryFemaleMane famously poofy blond mane]] is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when she returns with a more modern hairstyle.
19	* AnimalTesting: Nimnul did that in his lab in the {{Flashback}}.
20	* AssholeVictim: The guy [[spoiler: Gadget killed while under mind control]] was an evil dictator who was going to kill his own stepson and granddaughter for siding against him. The Rangers actually point this out to [[spoiler: Gadget]] in hopes of making her feel better about it.
21	* BaldOfEvil: Ferrante. In fact, even [[spoiler:Gadget]] when the chip's effect kicks in.
22	* BetaCouple: Dale and Foxglove isn't overtly shown, but it's made clear that they've become this when Dale tells Chip that he's over Gadget because of her when their past rivalry comes up. Chip decides to {{troll}} him by suggesting he ought to become interested in Foxglove as well to keep it going.
23	* BigBad: The Black Table, mainly [=MacMillan=] and Dr. Snow.
24	* TheBigDamnKiss: When Chip and Gadget finally get over their hangups at the end, and cement their RelationshipUpgrade. It earns a full-page splash panel.
25	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:Gadget]] plus a couple of nameless rat assassins.
26	* CannotSpitItOut: Both Chip and Gadget, but especially Chip. Although he is deeply in love with her, he'd rather wish her to find another mouse someday than to spend her life with someone from another species with whom she cannot have a family.
27	* ContinuityNod:
28	** Chip and Dale mention their past rivalries over girls, particularly Gadget. Dale is over Gadget by this point, but [[{{troll}} Chip jokes about missing the competitions and having to develop a crush on Foxglove just to retain it]]. Dale isn't amused.
29	** The body swap episode "A Fly in the Ointment" also gets referenced. It actually becomes a plot point for [[spoiler:the grand finale.]]
30	** Beyond those more plot-important nods, there's enough small background references to the series that it often borders on outright ContinuityPorn.
31	* ConverseWithTheUnconscious: Gadget confesses her love to Chip as he is lying before her unconscious after [[spoiler:having caught the poisoned dart with his body]].
32	* CurbStompBattle:
33	** When [[spoiler:Gadget]] is activated, [[spoiler:she]] utterly mops the floor with the ''entire'' Ranger team.
34	** Chip versus one of the hit rats sent to kill [[spoiler:Gadget]]. He keeps pounding the rat even after it's unconscious, and Monty and Dale have to haul him off to stop him.
35	* DarkerAndEdgier: To be expected from ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' FanFiction, but still remarkably so.
36	* DovesMeanPeace: In order to signify the new peaceful relations between the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and the unnamed Middle Eastern nation [[spoiler:whose former dictator Gadget killed while under mind control]], a "Dove of Peace" is planned to be released at a large event. Humorously, said dove is a foul-mouthed jerk who makes [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} Pesto]] look tame.
37	* TheDragon: Ferrante.
38	* EarnYourHappyEnding: ''Of Mice and Mayhem'' does have a happy ending, but to call the path to it rocky would be a great understatement. It especially applies to Chip and Gadget.
39	* EmptyBedroomGrieving: After the Rangers pick up on clues that hint Gadget died, they opt to leave her room the way it was on the night they went out on their ill-fated mission.
40	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: It's rather obvious for the other Rangers to see how Chip and Gadget are pining for each other.
41	* EveryoneKnowsMorse: Monty communicates with Chip this way at one point during a mission.
42	* ExactWords: What the Rangers assume when Gadget [[spoiler: tells them her programming will cause her to kill a leader]], making everyone think [[spoiler: she will kill Chip.]] [[SubvertedTrope It's more specific then that]].
43	* {{Expy}}: Besides the [[WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers canonical Dan Rather]] expy Stan Blather; the First Family is clearly a spoof of the [[UsefulNotes/BillClinton Clintons]], and [[spoiler:the Middle Eastern dictator Gagdet assassinated looks like Saddam Hussein.]]
44	* FirstKiss: Probably the most famous of 232 pages, did wonders on the fandom.
45	* FunetikAksent: Monterey Jack's extreme (yet fake) [[LandDownUnder Aussie]] speak.
46	* FunWithAcronyms: M.A.P. [[spoiler:'''M'''ouse '''A'''ssassin-'''P'''roject.]]
47	* FurIsSkin: [[AvertedTrope Not this time]]. When Chip offers Gadget his black turtleneck to cover up her "nudity", she mentions that she's covered in fur just like him so [[NonHumansLackAttributes there's nothing to see]].
48	* FurryBaldness: The absence of a certain FurryFemaleMane does not cause actual bald spots.
49	* FurryFemaleMane: Subverted in that [[spoiler:the poster child of this trope, Gadget Hackwrench, spends most of the story shaved "bald"]].
50	* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction: [[spoiler:Subverted. [=MacMillan=], Dr. Snow, and Ferrante are all working for the Black Table which happens to have ties to the C.I.A., and therefore, the U.S. government]].
51	* GovernmentConspiracy: What most of the story is about.
52	* HeKnowsTooMuch: The attempted liquidation of [[spoiler:Chip]].
53	* IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: One reason why Chip CannotSpitItOut: He believes Gadget would be happier with another mouse because she may want to start a family some day, and their genetics are not compatible. [[spoiler:Ultimately it turns out to be a moot point: Gadget [[LegoGenetics has enough chipmunk DNA after the incident in which she was Body Swapped with Dale to be genetically compatible.]]]]
54	* ImportantHaircut: Gadget.
55	* INeedToGoIronMyDog
56	--> '''Gadget:''' I think I left the thingy on the whatzit....
57	* InnocenceLost: Gadget has to overcome her, albeit brief, past as [[spoiler:an assassin and even having killed a human under mind control]].
58	* InterspeciesRomance: Well, this is bordering on a shipping fic. The pairings are the usual: Chip×Gadget and Dale×Foxglove. This is actually why Chip never confessed his love to Gadget: He figured she would want to find another mouse as a mate because a chipmunk and a mouse could never have kids. However, [[spoiler:ever since "A Fly in the Ointment" when Gadget and Dale switched bodies, Gadget has had [[LegoGenetics enough chipmunk DNA]] to have Chip's children.]]
59	* IWasNamedMyName: The President's daughter names Chip... Chip. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by the other characters.
60	* LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone: When Gadget meets Chip at the White House, the other Rangers stay back for a very good reason.
61	* LegoGenetics: Gadget discovers that [[spoiler: the time Nimnul mixed up the Rangers' DNA left her genetically compatible with chipmunks.]]
62	* LoveHurts: Both Chip and Gadget.
63	* ManchurianAgent: [[spoiler:Gadget as the MAP]].
64	* TheMourningAfter: Chip mourns for Gadget after he finds files that suggest she was killed. [[spoiler:Thankfully for him, she wasn't.]]
65	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Gadget after realizing what she had done under mind control]].
66	* MyLifeFlashedBeforeMyEyes: [[spoiler:Happens to Gadget while the poisoned dart is closing in on her]]. Albeit [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] with the words "Oh- Here comes the 'Life Flashback'"
67	* MythologyGag: After busting Rat Capone, Monterey Jack and Zipper took over the Acorn Club from him and have run it ever since, having had plenty of time for that after the Rangers have cleared up the crime in the city. The Acorn Club is where Chip and Dale went to see Clarice sing in the ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale'' cartoon "Two Chips and a Miss". In fact, under Monty's ownership, the Acorn Club saw the 'munks redo their show from back then.
68	* NonHumansLackAttributes: Of course this has always applied to Chip and Dale [[spoiler: but Gadget has a few "nude" scenes in which whatever she might have is covered with fur [[LampshadeHanging as she explains herself]].]]
69	* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:Gadget]]
70	* NotThatKindOfDoctor: After [[spoiler: Chip is shot]], the President's daughter begs her mother to help him, stating that she is Surgeon General and that she should be able to help him. [[spoiler: Against all odds, she succeeds]].
71	* ObligatorySwearing: Being a DarkerAndEdgier take on the Rescue Rangers, the language tends to get fouler than it was on the show.
72	* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: President Logan, the President Personable who is actually unaware of the GovernmentConspiracy.
73	* OutOfFocus: Both Monterey Jack and Zipper, who in the series had major roles but are mostly background characters here.
74	* PantslessMalesFullyDressedFemales:
75	** While ''CDRR'' plays this straight in general, Gadget ends up spending a large part of the story wearing nothing but a black turtleneck. In fact, it was Chip who wears the turtleneck first but gives it to Gadget after rescuing her from the lab clothesless so she can cover herself. He actually doesn't have to, see NonHumansLackAttributes.
76	** On the other hand, Foxglove, who doesn't wear anything in the show, is now fully clothed ([[BarefootCartoonAnimal except for shoes]]). Of course, her wings are still free.
77	* PoliceAreUseless: To be expected in ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' FanFic, but the FBI team that raided Nimnul's lab in the {{Flashback}} was [[AvertedTrope quite efficient]], as are police forces later on in the story.
78	* RelationshipUpgrade: Chip and Gadget finally upgrade their relationship to OfficialCouple. While Dale and Foxglove aren't quite as overt, it's indicated they're firmly together by the time the story begins.
79	* RightOnTheTick: The mind control chip makes [[spoiler:Gadget go and kill a leader]] at 9 o'clock unless [[spoiler:she]] is sedated well enough. The Rangers experience this behavior first hand the morning after the rescue.
80	* RunningGag: In one early scene Gadget accidentally fires one of her plunger guns while doing maintenance, and the plunger comes down on Monty's head. During [[spoiler:Gadget's memorial]] Monty himself tells the story to others, drawing a big laugh out of his audience. Later, ''Sparky'' is messing around with a plunger gun when it goes off...and the plunger comes down on Monty's head.
81	* SheCleansUpNicely: Gadget is wearing a dress and a new hairdo when she comes to take Chip home; mind you she has been wearing dresses in the show for disguise purposes only.
82	* ShoutOut:
83	** The First Daughter shares her first name with Creator/TressMacNeille (voice of both Chip and Gadget on the series).
84	** And then there are Tress's [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]] plush, a poison [[GeniusBonus named after]] [[http://www.rolandus.com/products/xp-80/ the Roland music workstation]] the author was craving back then...
85	** Roy Batty, the leader of the movie-addicted bat clan, is named after Creator/RutgerHauer's character, the sort of BigBad, in ''Film/BladeRunner''. The movie-addicted bat in question might indeed have watched ''Film/BladeRunner'' once too often and decided to adopt the name.
86	** Gadget felt the need to [[VideoGame/StarFox do a barrel roll.]]
87	** Dale shouts "[[Film/{{Titanic\|1997}} I'm king of the world!]]" when the Rangers are flying to UsefulNotes/{{Washington\|DC}} by bat. [[TakeThat Foxglove immediately chastises him.]]
88	** [[spoiler:Gadget mops the floor with the Rangers when her programming takes control]]. When Chip checks on Foxglove, she quips [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail "'Tis but a flesh wound."]]
89	** Tress has a ''[[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Powerpuff Girls]]'' T-shirt.
90	* ShrineToTheFallen: Gadget's room is left as-is and not repurposed.
91	* SpoilerOpening: The cover gives away several key scenes in advance.
92	* TakeThat: When Dale makes a ''Film/{{Titanic\|1997}}'' reference while flying on Foxglove's back, she immediately calls him out that it was stupid when Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio said it.
93	* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:Chip throws himself into the trajectory of the poisoned dart Ferrante fires at Gadget]].
94	* ThePowerOfLove: Gadget is [[spoiler:a mind-controlled assassin, captured by two killer rats, a poisoned dart is shot at her from a rifle]], and Chip comes to save her.
95	* TimeSkip: Number one occurs between [[spoiler:losing Gadget and finding a possible trail to her]], number two skips [[spoiler:Chip's healing time in Washington and Gadget's therapy at home]].
96	* TrojanHorse: Chip and Dale's cage, used to gain access to a government lab performing animal experimentation.

Context Webcomic / OfMiceAndMayhem