Line #1 Webcomic/SupermassiveBlackHoleAStar


1	[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smbhax_i_150_150_0007_da2.png]]
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3	''[[http://smbhax.com Supermassive Black Hole A*]]'' ("A star") is a sci-fi webcomic telling stories from a human civilization in the center of our galaxy, and more specifically, the covert search for a particularly powerful bit of LostTechnology, and the lives ruined by it. Here, energy and raw materials are abundant and life is cheap. Initially, the story mainly focused on Vero Plank--a former employee of Solvan Mars--who became rogue after an incident from radiation leak that claimed the life of his friend. Then the story changed when he met Selenis Zea and became her unwilling accomplice to her goals, which led them to an abandoned [[LostTechnology Perriman cloning facility]] that led to Selenis' demise except for the fact that she had a clone to be activated upon her death. The rest of the comics from that point became focused on Selenis and her continuing goal for perfect cloning technology.
4	''A*'' is in a cinematic widescreen format, and updates Monday through Friday.
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7	!!''Supermassive Black Hole A*'' contains examples of:
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9	* AntiHero: Selenis seem to fall between this, UnscrupulousHero, and VillainProtagonist.
10	* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: Selenis has been the protagonist of the comic since her [[spoiler: her 32nd clone's death from Plank]].
11	* ActionSurvivor: Vero Plank, our hero, is a simple tramp freighter crewman. But the instant shit got real, he TookALevelInBadass.
12	* ArbitraryWeaponRange: Apparently, the 'boomships' have a greater laser range than standard MegaCorp fighters. Possibly justified, because they are stated to be faster, and therefore more capable of dodging incoming laser fire, and therefore capable of engaging effectively at greater ranges than a slower, less dodgy opponent.
13	* ArtShift: The webcomic started out as a project for animated clips, thus explaining the first comics' [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness cartoonish art style]] before its transition to a more realistic style. Also, it also used pink, blue, and white as its main color.
14	* AssholeVictim: Thierry, one of Selenis' clients, caused problems for Selenis because he tried to skip out her payment for assassinating Kol Andiran. It took five episodes time for Selenis to root Thierry out from his hiding, where the head of Treban corporation revealed his location in exchange for a favor on an investigation of their issues. Once Selenis got a hand on Thierry, [[spoiler: she then shut off his brain and made him into her clone lackey.]]
15	* BlackAndGreyMorality: Since Episode 22, Selenis' antagonist became CorruptCorporateExecutive and his [[SpacePirates group]] despite her [[AntiHero character status]].
16	* BodyBackupDrive:
17	** Selenis has a cloning facility with dozens of bodies in reserve. However, the process is... [[CloneDegeneration inexact]].
18	** [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0027&d=0066 Chapter 27]] also used this with [[spoiler: Selenis overriding the clone activation to transfer her consciousness to the clone in her hideout when it was discovered by a squad of soldiers while she was stuck in orbit against an intruding ship.]]
19	* CasualInterstellarTravel: because the stars are much closer together at the galactic core than they are out in the vicinity of Earth, this is possible despite the lack of FasterThanLightTravel.
20	* CharacterDevelopment: Selenis seem to gain some positive aspects after [[spoiler: her time in a cult colony led by Hierophanta]] Episode 22.
21	* ClonesArePeopleToo:
22	** The entire [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0014&d=0002 Episode 14]] displayed Selenis' prototype clone [[spoiler: being terminated without remorse]] despite already displaying emotions and personality.
23	** Entire story arc involving [[spoiler: Luna who was cloned as an adolescent in order to create a more stable clone]], starting from this [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0033&d=0027 strip]].
24	* CloneDegeneration: The [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0006&d=0092 cloning technology]] had been less-than-stellar since all of the clones had short lifespan and imperfect memories that they are used for temporary cover-ups. Selenis Zea possessed [[LostTechnology Perriman cloning and memory transfer technology]] from [[spoiler: [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0032&d=0117 destroyed]] [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0032&d=0118 facility]] where she worked centuries ago]] that allowed her to become virtually immortal, but she suffered from few flaws from incomplete process--ranging from missing parts of fingernail to memory integration problems--which she had to [[spoiler: create a [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0011&d=0019 protocol]] on culling clones below the acceptable levels of growth, which led to [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0012&d=0013 early death]] of her 34th clone in Episode 12]] and had to resolve issues with her clones' defects centuries before the comic's timeline.
25	* ColonyDrop: A ship 10 times the size of a Galaxy-class freighter, moving at 10 percent light speed, hits a planet. Only those important enough to get on the few evacuation ships survive.
26	* CorporateWarfare: Occasionally happen in SMBHAX-verse.
27	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Solvan Mar gets the most screen time, but he's far from the only one.
28	* [[CrapsackWorld Crapsack Galaxy]]: As the comic's description says, " an area of space dominated by a gigantic black hole, where energy is abundant and life is cheap."
29	* CultColony: Ended up in this trope in [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0022&d=0001 Episode 22]], [[SaintlyChurch one]] led by [[GoodShepherd benevolent]] priestess and another [[CorruptChurch rival and possibly malevolent cult]] led by Selenis' [[SinisterMinister acquaintance]].
30	* DecoyProtagonist: It's been many chapters now since we last saw Vero Plank (not that Selenis is much of a protagonist to begin.)
31	* DrivenToSuicide:
32	** At the end of episode 20, [[spoiler: Selenis jump off from Treban's apartment to prevent her corporation from tracking her after she finished their works. Though she had a secret cloning facility that allows her to be brought back.]]
33	** Episode 35 also had [[spoiler: her commiting suicide again, which she crunched the poison implanted in her teeth when she was prevented from able to return to her ship after confronting Perriman over his remote infiltration into her console]].
34	** [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0036&d=0079 An episode]] later, [[spoiler: she detonated her entire secret base after a bloody confrontation with Perriman's Oswalt.]].
35	* EarthThatWas: Suggested throughout. There's a historical society dedicated to collecting artifacts and data about Earth. They even have something called a "tree." Whether the humans of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgr_A* Sagittarius A*]] come from ColonyShip or Perriman's cloning technology is debatable.
36	** Though Episode 35 revealed that not only the inhabitants in Sagittarius A* descended from the clones but [[spoiler: the creator, Perriman, is still alive and observing his creations, which he also snooped into Selenis' cloning programs out of curiosity]].
37	* ExpendableClone: ZigZaggedTrope. While Selenis' cloning system meant that she is willing taking high-risk missions [[spoiler: along with self-termination in case of her compromised status]], her cloning process's expense and imperfection meant that she had to account for the potential payout to cover her expenses whenever she chooses her assignment. [[spoiler: As of Episode 36, Perriman's discovery and attack on her cloning facility before its self-destruct sequence meant that her 39th iteration had to keep a low profile while focusing on reestablishing her hideout]].
38	* FanService: Selenis can be seen as this in swim suit, [[LatexSpaceSuit space suit]], or [[NakedOnRevival without clothes]].
39	** MsFanservice: The above-mentioned clothing usually gives the comic with consistent sex appeal whenever Selenis appears.
40	* FemmeFatale: Selenis, complete with seduction and moral flexibility.
41	* FullFrontalAssault: Selenis' newly activated clone, who recently came out naked from one of the vats, fight a squad of soldiers in this [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0027&d=0086 strip]].
42	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Chapter 25 ended with [[spoiler: the leader of pirates who took over the station later got mutinied by his own subordinates when Selenis leaked his information on giving a large portion of profits to Corporation that funded his operation.]]
43	* GenerationShip: Mela was colonized by a fleet of Seed Ships maintained by the crews for many generations and later supplemented with clones when they landed. Some of the ancient ships would dot across the planet, one of which was laid underneath the city of Knos.
44	* ImmortalityImmorality: Due to her [[BodyBackupDrive constant cloning]], the already-morally scrupulous Selenis is effectively an immortal.
45	* ImmortalProcreationClause: {{Justified}}, according to [[http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18883950&postcount=117 Ben Chamberlain's post]], since Selenis' pregnancy may complicate the cloning process.
46	* ImmortalitySeeker: Selenis's various research, artifact hunts,and covert assignments are the result of finding perfect cloning technology made by Perriman, who was believed to be the creator of humanity in the Core.
47	* LatexSpaceSuit[=/=]SensualSpandex: Most of her appearance in space suit is form fitting enough to see her curves.
48	* {{Lightworlder}}: JustifiedTrope due to the majority of habitable areas in the settings are low-gravity and those coming from few areas with higher gravity can jump higher. According to WordOfGod, Selenis had to keep in shape for adaptation to both Earth-like and low gravity settings.
49	* LostTechnology: Perriman's 'perfected' cloning technology.
50	* MegaCorp: Many, and powerful. Conventional government has been mentioned only once, and only in passing.
51	* NakedOnRevival: The activation of Selenis' clone upon her death(s) can result in this due to being formed in vats. [[spoiler: FullFrontalAssault ensues when she have to override the command to fight off a squad in this [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0027&d=0086 strip]]]]
52	* NeuralImplanting: Selenis' brain contained implants that transfer her previous memories to another clone after her death. This effectively made her "immortal" as she is basically a same person in a series of bodies. Furthermore, she can also[[spoiler: override the on-death command to activate a clone though only used as a last resort due to side effects]].
53	* [[OlderThanTheyLook Older Than She Look]]: Thanks to her using [[{{Body Backup Drive}} cloning technology]] for decades, if not centuries, she looked younger than appearance. Lampshaded in [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0022&d=0012 this comic]].
54	** Really700YearsOld: How old she would be if her original form had lived beyond the time of [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0014 this comic]] without cloning technology or natural death. [[spoiler: Even [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0030&d=0016 "her"]] [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0030&d=0017 previous]] [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0030&d=0018 visits]] to Pearl up to a century hadn't gone unnoticed by the current point.]] As of [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0032&d=0115 Episode 32]], [[spoiler: she would have been old enough to operate a functioning Perriman technology, which was lost by the comic's present time]].
55	* PleasurePlanet: The Pearl in [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0028&d=0002 Episode 22]] provided entertainment based on historical periods, including MedievalEuropeanFantasy with an animatronic dragon and [[Main/TheRoaringTwenties 1920's Americana]].
56	* PutOnABus: Plank, since the end of Episode 10 after shooting Selenis (who later took over most of the comics' plot) in the cloning facility.
57	* ShaggyDogStory: Thanks to her [[RespawnPoint cloning that revived her after each death]], she experienced fruitless and fatal setbacks multiple times, let alone ending her story.
58	** Episode 11 and 12, the result from Selenis' assault on Solvan Mars' facility [[spoiler: ended in her death, which the prompt culling of her 34th clone--who fell victim to the system's protocol on culling "imperfect" clones for Selenis' long-term survival--and the activation of her 35th clone further contributed her expense that sidetracked her infiltration plan for the location of Perriman's technology for 6 episodes.]]
59	** Episode 17: [[spoiler: Selenis' search for cloning technology on the planet's turned fruitless when the database isn't available on its archive and ended with the facility's [[NukeEm nuclear bombardment]].]]
60	* StealthInSpace: Fusion engines leave a radiation trail that can be easily tracked, while chemical engines do not.
61	* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Distances in the core are much smaller, as noted above, but at best that would mean a journey of years between stars instead of millennia, and definitely not the days depicted.
62	* SpacePirates: Episode 24 had a group of them led by a CorruptCorporateExecutive who recently captured a space station with Selenis' aid. [[spoiler: see HoistByHisOwnPetard for its end]].
63	* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: Episode 36 ended with Selenis activating her base to self-destruct to destroy all of Oswalt's soldiers along with herself to safeguard her last clone as she was launched on a rocket to a safe place.]]
64	* ThereAreNoGoodExecutives: There ''[[SuspiciouslySpecificTense was]]'' one.
65	* VaporWear: Whenever Selenis wears [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0017&d=0084 skin]]-[[http://smbhax.com/?e=0023&d=0018 tight]] [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0026&d=0021 outfit]], which she shows her naked body beneath her LatexSpaceSuit to the point where the outlines of her bare feet can be seen.
66	* WeCanRuleTogether: Selenis tried this trope with Vero in this [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0010&d=0103 strip]] when both of them were trapped in Perriman's cloning facility by an armed starship, [[spoiler: which ended with her [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0010&d=0151 death]] and a Cliffhanger on [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0010&d=0152 Vero's indecision]] to whether he should clone himself or not.]]
67	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: This [[http://smbhax.com/?e=0014&d=0013 comic]] subverted this trope, especially the somber mood of Selenis' clone over her realization as a copy of her creator and [[spoiler: her termination]].
68	* WhiteHairBlackHeart: [[FemmeFatale Selenis Zea]], further emphasized by the minimal colors of the comic that made her hair white.

Context Webcomic / SupermassiveBlackHoleAStar