| 1 | %% Please do not add examples without proper context. |
| 2 | |
| 3 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/swat_kats_upgrade.png]] |
| 4 | [[caption-width-right:350:That's right, they ''are'' that badass.]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ->''"Let's kick some tail!"'' |
| 7 | |
| 8 | ->'''''"Bingo!"''''' |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ''SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron'' (or simply ''SWAT Kats'') was one of the [[DarkerAndEdgier darkest and edgiest]] animated shows to come out of Creator/HannaBarbera at the peak of UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | The cartoon was created by Christian and Yvon Tremblay, two brothers from UsefulNotes/{{Montreal}}. It ran on Creator/{{TBS}} and in syndication from 1993 to 1995, alongside ''WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs'', and it also occasionally airs on Creator/CartoonNetwork's sister network Creator/{{Boomerang}}. There were a total of 23 original half-hours (with 2 of them having 2 segments) over two seasons, with one special ClipShow episode capping the series off. The story takes place in "[[CityOfAdventure Megakat City]]", which is inhabited by [[TalkingAnimal Anthromorphic Kats]], and chronicles the adventures of two BadassNormal {{Superhero}} [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friends]] who fight [[SuperVillain super-crime]] under [[SecretIdentity secret identities]]. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | [[BoisterousBruiser Chance "T-Bone" Furlong]] and [[BadassBookworm Jake "Razor" Clawson]] were once two humble officers of the Enforcers, teaming up as the [[AcePilot pilot]] and [[GuyInBack Radar Intercept Officer]] of a fighter jet in the Enforcers' Air Force Squadron. Until they accidentally destroyed their command headquarters and caused sizeable amounts of damage while in pursuit of a criminal. Their former superior, [[JerkAss Commander Ulysses Feral]], stuck them in long-term community service in a military junkyard until Chance and Jake managed to pay off their debt... which, considering their salaries, was likely to be never (also, never mind that [[OnlyICanKillHim the incident was Feral's fault in the first place]]). |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Working at the salvage yard, Jake and Chance realize that people -- including the Enforcers -- throw a lot of perfectly useable stuff away. Using their mechanic skills, they put discarded military equipment and weapons to their own personal use, building a [[CoolPlane high-tech fighter-jet]] named the ''[=TurboKat=]'' (which bears a striking resemblance to the U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat, except with three engines and VTOL capabilities). This way, they get back in the air and fight the numerous villains that are plaguing the city. Complete with [[CustomUniform new uniforms]], [[CoolMask masks]], [[HomemadeInventions cool gadgets]], [[CodeName codenames]], an ElaborateUndergroundBase, and occasional help from allies (like Deputy Mayor [[{{Moe}} Callie Briggs]] and Feral's niece [[ActionGirl Felina]]), they kick super-villain tail and generally do it with style. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | The RoguesGallery includes, but is not limited to: the possibly supernatural criminal mastermind [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Dark Kat]], the undead chronomancer [[TimeTravel Pastmaster]], mutated sociopathic Kat-turned-snake [[MadScientist Doctor Viper]], and [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot married robotic gangsters]] Mac and Molly Mange (better known as the Metallikats). |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Episodes of the show followed a one-shot format, featuring completely self-contained stories and certain overarching themes and villains. The {{Status Quo|IsGod}}, however, ''does'' change every now and then, and only very few of the bad guys get JokerImmunity. On occasion, if the bad guy pushes them too far, our heroes ''will'' shoot to kill. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | The series' attempts at bigger action came too soon for many people, and the series took criticism for its violent content. Despite a successful first season resulting in a huge AnimationBump with a DarkerAndEdgier visual style (sometimes accompanied by an [[OffModel inconsistent]] {{Animesque}} ArtShift, depending on who animated which episode), the show was cancelled close to the end of its second season with the final three episodes left unfinished. The show has a very strong cult following that continues to this day, and [=DVDs=] are available from the Warner Archive program. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Although the series was short-lived, it got an official game on the SNES in August 1995. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | On July 23, 2015, the Tremblays began a Website/{{Kickstarter}} [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1820796125/swat-kats-revolution campaign]] to help fund a SequelSeries called ''SWAT Kats: Revolution''. Their initial goal was $50,000. When the campaign ended a month later, they'd collected $141,500 in pledges from 2,014 backers, which meant that we should've seen at least a two-minute teaser (among other materials) for the new show. In 2022, after nearly five years of DevelopmentHell, the series reboot has been picked up by India-based Toonz Media Group (India being [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff one of the countries with the biggest fanbase for the show]]). |
| 27 | ---- |
| 28 | !!"Let's kick some tropes!" |
| 29 | * AbnormalAmmo: 99.9% of the weapons carried on the [=TurboKat=], sometimes referred to as [[MonsterOfTheWeek Missile of the Week]]. |
| 30 | ** In fact, the [=TurboKat=] rarely ever uses ''normal'' missiles; there's even a button on Razor's control panel marked "[[LampshadeHanging Plain Old Missile]]". |
| 31 | ** This actually became a plot point in "Razor's Edge", where Razor believes he blew up a warehouse and injured two innocent bystanders. The first indication that the whole thing is a set-up is that the missiles were non lethal, yet the warehouse clearly blew up. |
| 32 | ** [[https://swatkats.info/encyclopedia/type/swat-kats-equipment Here's]] a list of all the different missiles and such used by the [=TurboKat=] over the course of the series. |
| 33 | * AbortedArc: The first episode implied a bit of a LoveTriangle with Chance crushing on Callie who was implied to have a thing for Jake who didn't seem to notice. This was never brought up again, as the SWAT Kats acted professionally with Callie both in and out of uniform. This [[invoked]] [[WhatCouldHaveBeen would've]] been brought up again in "Succubus!"; the script has Callie taking Jake to the opera, while T-Bone and Felina (who were developing a relationship, as seen in "Razor's Edge") try to stop the titular monster together. However, the episode was never finished due to the series being canceled. |
| 34 | %%* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: How Dr. Viper gets around town. |
| 35 | %%* AcePilot: T-Bone, with Razor as his GuyInBack. |
| 36 | * AcousticLicense: Used quite a bit. Sometimes they would avert it, by having aircraft-to-aircraft conversations take place via radio or video comms channels, but oftentimes people would just say things, and the SWAT Kats would be able to somehow hear them inside their active supersonic jet. Really, the noise from the Turbokat was just severely played down or outright eliminated in a lot of circumstances, otherwise talking and sound effects would just be blared out by engine noise. |
| 37 | * ActionGirl: Felina Feral, who was introduced in the second season to fill this role. Callie has her moments (especially in the first season), but she's more of an ActionSurvivor. |
| 38 | %%* AIIsACrapshoot: Averted with Cybertron, played straight with [[spoiler:Zed.]] |
| 39 | %%* AirborneAircraftCarrier: Featured twice, in differing forms: in "Cry Turmoil" and "When Strikes Mutilor". |
| 40 | %%* AirVentPassageway: In "Destructive Nature". |
| 41 | %%* AlienInvasion: "The Ci-Kat-A", "When Strikes Mutilor". |
| 42 | * AlienSky: In most episodes, the sky during the daytime is green. It's also been yellow several times, red at least twice, and is more purple than black at night. One of the only times it was ever actually blue was in "Chaos in Crystal", because Shard was green and would've likely blended into the usual green sky too much. |
| 43 | * AllThereInTheManual: Promotional material made it clear that Dark Kat was actually a judge in Megakat City, who used his position to help protect his criminal side job. This was never explored in the series. For that matter it was never even ''mentioned''. The only real connection this has to be found is that his coat does look like a judge's robe. Very little was known about Dark Kat at all save for his status as a criminal mastermind, and his penchant for using odd, demonic looking hench-things he called Creeplings. |
| 44 | * AllUpToYou: Done with Cybertron in "The Deadly Pyramid". SWAT Kats and The Enforcers are elsewhere, and he is forced to defend Callie from two giant mummies all by himself. |
| 45 | * AlmightyJanitor: Chance and Jake work for the scrapyard but are easily the best mechanics in the city, able to use discarded Enforcers tech to build gadgets to fight crime with. |
| 46 | * AmazonBrigade: Turmoil's gang, which may or may not have been a ShoutOut to [[ComicStrip/ThePhantom Sala and her Sky Pirates]], is only composed of women. Turmoil herself is most definitely a ShoutOut to [[Franchise/StreetFighter M.Bison]]. |
| 47 | * AnimalFacialHair: |
| 48 | ** Mayor Manx has white muttonchops. |
| 49 | ** Commander Feral has what appear to be waxed whiskers styled like a mustache. |
| 50 | ** Professor Hackle has the "muzzle beard" kind, wrapping around to encompass his jawline and cheek fur, and is colored white like his hair (his actual fur is kind of grayish tan). |
| 51 | ** Katscratch in "The Metallikats" has the "waxed whiskers" style similar to Feral. |
| 52 | ** Dr. Konway in "Mutation City" has very scruffy fur along his jawline suggestive of a beard, but no actual separate facial hair. |
| 53 | ** Tiger Conklin in "Caverns of Horror" has black stripes along his jawline suggesting a beard (his actual hair is red). |
| 54 | ** Beards: Morbulus in "The Giant Bacteria" has a neatly-trimmed reddish brown beard and the blacksmith in "Bride of the Pastmaster" has a bushy, grayish black beard. |
| 55 | ** Mustaches: Warden Meece in "Chaos in Crystal," the MASA reactor guard who is first to get turned in "The Ci-Kat-A," the Megakat Super Conductors guard in "Razor's Edge," the jumbo jet pilot in "Cry Turmoil," the islander in "Volcanus Erupts!" and Emil in "The Origin of Dr. Viper." |
| 56 | ** In the storyboards for "Enter the Madkat," the Enforcer sergeant in that episode (identified as "Sergeant #2") is just the main sergeant, Sergeant Talon, with a neatly-trimmed pencil-thin mustache; in the finished episode, he is given a character design completely different from Talon's and has no mustache. |
| 57 | %%* AnimalSuperheroes: Of course. |
| 58 | * AnimationBump: Season 2. Not only was the animation of much better quality with higher-contrast shading and increased reflective detail, the style more closely matched the tone and feel of the series. Somewhat similarly, four of the episodes in the first season[[labelnote:list]]"The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice", "Night of the Dark Kat", "Metal Urgency" and "Katastrophe"[[/labelnote]] clearly had a lot more money spent on them than the others, with more detail and smoother animation. The same company (Creator/MookDLE) went on to animate the entire second season. |
| 59 | * {{Animesque}}: Season 2 appears to have taken some eastern influences with its animation. Ironically this was before anime had become more mainstream down in the west. Being one of the earlier examples of this trope. |
| 60 | %%* ArtifactOfDoom: The Pastmaster's TimeTravel watch and Tome of Time spellbook ("The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice"), and the Jeweled Headdress of Katchu Piccu in "The Deadly Pyramid". |
| 61 | * AssholeVictim: |
| 62 | ** In "The Giant Bacteria", Morbilus was far from a decent person, but being transformed into a giant mindless BlobMonster which is then destroyed by the heroes is a brutal way for anyone to go.[[note]][[DramaticIrony Especially since they never found out it was him]].[[/note]] |
| 63 | ** In "Chaos in Crystal", Warden Cyrus Meece has little regard for the well-being of the prisoners who work in his mines -- one of whom causes his KarmicDeath. |
| 64 | * AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Happens about six times every five seconds. There's the Megasaurus Rex, The Giant Bacteria, The Giant Mummy, The Cyclops in "Bride Of The Pastmaster", Rex Shard the Crystal Giant, The Madkat, The Mutation City Monsters (and a giant Dr. Viper himself), The Giant frikkin' ''alien mothership'', Dark Kat's Giant Black Widow, Turmoil's Giant Airship, The Giant Mutated Scorpions, Volcanus, and that's not even mentioning the entire junkyard of giant robots. Whew. |
| 65 | * AttackPatternAlpha: In the event they're being followed by a heat-seeking missile, the SWAT Kats have "Plan Z" - which involves shutting down the engines ''in midair'' and launching a decoy missile to draw the heat-seeker off. Understandably, Razor hates this plan. |
| 66 | %%* AwesomeButImpractical: Most of the customized weapons in Razor's arsenal. |
| 67 | %%* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:The Metallikats (twice!) and Dr. Viper. Despite being a ghost, the Red Lynx probably qualifies as well.]] |
| 68 | %%* BadassBookworm: Razor. |
| 69 | * BadassLongcoat: Feral, especially after he [[spoiler:kills the Metallikats]]. Hard Drive also gives off a badass vibe (putting the coat on gives him a ''spiked mohawk'', for corn's sake), even if he doesn't do much with it. |
| 70 | * BadassNormal: A couple of above normal non-powered former air force fighter pilots turned vigilante duo go toe to toe with all manner of [[PowerUpgradingDeformation Deranged Mutant Menaces]], [[KillerRobot Bionic Gangsters]], [[AliensAreBastards Extraterrestrial Plunderers and Parasites]], [[DiabolicalMastermind Deathly Unscrupulous Crime Lords]] and much much more! all of which is really just the tip of the iceberg in fact. |
| 71 | * BadassBystander: The manager of the Megakat Mint in "Unlikely Alloys." He is faced with two armed, murderous gangster-bots... and he tries to use himself as a shield to prevent them from getting into the vault. He may be TooDumbToLive, but the bravery of fools is still bravery, and he probably saved the life of the guy Mac picked up, because in turning to deal with the manager, Mac puts the other guy down and forgets about him. |
| 72 | %%* {{Badbutt}}: Razor and T-Bone are borderline cases, but also sprinkled liberally throughout the show itself. |
| 73 | %%* BadFuture: The [[IronicEpisodeTitle oh-so-ironically-named]] "A Bright And Shiny Future". |
| 74 | * BambooTechnology: Apparently, all-natural volcanic gas works just fine for jet fuel. |
| 75 | * BarefootCartoonAnimal: T-Bone and Razor in their pilot suits (but ''not'' in their civilian clothes, curiously enough), as well as Dark Kat and Dr. Viper (who's also a HalfDressedCartoonAnimal). Proven useful when the SWAT Kats are able to use their foot claws easily. Otherwise averted -- the rest of the characters are {{Fully Dressed Cartoon Animal}}s. |
| 76 | * BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: Averted for the most part. When the [=TurboKat=] heads out into space – or when the heroes are engaged in some high-altitude dogfighting – the SWAT Kats are show wearing oxygen masks. Except when they’re not. Presumably the [=TurboKat=] cockpit has some level of artificial atmosphere but since the masks have a tendency to appear and disappear between shots, especially in the first few episodes, it’s hard to tell. |
| 77 | * BedlamHouse: The Megakat Asylum for the Insane and Katatonic. The orderlies are [[OrderliesAreCreeps jerks]], it's got a rusty gate that squeaks loudly when opened and lightning [[DramaticThunder flashes ominously]] in the background. |
| 78 | * {{BFG}}: Appears here and there in the series, mostly used by the villains. The SWAT Kats themselves use one to make a dramatic entrance in "Night Of The Dark Kat"; they also modified the [=TurboKat=]'s nosecone to fire a "mega-laser" one time. |
| 79 | * BigBadEnsemble: Dark Kat, Dr. Viper, the Metallikats and the Pastmaster. These villains made repeated appearances and were treated as serious threats each time. Each also tends to have something that makes them stand-out from the one-off villains. (Dark Kat, for example, played a role in the heroes' origin.) |
| 80 | %%* BigDamnHeroes: Guess who? Feral and Felina also get this honor sometimes. |
| 81 | %%* BigGuyLittleGuy: Chance and Jake, somewhat, while Burke and Murray play this trope straight. |
| 82 | * BigNo: |
| 83 | ** Callie in "Night of the Dark Kat", while putting Megakat City's money to good use by using a bag of cash to bring down Dark Kat. |
| 84 | ** Some of the villains (including Dark Kat and the Pastmaster) also do this when defeated by the SWAT Kats. |
| 85 | ** A pretty disturbing one is given by Morbulus while he's transforming in "The Giant Bacteria." Dr. Viper, the one mutating him, counters with a BigYes |
| 86 | * BlankWhiteEyes: Many members of the RoguesGallery have them. So do the SWAT Kats, but only when they're in uniform. |
| 87 | %%* BlatantLies: "The ENFORCERS can handle this!" |
| 88 | * BloodlessCarnage: Even though characters get beaten to hell and back all the time, there's practically never any blood. On the plus side, there are explosions that blow up entire characters, though. |
| 89 | ** One of the few times we see blood is when T-Bone gets bit by a mutant leech. |
| 90 | * BodyguardBabes: Turmoil's army is only female. |
| 91 | %%* BodyHorror: What happens to Morbulus in "The Giant Bacteria", as well as the fate of anyone bitten by the alien bugs in "The Ci-Kat-A". |
| 92 | * BonesDoNotBelongThere: The cat skeletons in the graveyard have cat ears. |
| 93 | * BotanicalAbomination: The recurring villain Doctor Viper began as an assistant botantist before turning evil. Viper routinely creates giant plant-monsters in his quest to overrun Megakat City, plus a corps of smaller plant-mooks to deal with intruders. One such abomination is a BlobMonster that incubates spores, which when loosed, would cause the city to be ReclaimedByNature, tangled in vines and ivy and moss galore. Another abomination guarded the entrance to the office tower that Viper had commandeered; this plant-creature kept a corps of soldiers at bay. |
| 94 | * BrickJoke: "The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats" opens with our heroes making fun of Commander Feral by [[DonutMessWithACop claiming that he's flying his helicopter to a donut shop]]. And sure enough, in the end Feral reappears with a donut and a cup of coffee, which the SWAT Kats make him spill. |
| 95 | * BriefcaseBlaster: In "The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats", the evil MirrorUniverse version of Callie carries a gas gun in her briefcase. |
| 96 | * BusFullOfInnocents: The motorman and passengers of a three-car subway train are eaten in "The Giant Bacteria." A ''literal'' bus full of innocents gets attacked by the giant mummies in "The Deadly Pyramid." Although one of the mummies crushes the bus, many (perhaps all) of the passengers (and presumably the driver) can be seen running away before this happens in a [[FreezeFrameBonus blink-and-you'll-miss it]] P.O.V. shot of Razor targeting one of the mummies. |
| 97 | %%* CapeBusters: The Enforcers on occasion. |
| 98 | * CardboardPrison: Even if one of the villains is jailed, they'll quickly be back on the street. The SNES game has fun with this in its ending, showing the various defeated villains rounded up and jailed, only for all of them to immediately break out as a despondent Feral hangs his head in shame. |
| 99 | * CassandraTruth: A PlotPoint in "The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats". Our heroes are thrust into a MirrorUniverse where their {{Evil Twin}}s, along with the local equivalents of Callie (also evil here) and Dark Kat, are plotting to destroy Enforcer Headquarters. They repeatedly try to warn that world's Commanderal Feral about all this, but he refuses to listen until he sees both versions of the Turbo Kat in the sky together. |
| 100 | * CatchPhrase: |
| 101 | ** Razor's "Bingo"! |
| 102 | ** "'''BRING ME CHOPPER BACKUP!'''" |
| 103 | ** "SWAT KATS!! COME IN!" |
| 104 | *** "Yes, Miss Briggs?" |
| 105 | ** "The ENFORCERS can handle this!" |
| 106 | *** Hilariously lampshaded in the MirrorUniverse episode "The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats" when Mirror!Feral uses the same phrase: "Now there's a statement that ''[[InSpiteOfANail transcends dimensions]]!''" |
| 107 | ** The SNES game adds "Gotcha!" as a catch phrase for T-Bone, so T-Bone can shout something after beating a boss if the player is playing as T-Bone (if the player is playing as Razor, Razor uses the "Bingo!" catch phrase from the show). |
| 108 | * CatFolk: Quite nearly every single character is an anthropomorphic cat. |
| 109 | * CatNinja: Dark Kat has a few as {{Mooks}} in "Razor's Edge". However, they really only get one scene showcasing their martial arts skills when they attack a security guard. They have the same purple fur as their master, and wear goggles and [[GasMaskMook gas masks]]. |
| 110 | * CatsHaveNineLives: Referenced several times throughout the series, mainly in characters mentioning that criminals are serving [[LongerThanLifeSentence nine-life sentences]]. |
| 111 | %%* TheCavalryArrivesLate: Seems to be part of the Enforcers' M.O. |
| 112 | * ChainsawGood: The Shredder Missiles from "The Deadly Pyramid". |
| 113 | %%* ChaseScene: At least once an episode. |
| 114 | %%* ChekhovsGun: The chili pepper in "The Wrath of Dark Kat". |
| 115 | * TheChosenOne: In "Bride of the Pastmaster", Queen Callista believes Razor to be this. Later subverted when she admits that there were not one, but ''two'' heroes, so it becomes more of a case of a Chosen ''Two''. |
| 116 | %%* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Whenever the different villains team-up, this is almost always the case. |
| 117 | %%* CityOfAdventure: Megakat City. |
| 118 | * ClarkKenting: The SWAT Kats used to work for Feral, but he can't figure out their identities. This in spite of the fact that the SWAT Kats have the same body types as Chance and Jake, and they're the pilot and gunner of a fighter jet... like Chance and Jake. |
| 119 | %%* ClearMyName: "Night of the Dark Kat". Also [[spoiler:"Razor's Edge"]], even though it's actually T-Bone and Felina who go looking for answers. |
| 120 | %%* ClipShow: "SWAT Kats--A Special Report". |
| 121 | * ClockOfPower: The Pastmaster has a stopwatch on a chain around his neck, with which he summons skeletons from their graves to battle the Enforcers while he makes his escape. It's not until he gets his paws on the Tome of Time that he's able to summon a dinosaur from the distant past, and send the Turbokat into the Cretaceous period. |
| 122 | * CodeName: "T-Bone" for Chance and "Razor" for Jake. |
| 123 | %%* TheCommissionerGordon: Callie Briggs. |
| 124 | * ConfidenceSabotage: In "Razor's Edge", Dark Kat sets up an elaborate BatmanGambit in which two of Razor's missiles hit a building and seemingly cause it to explode and injure an elderly couple. This causes Razor to lose his self confidence and be reluctant to fire missiles, which makes him a danger to himself and T-Bone. Later on, T-Bone and Felina discover that Dark Kat had rigged the building to explode. Meanwhile, Razor, while visiting the couple in the hospital, discovers that they're actually criminals hired by Dark Kat to pretend they were injured. Upon realizing the truth, Razor regains his edge and he and T-Bone stop Dark Kat's giant black widow robot. |
| 125 | %%* ConvectionSchmonvection: Flying around inside a volcano...right above the lava... piece of cake! |
| 126 | * ConveyorBeltODoom: Dark Kat tries to kill the heroes with one in "Night of the Dark Kat". |
| 127 | * CoolBoat: In "Mutation City", T-Bone and Razor take to the waters of a flooded section of Megakat City with a pair of Jet Skis launched in a similar manner to their Cyclotrons. |
| 128 | %%* CoolBike: The Cyclotron and the [=SandKat=]. |
| 129 | %%* CoolGarage: The Hangar. |
| 130 | * CoolMask: The SWAT Kats' mask covers the entire top of the head and face, and is usually accompanied by a helmet for added protection. |
| 131 | * CoolPlane: The [=TurboKat=]. Even more so because it's based (physically, anyway) on the already cool real-life F-14 Tomcat (of ''Film/TopGun'' fame), with the level of tech turned up to eleven. The damn thing can HOVER like a Harrier jumpjet, after all. Even the [[VideoGame/AceCombat Falken and Wyvern]] could legitimately get jealous. |
| 132 | %%* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Tiger Conklin from "Caverns Of Horror". |
| 133 | * CoveredInGunge: In "The Ci-Kat-A," Manx, Mr. Young and their chauffeur all get splashed by slimy alien innards after the queen Ci-Kat-A is crushed by a falling section of building right in front of them. |
| 134 | * CrazyEnoughToWork: A CatchPhrase of sorts for Razor. |
| 135 | %%* CrazyPrepared: You name it, the SWAT Kats have a gadget/mod for it. |
| 136 | * CutLexLuthorACheck: Notable in that this trope is in effect on both sides of the law. The Kats' Rogues Gallery has its share of insane geniuses, but its also worth pointing out that all of the Kats' gadgets were built out of ''junkyard trash''. '''Including the high-performance jet'''. |
| 137 | %%* CyberPunk: Hard Drive, the "technology pirate". |
| 138 | %%* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: Mac and Molly Mange. |
| 139 | * DamselInDistress: Callie sometimes, although she never goes down without a fight. Also Ann Gora once in "Caverns Of Horror". |
| 140 | * DangerousWindows: Numerous times, but most memorably when a bacteria monster smashes its hand through the "indestructible" lab window in "The Giant Bacteria" while Callie and Dr. Zyme are standing right by it. |
| 141 | * DarkerAndEdgier: The show was more violent than most action cartoons of the era. "The Giant Bacteria" has the highest number of on-screen deaths in a single episode (see BusFullOfInnocents above). This also marks the beginning of T-Bone & Razor's "Kill if everything else fails" policy. Quite a punch, consider this was the show's first completed episode (it was second in broadcast order). |
| 142 | %%* DatingCatwoman: T-Bone's relationship with Turmoil. |
| 143 | * DeadHandShot: |
| 144 | ** When Katscratch gets killed in "The Metallikats," we see his burned, smoking hand poking out from behind a crate. Nevermind they'd already shown him get killed almost entirely onscreen, so the DeadHandShot is rather like shutting the barn door ''after'' the horses have already left. |
| 145 | ** It's used for the security guard in "Razor's Edge." We see his hand sticking out from underneath the boxes, twitching, and then it slowly inches over to press an alarm before falling limply to the floor. |
| 146 | * DeathBySecretIdentity: In "Metal Urgency", the Metallikats learn the [=SWAT=] Kats true identities. However, despite wanting to know who they were, Commander Feral refuses to make a deal with the Metallikats and deactivates them. It's then subverted when the Metallikats are brought back in future episodes, [[LaserGuidedAmnesia but don't remember the SWAT Kats identities]]. |
| 147 | %%* DeathTrap: "Night Of The Dark Kat". |
| 148 | * DepravedDentist: "The Ghost Pilot" has a scene where Chance watches a ''Scaredy-Kat'' cartoon where Scaredy is menaced by a cackling dentist with a huge drill. |
| 149 | * DestinationDefenestration: |
| 150 | ** The Metallikats do this to Callie when she reveals that she was the one who denied their parole. [[spoiler:Good thing the SWAT Kats were there for one of their BigDamnHeroes moments...]] |
| 151 | ** Dr. Viper and Dr. Harley Street have also both been knocked out of windows. |
| 152 | * DestructiveSavior: Commander Feral often accuses the SWAT Kats of being this, and he [[JerkassHasAPoint isn't entirely wrong]], as they do often tend to cause as much destruction as their enemies, sometimes by accident, sometimes by intentionally destroying something to stop the villain(s). They're very much "ends justify the means" heroes. Dark Kat uses this against them in "Razor's Edge" and frames them for accidentally hurting an elderly couple in an effort to turn the public against them and make them lose their confidence. He's ''almost'' successful. |
| 153 | %%* TheDeterminator: Both SWAT Kats. |
| 154 | %%** Also Feral. |
| 155 | %%* DieHardOnAnX: "Destructive Nature" is ''Film/DieHard'' with {{Man Eating Plant}}s. |
| 156 | * DirtyCoward: |
| 157 | ** Lt. Steel, especially in "The Wrath of Dark Kat". Despite making it plain he wants to be commander of the Enforcers and even betraying Feral to get it, when actually put in the thick of the action, he chickens out and hides. He won't even save his ''own'' hide by shooting back! |
| 158 | ** Mayor Manx, who often lacks even ''moral'' courage, as he is quick to try and offer deals to the villains if it'll spare him/make his life easier. And somewhat more nefariously, in "The Giant Bacteria", when he and Callie are being chased, he shoves her off of a rescue ladder so he can climb up ahead of her. |
| 159 | ** Randall the photographer in "The Deadly Pyramid" isn't just TooDumbToLive, rushing headlong into the pyramid to try and get a picture of the Pastmaster, but when chased out by the giant mummies, he steals the only Jeep and drives off, abandoning Dr. Sinian and her assistant Henson. |
| 160 | %%* TheDocumentary: "SWAT Kats--A Special Report". |
| 161 | %%* DontCelebrateJustYet: From "The Metallikats", when T-Bone and Razor pull a "Plan Z". {{Lampshaded}} with "We're not out of the woods yet." |
| 162 | * DrillTank: The [=TurboMole=] from "Caverns of Horror". |
| 163 | %%* DrivesLikeCrazy: Mac Mange and T-Bone. |
| 164 | * DrowningPit: Mutilor tries to trap the SWAT Kats in one. It doesn't work. |
| 165 | * DubNameChange: The Hindi dub of the show, for UsefulNotes/{{India}}n audiences, had some hilarious name changes. Chance and Jake became Bholu and Billu (child-like, innocent nicknames), while T-Bone and Razor became Bade Meow (Big Meow) and Chote Meow (Small Meow) respectively, a play on a ''Film/{{Bad Boys|1995}}''-inspired UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} film called ''Bade Miyan Chote Mian''. The Pastmaster was called something that meant King of Demons. |
| 166 | %%* EarthShatteringKaboom: Mutilor attempts to do this after he's defeated. [[spoiler:It doesn't work.]] |
| 167 | * EasyLogistics: Unless the SWAT Kats' base was a pre-built base lying forgotten under the junkyard (and given the world they live in, that might not be a bad guess), that is an ''astounding'' amount of work for only ''two people'' using what equipment they can salvage in the junkyard. Even if it's a military-grade junkyard with lots of good stuff, that still means they have to build and keep maintaining their equipment from scratch. Only RuleOfCool can possibly justify how two people do it themselves and still manage to have free time to work, sleep, eat, chill out, train, and go on missions. |
| 168 | * EcoTerrorist: The Kats pursue and shoot down an eco-terrorist named Morbulus, who likes to blow up refineries, even though that's where he'd get his jet fuel from. Morbulus escapes capture, only to cross paths with Doctor Viper, who transmutes him into a four-eyed blob monster. |
| 169 | %%* ElaborateUndergroundBase: The Hangar. |
| 170 | %%* EmergencyTransformation: The origin of the Metallikats. |
| 171 | * EnemyMine: |
| 172 | ** A villainous example by the end of "Katastrophe". Though their [[LegionOfDoom alliance]] has fallen apart, Dark Kat, Dr. Viper and the Metallikats still have one thing in common: the SWAT Kats. |
| 173 | -->"Choose now, my villainous friends! Who do you hate more - me or the SWAT Kats?!" |
| 174 | ** Done briefly in "Unlikely Alloys" when Molly teams up with the SWAT Kats and Dr. Greenbox after [[spoiler:her husband, Mac, gets absorbed by Zed]]. |
| 175 | * EnemyRisingBehind: Done at the beginning of "Katastrophe." The mushroom monster, in his liquid form, oozes out from under a door and rises up to take shape behind an unsuspecting Megakat Biochemical Labs guard. |
| 176 | %%* EnterEponymous: "Enter the Madkat". |
| 177 | %%* EpisodeTitleCard |
| 178 | %%* EveryCarIsAPinto: And they '''all''' explode. |
| 179 | * EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The main Enforcer Sergeant (even though he does have a name - [[AllThereInTheScript Talon]]). |
| 180 | * EveryoneLovesBlondes: The SWAT Kats and The Pastmaster for Callie and Queen Callista. |
| 181 | * EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: The Pastmaster rings up a buncha zombies in his first appearance. |
| 182 | * EvilIsHammy: Pretty much every villain except the alien Ci-Kat-A, the demon Volcanus, and the [[AIIsACrapshoot corrupted AI Zed]]. Everyone else is clearly having a lot of fun being evil at some point or other. |
| 183 | * EvilLaugh: Dark Kat, Viper, The Metallikats, Madkat, The Red Lynx, Mutilor, Turmoil... seems to be a mandatory requirement if you want to be a bad guy. |
| 184 | %%* EvilTwin: In "The Dark Side Of The SWAT Kats", for T-Bone, Razor and [[spoiler:Callie.]] |
| 185 | %%* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: Razor to [[spoiler:Mutilor]]. |
| 186 | * ExtraEyes: Morbulus from "The Giant Bacteria". Lampshaded by Razor: "Hey, he ''does'' have eyes on the back of his head!" |
| 187 | %%* FaceHeelTurn: Both [[spoiler:Zed ''and'' Dr. Greenbox.]] |
| 188 | * FamilyFriendlyFirearms: Par for the course in this type of show, at least with regular guns (Commander Feral quite clearly has a handgun, and despite ejecting casings when fired, it inexplicably makes laser noises; then again, it has an orange-colored portion (an emitter?) inside the muzzle); though Felina and a few other Enforcers have a futuristic-looking laser pistol. Enforcer tanks and copters have missiles, and yet fire lasers instead of bullets or shells. However, occasionally Enforcer commandoes are seen firing bazookas of some sort, and the SWAT Kats' arsenal is clearly intended to be as non-lethal as possible (the cement rotary gun, for instance) or have alternate functions (like the Tarpedoes (used for blinding enemies), or the Scrambler missiles (used for electrical shocks, like to bring down forcefields)), and their Glovatrixes often have scaled down versions of these projectiles; they do fire a regular missile on one occasion (it was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when it was fired with a button marked ''Plain Old Missile''). |
| 189 | ** Also, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness throughout season 1]] the Enforcers' and criminals' weapons sometimes seemed to fire bullets, but with red streaks trailing the bullets as they were fired, and laser noises accompanied these; this tended to happen when the plot called for bullets in some fashion, so presumably this was some sort of compromise (though lasers won out by season 2). |
| 190 | %% (Trope-slashing is not allowed)* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence[=/=]FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: The series had plenty of both, which presumably led to the ExecutiveMeddling, although both of these tropes got ''more'' frequent over time, not the other way round. There's a theory that the creators were going for something closer to their original concept as the series went on, which suggests that the ExecutiveMeddling was at the ''beginning'' of the show--probably because HB was skeptical as to how it was going to be received. Its high ratings and popularity, however, may have enabled the Tremblays--and Glenn Leopold, who wrote the majority of the episodes--to wriggle free from some of the meddling, hence the DarkerAndEdgier Second Season |
| 191 | %%* FighterLaunchingSequence: The heroes taking off in the [=TurboKat=] in the intro. |
| 192 | %%* FiveRoundsRapid: This is ALWAYS the Enforcers' one and only solution to a problem. |
| 193 | * FlashFreezingCoolant: "Destructive Nature" has Razor discover that Doctor Viper's Plant Monster mooks are susceptible to cold, and radios this info to Chance. Chance then "borrows" a tank of rocket coolant, and flies it to the office building where Doc Viper is poised to unleash the spores of his BlobMonster upon Megakat City. The coolant flash-freezes the spore creature, and foils Viper's EvilPlan. |
| 194 | %%* RidingIntoTheSunset: "The Giant Bacteria" ends this way. |
| 195 | %%* {{Foil}}: All over the place. There's T-Bone and Razor to each other, then there's Felina and Commander Feral, Felina and Callie, Callie and Mayor Manx, and also Mac and Molly (at least when they're not trying to kill each other). |
| 196 | * ForScience: Even the non-villainous scientists and engineers in Megakat City seem pretty cavalier about the risks and consequences of their work. |
| 197 | %%* FourFingeredHands: The entire cast. |
| 198 | %%* FriendOnTheForce: Felina Feral. |
| 199 | %%* FungusHumongous: Dr. Viper's ravenous half cat, half mushroom assistant in "Katastrophe". |
| 200 | %%* FunnyAnimal: The entire cast are cats. |
| 201 | * FurryConfusion: Ann Gora wears earrings in the ''human'' position, apparently fixed to her jaw. Or they just dangle really low. |
| 202 | * FurryReminder: The series has quite a few, such as scenes in which the characters mention (or actually cough up) hairballs. |
| 203 | %%* GadgeteerGenius: Razor. |
| 204 | * GatlingGood: The gatling cement gun introduced in the first episode itself, which makes itself useful throughout the series (although not much). |
| 205 | * GemTissue: Episode "Chaos In Crystal" sees convict Rex Shard misuse a gem extractor in the prison mine, which transmutes exactly half his body into greenish crystal. Shard is able to crystalize anyone or anything he touches, and when Shard breaches the prison's wall, his whole body converts to living crystal that's impervious to most weapons. |
| 206 | %%* GiantEyeOfDoom: "Mutation City". |
| 207 | %%* GirlFriday: Callie to Mayor Manx. |
| 208 | * GoryDiscretionShot: |
| 209 | ** In "The Ci-Kat-A", a Giant Bug gets knocked off the [=TurboKat=] and is seen plummeting towards the rotorblade on an Enforcer chopper; the camera then cuts back to the other one that's still hanging onto the [[CoolPlane cool jet]].) |
| 210 | ** In "Chaos in Crystal", Rex Shard turns various people and objects into crystal, including a corrupt prison warden who falls over and shatters. At the end of the episode, everything that's been crystallized is shown turning back to normal--except the warden, whose ultimate fate is never explicitly revealed. |
| 211 | ** ShadowDiscretionShot from "The Giant Bacteria", which shows the titular bacteria eating a cow and its owner in shadow. Apparently even showing the scene in ''shadow'' was [[AnimationAgeGhetto too much]]; the farmer's demise was cut from the episode's broadcasts (but put back in for the DVD). |
| 212 | * GoshDangItToHeck: "Crud" and "Tail" are the usual choice of swear-words in the show. |
| 213 | * GRatedDrug: |
| 214 | ** "The Metallikats" starts with a band of mobsters smuggling, you guessed it, catnip. |
| 215 | ** When Chance and Jake throw themselves down the couch to get some testosterone-filled entertainment, they bring out a six-pack of... not beer, but condensed milk. |
| 216 | *** Turmoil also breaks out the milk (and wineglasses) to share a toast with T-Bone. |
| 217 | ** In "Bride of the Pastmaster", Queen Callista has Tabor bring goblets of milk for her dinner with Razor. |
| 218 | * GratuitousLaboratoryFlasks: |
| 219 | ** Seen both in Dr. Viper's MadScientistLaboratory in the swamp, and in Megakat Biochemical Labs. Professor Hackle also has chemistry equipment for some reason, despite never actually needing it since he is a robotics expert and not a chemist or biologist. |
| 220 | -->'''Morbulus:''' "Very impressive. Looks like you've got everything a mad scientist needs right here." |
| 221 | ** Dr. Viper's laboratory in "The Giant Bacteria," is pretty impressive to behold, featuring retorts, racks of test tubes, flasks, beakers and even a microscope that for some reason has smoke pouring out of the eyepiece (!). Besides this, bottles and flasks are stuffed into boxes and cubby holes everywhere in the background. Interestingly, production notes called for even ''more'' chemistry equipment to be seen, but for some reason the animators didn't get the message. |
| 222 | ** Professor Hackle's lab is especially egregious. Although a little more toned down than Viper's, he nevertheless has a table on which can be seen a retort and several flasks and test tubes. One problem. Hackle is a machinist/roboticist, so what he needs chemistry equipment for is anyone's guess. They're just there to inform us he's, like, a scientist and such, even though the [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable operating tables]] and [[Film/{{Frankenstein1931}} Kenneth Strickfadden]]-esque machinery filling the rest of the room do the job just fine on their own. |
| 223 | ** The Pastmaster has some of this kind of stuff on a table in his tower in "Bride of the Pastmaster," but he never does anything with it, instead using a big cauldron in the middle of the room. |
| 224 | ** Megakat Biochemical Labs as seen in "Katastrophe" has shelves and shelves of "katalysts" in identical stoppered flasks with numbered labels. In all its other appearances, it's more toned down. |
| 225 | * TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: A few examples, most notably in "The Origin of Dr. Viper." Elderly security guard Emil reads comics while on duty and sleeps at his station. His inattentive behavior allows Dr. Viper to basically walk right in under his nose without him realizing it. He hears a door slam, but, rather than go and investigate, he dismisses it as his imagination running away with him. |
| 226 | -->'''Emil:''' "These comics must be gettin' to me." |
| 227 | ** Bizarrely, although one would think such an oblivious old coot working at Megakat Biochemical was meant to be a sign of the innocent, pre-Viper days (the omnipresent artillery cannons notwithstanding), the outline for the unfinished episode "The Doctors of Doom" reveals he ''still has his job'' and is ''still constantly reading comics on duty''. |
| 228 | %%* GuyInBack: Razor acts as one in the [=TurboKat=], with T-bone as the pilot. |
| 229 | * HelmetMountedSight: This is how Razor, and sometimes T-Bone, fires the cement machine gun aboard the [=TURBOKat=]. His helmet helps him aim. |
| 230 | %%* HeterosexualLifePartners: The SWAT Kats/Chance and Jake. |
| 231 | * HighOnCatnip: One episode opens with a gang of mobsters smuggling, well, catnip. Specifically, it shows a gang member who has clearly just tested his shipment proclaiming it "the good stuff" and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything rubbing powder from under his nose.]] We also see his boss Katscratch giggling like an idiot while playing with one of the catnip balls. |
| 232 | %%* HighSpeedMissileDodge: Multiple examples. Subverted in "A Bright And Shiny Future", in which [[spoiler:the SWAT Kats of the future are killed by FiveRoundsRapid.]] |
| 233 | * HollywoodTactics: The Enforcers: |
| 234 | ** In "Mutation City," some helicopters are sent through the flooded city to retrieve canisters of anti-mutagens from Megakat Biochemical Labs. For the sole purpose of having the Enforcers fail so the SWAT Kats can succeed at the same task later, the copters insist for whatever reason on flying as close to the surface of the water as possible, rather than higher up above the partially submerged rooftops, leaving them open to attack by the monsters dwelling beneath the surface. |
| 235 | ** Not a tactic in and of itself, but the [[AllThereInTheScript Peacekeeper]] (the Enforcers' primary type of tank) is a poorly designed vehicle that has guns capable of pivoting up and down, but not, apparently, from side to side. |
| 236 | %%* HonorBeforeReason: Feral's response to the Metallikats' offer to give away the identities of the SWAT Kats in exchange for their freedom: "I don't deal with ''scum''." |
| 237 | %%* HumanlikeFootAnatomy |
| 238 | * HumanoidFemaleAnimal: Callie and Felina (and to a lesser extent Ann Gora and Dr. Sinian) look basically like humans with tails, cat ears, and modified noses. Male kats are given much more exaggerated proportions and fur. |
| 239 | %%* HumongousMecha: The bridge robot from "A Bright And Shiny Future", and the two robots piloted by the Metallikats in "Metal Urgency". Zed also turns into this after he [[spoiler:goes Evil.]] |
| 240 | * HurricaneOfPuns: "The Giant Bacteria" has Viper letting loose a few of these on Morbulus, like "Quite an eyeful, isn't it?" and "We see eye to eye, Morbulus!" |
| 241 | %%* TheHyena: Chopshop may or may not be a literal one. [[spoiler:For all of his 5 minutes in the series.]] |
| 242 | %%* HypercompetentSidekick: Describes Callie to a T. Also Sergeant Talon, especially in comparison to Steel. |
| 243 | * HyperspaceArsenal: How many missiles did they have in the freakin' [=TurboKat=]?! |
| 244 | %%** Not to mention additional vehicles like the Cyclotrons (bikes), [=HoverKat=] (hovercraft), [=TurboMole=] (drill-tank), and so on. |
| 245 | %%*** Lampshaded by Mutilor, when the [=TurboKat=]'s cool customizations lets them follow him into space (specifically, it sprouts four extra boosters and a heatshield covers the canopy; it's referred to as ''Speed-of-Heat Mode''). |
| 246 | * IHaveYouNowMyPretty: The Pastmaster kidnaps Queen Callista (in "Bride of the Pastmaster"), and then her [[IdenticalGrandson lookalike descendant]] Callie Briggs (in "The Deadly Pyramid"), in separate attempts to marry them. The SWAT Kats rescue the withered wizard's intended victim both times. |
| 247 | * IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Subverted in "Mutation City". Razor immediately realizes that T-Bone is no longer in control of himself and without any hesitation, leaves him pinned to the wall with a spider missile. |
| 248 | * IdenticalGranddaughter: Taken to the extreme - Princess Callista is Callie Briggs' ''ancestor'', but they're both completely identical. |
| 249 | %%* IdiotBall: The Enforcers and some of the villains often carry this around. |
| 250 | * ImprovisedWeapon: |
| 251 | ** After getting trapped in the past in "Bride of the Pastmaster", T-Bone and Razor trick out the [=TurboKat=] with whatever's at hand, including ''pepper stew''. |
| 252 | ** Callie also does this during her ActionGirl moments. In "Night of the Dark Kat", she saves the SWAT Kats by hitting the titular villain with one of the money bags he'd stolen. In "The Ci-Kat-A", when alien-possessed scientist Dr. Harley Street is trying to "recruit" her, Callie says "I don't think so!" and smashes him on the head with her briefcase. |
| 253 | * IncrediblyLamePun: From "Bride Of The Pastmaster": "The Hangar. That's just where we... hang out! Heh heh." |
| 254 | * INeverSaidItWasPoison: The elderly kats Razor accidentally injures in "Razor's Edge" are doing a good job of layering on the guilt and tearing his self-esteem apart when they taunt "You'd never be able to stop Dark Kat." No one up until this point knows that Dark Kat is behind the episode's attacks. [[spoiler:This clues Razor in that the two kats are neither injured nor elderly, and the event was ''not'' an accident.]] |
| 255 | * InMediasRes: The show goes straight to the action; no backstory, no origin. Until "The Wrath Of Dark Kat" (the third episode broadcast), we don't know how we got there. |
| 256 | %%* InSPACE!: One could describe the series as "If ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' got a UsefulNotes/FurryFandom cartoon." |
| 257 | * InTheBack: |
| 258 | ** %%"A Bright And Shiny Future" had ''three'' double-crosses: [[spoiler:one by the Metallikats, one by the Pastmaster, and one by the SWAT Kats themselves.]] |
| 259 | ** "Katastrophe" has three different ones: [[spoiler:Dark Kat always planned to screw over everybody, so Viper anticipated that and decided to screw him first, and he recruited the Metallikats to screw Dark Kat with him. Also averted, in the sense that Dark Kat thought he could force the Metallikats to do his dirty work for him and screw Viper first. Please do not take any of these statements literally. If you do, considering we're talking about robots and mutated monsters, keep a bottle of BrainBleach handy. Thank you for visiting Website/TVTropes. Have a nice day.]] |
| 260 | * JetPack: One item in the SWAT Kats' extensive inventory. |
| 261 | %%* JustThinkOfThePotential: Really, what was Puma-Dyne expecting when they made a device that ''[[AppliedPhlebotinum disables all weapons]]''? To say nothing of what might have happened [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity if the Enforcers had started abusing it]]. |
| 262 | * KansasCityShuffle: At the end of "A Bright And Shiny Future", Feral and Felina [[spoiler:provide a distraction using the [=TurboKat=] while the SWAT Kats sneak in to get up close and personal with Mac and Molly.]] |
| 263 | %%* KillTally: T-Bone and Razor have a stamp and ink pad for this purpose, and append their latest villain defeat, Morbulus, to a wall near the Turbokat's service bay. Morbulus appears to be their eighteenth downed adversary. |
| 264 | * KilledOffForReal: Surprisingly often [[AnimationAgeGhetto for a cartoon]]. So it's a fair point when, in "The Metallikats", Feral says, quote, "Mac and Molly have been dead for months." To which another guy exclaims, "No, no, they ain't dead!" |
| 265 | * KilledOffscreen: The usual way characters die, particularly the two guards at the beginning of "Katastrophe." |
| 266 | * KillerRobot: The Metallikats; also, the MechaMooks from "A Bright and Shiny Future" and [[spoiler:Zed]] from "Unlikely Alloys". |
| 267 | %%* TheLadette: Felina Feral. |
| 268 | %%* LanternJawOfJustice: Commander Feral. And his hair-cut is ''fierce!'' |
| 269 | %%* LeitMotif: Almost every major character. T-Bone & Razor had one, as did Commander Feral. So did Viper, and Dark Kat. Heck, even the ''[=TurboKat=]'' has its own LeitMotif. |
| 270 | %%* LiterallyShatteredLives: The fate of [[spoiler:Warden Meece]] in "Chaos in Crystal". |
| 271 | %%* LockAndLoadMontage: Apart from happening in the series, this can also be seen in the intros for both seasons. |
| 272 | * LongerThanLifeSentence: There are occasional mentions of criminals serving [[CatsHaveNineLives nine-life]] sentences. |
| 273 | %%* MacrossMissileMassacre: "Night of the Dark Kat", "When Strikes Mutilor". |
| 274 | %%* MadScientist: Dr. Viper. |
| 275 | * MadeOfIron: Usually, very, very averted, but it shows up from time to time, such as the petty gangster who survives being directly above a bomb in "The Metallikats" and seems only lightly injured for it. |
| 276 | %%* ManEatingPlant: Dr. Viper's specialty. |
| 277 | * MarsNeedsWater: In "When Strikes Mutilor," a huge alien craft is sucking huge columns of ocean water within sight of Megakat City. The aliens that normally man this craft are held prisoner by the Space Pirate Mutilor, who has no qualms about disrupting Megakat City's ecosystem. |
| 278 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 279 | ** In gangster slang, a "moll" is the female associate of a gangster, and were often criminals themselves; it is also short for "Molly", as in Mange. |
| 280 | ** Commander Feral, who is a Grade-A GeneralRipper. |
| 281 | %%* MegaMicrobes: "The Giant Bacteria". |
| 282 | %%* MirrorUniverse: "The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats". |
| 283 | * MegaCorp: Puma-Dyne are a more neutral version of this trope, they have the tech to build mechs and [[WaveMotionGun giant guns]]. Although Hackle, who used to work for them, still often finds himself at loggerheads with his former employers over the moral issues of making weapons, everyone who works for Puma-Dyne that we've seen has been perfectly nice and reasonable. |
| 284 | %%* MoreDakka: The Enforcers, ''always''. Razor also uses this twice: once each in "When Strikes Mutilor" and "Razor's Edge". |
| 285 | %%* MonsterClown: Madkat. |
| 286 | %%* MonsterOfTheWeek: One of the series' central tropes. |
| 287 | %%** Lampshaded in "Unlikely Alloys". |
| 288 | %%-->'''Razor:''' What's that? Monster of the week? |
| 289 | * MookChivalry: Averted in "When Strikes Mutilor," when ''all'' of Mutilor's {{Mooks}} just rush the SWAT Kats and pile onto them. |
| 290 | --> '''Mutilor:''' Attack! ''All'' of you! |
| 291 | %%* {{Mummy}}: "The Deadly Pyramid". |
| 292 | * MythologyGag: The in-universe "Scaredy Kat" cartoon that Chance likes watching could easily be construed as a takeoff on your typical Hanna-Barbera cartoon. |
| 293 | * NameTron: The Cyclotron and Cybertron. |
| 294 | %%* TheNeidermeyer: Lt. Commander Steel. |
| 295 | * NeverMyFault: |
| 296 | ** Feral unfairly blames Jake and Chance for the damage to Enforcer HQ, even though it's his own fault the incident happened (he interfered with their attempt to catch Dark Kat, because he couldn't accept someone else might catch the crook). |
| 297 | ** The SWAT Kats themselves follow in Feral's footsteps when their goofing around allows Morbulus to easily escape and they (and Callie) blame it on Feral, despite the fact that Feral had not even arrived at the scene when Morbulus made his escape. Though they probably guessed correctly that he'll use this as an excuse to further condemn the SWAT Kats. |
| 298 | * NeverSayDie: Sometimes averted, though. |
| 299 | ** In "Mutation City" Razor prepares to go after a sinking T-Bone and growls "If you drown, buddy...I'm gonna kill you!" |
| 300 | ** In "The Origin of Dr. Viper" a dead Elrod Purvis is stashed in a morgue with a clearly-labled DOA toe-tag (Dead On Arrival, for those who don't know). The morgue is also clearly labeled and referenced as such in dialogue. |
| 301 | ** "Mac and Molly Mange have been dead for months!" |
| 302 | ** "The Ghost Pilot" averts this multiple times because of the AntagonistTitle, Callie actually asks several times how one can ''kill'' a ghost. |
| 303 | * NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: The SWAT Kats have a gadget for literally every situation. Absolute silliest has to be from "Night of the Dark Kat," where the SWAT Kats ''just happen to have'' a missile that can trap a villain who's turned himself into electricity. |
| 304 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: |
| 305 | ** David Litterbin, the TalkShow host from "Enter the Madkat", is obviously based on Creator/DavidLetterman. The storyboards also suggest there's a little bit of Garry Shandling in him as well. |
| 306 | ** In the unfinished episode "Succubus!", Katrina Moorkroft's creepy chauffeur Otto is described as resembling Creator/ErichVonStroheim. |
| 307 | ** The storyboards for "Enter the Madkat" describes Katzmer the antique store owner as being based off of Keye Luke in '"Film/{{Gremlins}}'' |
| 308 | ** The script for "Chaos in Crystal" says Warden Meece and Dr. Greenbox are based off of M. Emmet Walsh and Creator/WoodyHarrelson, respectively. |
| 309 | * NonIndicativeName: Dr. Greenbox. Originally, he was to be a botanist, in which capacity his surname would make sense; his field of expertise was later changed to "generic tinkerer" who works with machines, rendering his pun-tastic surname meaningless. |
| 310 | %%* NotMyDriver: How the Metallikats kidnap Manx and Callie in one episode. |
| 311 | %%* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: In "The Giant Bacteria", Razor and T-Bone drop Morbulus into the ocean from what has to be at least a hundred feet up. |
| 312 | * NoWaterproofingInTheFuture: |
| 313 | ** Averted with the Metallikats, at least in their first appearance - Callie tries to defeat them with a fire hose. It doesn't work. |
| 314 | ** PlayedWith in "Razor's Edge" with Dark Kat's Black Widow. The outside is waterproof, but the inside isn't. |
| 315 | ** Averted again in "SWAT Kats Unplugged", where in a fit of improvisational tactics, the SWAT Kats try to knock over a water tower so that it falls onto the pursuing Hard Drive's jet and stalls out his engines, but it doesn't work. |
| 316 | * NoodleIncident: We never see the first time Callie and the Swat Kats met and how Callie became their ally. |
| 317 | %%* NukeEm: Attempted by Dark Kat in "The Wrath of Dark Kat". |
| 318 | * OhCrap: When Dark Kat reveals he's wired the place to blow with only seconds left. The heroes quickly get the hell out of dodge before the explosion. |
| 319 | %%* OneHeadTaller: Molly to Mac. |
| 320 | * OneSteveLimit: [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]]: Grave robber Jack in "The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice" is named Mac in the final script. His name was probably changed to avoid confusion with Mac Mange. Also, the guard in "The Origin of Dr. Viper" was originally going to be named Smitty, until someone apparently remembered the Enforcer clerk named Smitty, and his name was changed to Emil. One exception is in the unfinished episode "The Doctors of Doom," where Felina's rookie partner is named Gray Taylor, when there'd already been a character named Taylor (the foreman in "Caverns of Horror"). Since "Doctors of Doom" was never finished, it's unknown if Taylor's last name would've been changed. |
| 321 | ** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with the main Enforcer sergeant. According to the script for "Destructive Nature," his name is Talon. Talon is also the name of one of the prison guards in "Chaos in Crystal." |
| 322 | * OnlyICanKillHim: Played unapologetically straight - the SWAT Kats are the only ones who can win the fight. Everyone else, since, unlike our heroes they don't have gigantic testicles of steel, fails miserably. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Every. Single. Time.]] Without fail. |
| 323 | ** Also, this trope plays an important role in the SWAT Kats' origin. While they were still Enforcers, Jake and Chance had missile lock on Dark Kat's craft. Unfortunately, Feral insisted on capturing the villain personally, and his interference resulted in Dark Kat escaping, Enforcer headquarters being damaged, and Jake and Chance not only getting [[TurnInYourBadge thrown off the force]], but ''blamed for the ensuing property damage'' '''by Feral''' and [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned As Garbagemen]] - in the Enforcers' personal junkyard. Two justifiably pissed-off ex-pilots + several dozen acres of abandoned government surplus = SWAT Kats. |
| 324 | ** The Red Lynx can only die if he's killed by the descendant of the pilot who originally defeated him. Turns out to be [[spoiler:Mayor Manx]], of all people. Which causes some problems, to say the very least. |
| 325 | ** The Enforcers ''do'' have some early successes, particularly in "The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice", wherein pilots Burge and King wipe out a pair of reanimated skeletons (and even get to do a PreMortemOneLiner), and later on, Feral's idea to use gas grenades against the Megasaurus rex actually work. Then in "The Ci-Kat-A", the Enforcers successfully wipe out the alien nest at the end. But when it comes to the episodes' actual main villains, they of course fail spectacularly both times. |
| 326 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Callie's full name is Calico Briggs. |
| 327 | %%* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: "Bride Of The Pastmaster". |
| 328 | * OrderliesAreCreeps: In "Enter the Madkat", a jerkish orderly at the Megakat Asylum torments Lenny Ringtail by watching ''[[Creator/DavidLetterman The David Litterbin Show]]'' right outside his room, knowing it drives Ringtail crazy (well, crazier). He also taunts Ringtail through the window and laughs at him. The only possible explanation for his behavior despite where he works is that he took the job for the sole purpose of making fun of the insane. |
| 329 | * OurGargoylesRock: |
| 330 | ** The Pastmaster brings a gargoyle on Old Megakat Bridge to life briefly in "A Bright and Shiny Future." It's basically just a horned, demon-like head with MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily at the end of an extending neck. |
| 331 | ** In the unfinished episode "Succubus!", Katrina Moorkroft's three servants turn into what the script describes as gargoyles. They abduct victims for their employer and can shoot [[EyeBeams lasers]] out of their eyes. |
| 332 | %%* OurLichesAreDifferent: The Pastmaster. |
| 333 | * PapaWolf: Feral may seem harsh and quick-tempered, but he genuinely loves his niece and would do anything to protect her. In fact, he tried to prevent her from joining the Enforcers for just that reason. |
| 334 | * ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: |
| 335 | ** As the series progresses, there is less and less focus on Chance and Jake's job as mechanics. In season one, they can be seen repairing cars, towing people, etc. Apart from one scene of them towing a car in "A Bright and Shiny Future" (which they ''ditch'' to rush off and fight the Pastmaster), their car repair business is never mentioned again in season two. The only repairing they're shown doing after that is on the Turbokat. They even get rid of their tow truck entirely in "When Strikes Mutilor," and even ''it'' is never seen again, despite being a pretty important part of their business. |
| 336 | ** Although she is highly competent, supposed Deputy Mayor Briggs is almost never seen doing anything that an actual deputy mayor would do, instead being treated (both in universe and out) more like a glorified personal assistant to Manx, at one point even preparing a press release for him, something a press secretary would do, and on more than one occasion writing his speeches for him. |
| 337 | ** Twice it is said Burke and Murray report to Commander Feral about what Chance and Jake are up to ("We'll tell Commander Feral you sent your love!"), but this is never seen. Instead, the duo just pointlessly harass and bully them. |
| 338 | * PlantMooks: Dr. Viper creates tons of these in "Destructive Nature" as his personal brigade. His mushroom monster assistant in "Katastrophe" may also count. |
| 339 | * PoliceAreUseless: Back-and-forth. The Enforcers are a fairly effective police force formed to fight super-terrorists such as Dark Kat. They do a damn fine job in "The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice". [[BadassNormal Without the SWAT Kats' plane and gear]] and only conventional gas grenades and a convenient tar pit, they took out a frigging '' tyrannosaur'' and were just this side of getting the Pastmaster on their own. But it seems that the show takes place during their "fall from glory." The quality of their equipment is falling - the [=TurboKat=] is built out of the Enforcers' ''garbage'' but easily outperforms their current gear - and its leadership is in decline, with Feral being pigheaded and only sometimes competent, and Lt. Commander Steele being a complete idiot and a traitor. As a result, the Enforcers CantCatchUp to two hardcore badasses and the enemies that show up to challenge ''them''. |
| 340 | * PowerFist: The Season 2-model Glovatrixes, which were larger and covered the hand, as compared to the smaller, wrist-mounted models in season 1. |
| 341 | * PreMortemOneLiner: Courtesy of Enforcer pilot King in "The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice" - "You have the right to remain ''buried''!" |
| 342 | * PutOnABus: |
| 343 | ** Lt. Commander Steel. Apparently, Steel's ineptitude eventually got him replaced by Feral's more competent and able-bodied niece Felina, and he has not been seen since. |
| 344 | ** Burke and Murray from season one, despite their apparent stated role as Chance and Jake's "babysitters", disappear completely by the time season two rolls around with no explanation given. |
| 345 | * PunnyName |
| 346 | ** Ann Gora, Dr. Abby Sinian, and Dr. N. Zyme. |
| 347 | ** Callie's full first name is Calico. |
| 348 | ** "Metallikats" is a portmanteau of "Metallic" and "Cats" and a reference to the Heavy Metal Band "Metallica". |
| 349 | ** The SWAT Kats' Glovatrix gauntlets. "Glove of Tricks". |
| 350 | ** Mayor Manx’s Mega War II ancestor was the Blue Manx, a play on Film/TheBlueMax. |
| 351 | * RebuffTheAmateur: Commander Feral repeatedly tries to get the SWAT Kats to let '''[[BoldInflation the Enforcers]]''' handle the threat of the week. They never listen, and PoliceAreUseless against supervillainous threats anyway. |
| 352 | * RedAlert: Scramble alarm type, the alert that always sounds when Callie uses her emergency communicator to contact them. |
| 353 | * RedplicaBaron: Red Lynx was a pilot who dominated the skies during Mega War II, known as the most evil pilot in history, He shot down any who dared oppose him, until he himself was shot down by [[MayorPain Mayor Manx]]'s ancestor, the Blue Manx. Then in actual era, his plane was found and with it Lynx's ghost, who still wants to get his revenge against Manx, no matter if is against his PaperTiger descendant. His image even is used as the trope's page. |
| 354 | * RedShirtArmy: The Enforcers. They serve to show something's being done about all the monsters and villains, but to be totally useless [[TheWorfEffect to make the villains look strong]] and so the heroes aren't redundant. |
| 355 | %%* RedOniBlueOni: Chance/T-Bone and Jake/Razor. |
| 356 | * ReusedCharacterDesign: The Enforcer commandos and pilots are all identical, likely a cost-cutting measure considering how many have to appear and be animated every episode. Except for them this is generally avoided except for a few annoying instances: |
| 357 | ** Similarly, except for Smitty and the unnamed guy who appears in "Enter the Madkat" and "Katastrophe" (called "Sergeant #2" in the storyboards) all Enforcer sergeants use the same character design as Sgt. Talon. This makes it difficult to tell if the sergeant in question is intended to be Talon or not unless he speaks. |
| 358 | ** In "The Wrath of Dark Kat," all the power plant guards except the two at the front gate are the same character design recycled about twenty or thirty times. It's especially obvious in closeups of them standing in a line. |
| 359 | ** In "The Metallikats," the mobsters who are with Katscratch and Fango are all literally identical. They have the same fur color and they're all wearing identical gray business suits and fedoras. The only thing different about them are their voices. |
| 360 | ** In "The Ghost Pilot," Charlie the museum guard is just the guard from "The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice" with a different-colored uniform. |
| 361 | ** In "The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats," one of the Puma-Dyne guards is just an Enforcer commando with a PaletteSwap and the Puma-Dyne logo on his armor instead of the Enforcer one. |
| 362 | * RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: In "The Metallikats", when the titular villains show up to the mob they used to run, the mob's current leader tries to get rid of them, but they kill the leader first. Then, they declare that Megakat City belongs to them now, and all the mob goons, out of fear, immediately say they're with the Metallikats. The Metallikats sarcastically thank them for the vote of confidence, but since they were willing to switch sides rather than avenge their leader, the Metallikats tell them that "traitors like you don't fit into our new plan", and the Metallikats kill the goons with an exploding cigar, though a few survive. |
| 363 | %%* RidingTheBomb: "Destructive Nature". Complete with a "Yeeeeeeeeeeeee-haaa!" from Razor, and Razor also does so in "Wrath of the Dark Kat" as he disables the bomb midflight. |
| 364 | %%* RobotBuddy: Cybertron from "The Deadly Pyramid". |
| 365 | %%* RoguesGallery: See above. |
| 366 | %%* RoguesGalleryShowcase: "Katastrophe", "A Bright and Shiny Future". |
| 367 | * RunningGag: In several episodes, Chance breaks or ruins the TV whenever Feral is on to condemn the SWAT Kats. To Jake's frustration. |
| 368 | -->'''Jake:''' ''(after Chance throws the remote at the screen)'' Great! First Morbius is gone, and so is our TV! |
| 369 | * SavedByThePlatformBelow: Pilot T-Bone gets thrown into a pit full of spikes by Dark Kat. Razor is able to fish T-Bone out of that pit, where he was clinging to a small outcrop of rock. |
| 370 | * SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: In the first episode the two heroes hold a contest on how many g's they can take before passing out, and refer to their records as '10 seconds at mach 5'. Which is meaningless, because how many g's one takes isn't determined by speed but by acceleration. You're probably taking quite a bit of g-forces if you're making a turn at mach 5, but unless you mention how sharp the turn is the g forces could range from non-existant to instantly fatal. |
| 371 | %%* SealedEvilInACan: Pastmaster in "The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice". |
| 372 | * SecondPersonAttack: Frequently: |
| 373 | ** A dual drop down kick by T-Bone and Razor against two converted MASA guards in "The Ci-Kat-A." |
| 374 | ** A dual punch against the Lenny Ringtail in "Enter the Madkat" after he's no longer possessed by Madkat, courtesy of two of the people who most deserve to give it to him: Razor (whom he ''ate'') and Feral (whom he imprisoned in a magic box). |
| 375 | ** A fatal version done to the second Megakat Biochemical Labs guard in "Katastrophe", with the mushroom monster's tentacle reaching towards him. |
| 376 | ** A dual kick in the face version to one of Turmoil's guards from Razor in "Cry Turmoil" - in his Ejektor seat, no less! |
| 377 | ** Another kick in the face from Razor, this time to Hard Drive in "SWAT Kats Unplugged." |
| 378 | ** Purvis punching Dr. Zyme in the face in "The Origin of Dr. Viper." |
| 379 | ** A punch delivered by the evil version of Razor to a Puma-Dyne guard in "The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats." This one is noteworthy considering Dark!Razor uses the hand wearing his Glovatrix, which the SpikesOfVillainy had to be removed from for this shot, or else it would've been one of the show's most violent and painful punches by implication alone. |
| 380 | ** In the unfinished episode "Succubus!", a transformed Otto kicks Felina in the face and knocks her unconscious this way. |
| 381 | * SelfConstructedBeing: The "micro-brain repair unit" featured in "Unlikely Alloys". |
| 382 | * ShipTease: |
| 383 | ** There is a few hints that Ann Gora's relationship with her cameraman Jonny is more than just professional. |
| 384 | ** There isthat scene where Callie flirtily says "Bye, Jake." right after Chance brags (out of earshot) about her "obviously" digging him. RuleOfFunny, yes, but a tease nonetheless. Callie's [[IdenticalGrandson nigh-identical]] ancestor also has a blatant interest in Razor when the SWAT Kats are sent back in time by the Pastmaster. |
| 385 | ** Dr. Street also flirts with Ann at the beginning of "The Ci-Kat-A." It's very subtle, but the way he tells her to "drop by the space center tomorrow" suggests he fancies her a bit. |
| 386 | ** There was more of the Jake and Callie dynamic in the unfinished episode "Succubus!" They attend an orchestra performance and even call it a date. Admittedly, Callie only went because Manx was insistent she go for PR reasons, and she needed a plus-one, but the scene nevertheless would still count. |
| 387 | ** Another ship tease lost when the show got cancelled was T-Bone/Felina. In the unproduced script "Succubus!", although what they do is fight Katrina Moorkroft's {{Mooks}} in their gargoyle forms, they still (half-jokingly) refer to it as a date, and after Jake returns from the orchestra, Chance brags about his night out with Felina fighting monsters. |
| 388 | * ShootTheTelevision: In "The Giant Bacteria", when Feral blames the [=SWAT=] Kats for Morbulus escaping custody, Chance got mad and threw his can of milk at the television. Jake wasn't impressed. |
| 389 | -->'''Jake:''' [[SarcasmMode Aw, great.]] Morbulus is gone. So's our [=TV=]! |
| 390 | ** He does it again in "[=SWAT=] Kats Unplugged", where he sprays the TV with paint to not have to see Feral's face anymore. An exasperated Jake asks him from now on, ''just turn it off''. |
| 391 | * ShootYourMate: T-Bone, playing along with Turmoil's offer to join up with her, buys time by kicking Razor out of Turmoil's airship. Razor shoots a grapple gun at the ship and re-enters kicking Turmoil's guards in the face. |
| 392 | %%* ShootingGallery: The SWAT Kats have one in the Hangar. |
| 393 | * ShoutOut: |
| 394 | %%** [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Puma-Dyne]], anyone? (Although as noted, they used a hyphen.) |
| 395 | ** "Unlikely Alloys" has a reference to ''Film/CaptainEO'', when Macdescends towards the camera from the ceiling, supported by various wires. |
| 396 | ** Two of the cyclopes in "Bride of the Pastmaster" have [[Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad horns on their foreheads]]. |
| 397 | %% (Needs a rewrite without Natter) ** Nobody mentioned [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Cybertron]] yet? |
| 398 | ** Warden Meece's name in "Chaos in Crystal" is intended to be a weird play on "Siamese," but doubles as a reference to Mr. Jinks' name for mice in ''WesternAnimation/TheHuckleberryHoundShow''. He called them "meeces." It therefore doubles as a really morbidly funny PunnyName considering Jinks' catchphrase is "I hate meeces to pieces" and Meece, upon being turned into crystal, is knocked over and shattered, i.e. "[[IncrediblyLamePun Meeces goes to pieces]]." |
| 399 | * SimpleSolutionWontWork: In "[[Recap/SWATKatsS2E2ABrightAndShinyFuture A Bright and Shiny Future]]", the SWAT Kats are transported to a BadFuture ruled by [[KillerRobot the Metallikats]]. Meeting up with the few remaining resistance members (made up of the supporting cast), the SWAT Kats suggest seizing control of the Central Robot Control Matrix, which is what the Metallikats use to control their robot followers. [[InspectorJavert Commander Feral]] retorts the Enforcers already tried that, and he and his niece Felina were the only survivors (and the SWAT Kats' own future counterparts also perished during the battle). With no other options, [[DeathOrGloryAttack they try anyway]]. |
| 400 | %%* SittingOnTheRoof: T-Bone and Razor at the end of "Mutation City". The city is flooded, after all. |
| 401 | %%* SkyPirate: Turmoil. |
| 402 | * SlasherSmile: |
| 403 | ** Most of the villains do this at least once. |
| 404 | ** Strangely, the SWAT Kats do it fairly often, including in most of the publicity. |
| 405 | ** The bacteria monsters in "The Giant Bacteria" have ''permanent'' gleefully evil open-mouthed smiles. |
| 406 | * SonicStunner: The Banshee missiles. Further, their performance is what gives T-Bone the idea that saves the day in "Chaos In Crystal". |
| 407 | * SpacePlane: The [=TurboKat=], literally. It can bust out ''four additional engines'', termed ''Speed-of-Heat Mode'', and go into space. |
| 408 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: In "The Wrath of Dark Kat", Steel insists his name is spelled with two E's, implying it is "Steel." However when we see his nameplate on his desk in "Enter the Madkat", it's spelled "Steele." Most fans take the latter spelling as the correct one, despite Steel's apparent preference. It's Confirmed to be S-T-E-E-L in the storyboards for "Enter the Madkat." Making the nameplate an error (the storyboards even spell his name "Steel" on the nameplate when he puts it on the desk). |
| 409 | * SpiderTank: Dark Kat has one in "Razor's Edge". |
| 410 | * SpikesOfVillainy: The evil SWAT Kats from the MirrorUniverse have these on their Glovatrix. |
| 411 | %%* {{Sssssnaketalk}}: Dr. Viper. |
| 412 | * StabTheScorpion: How Lt. Felina Feral is introduced in "Mutation City". Her helicopter airlifts Callie Briggs away from the dangerous mutant liquid, and the former tells the latter that this isn't a good night for the deputy mayor to be out in the city. Then Lt. Feral seems to point her laser gun at Callie, but she actually fires at a spiky mutant tentacle that was about to grab Callie. |
| 413 | * StaircaseTumble: Happens twice in "The Origin of Dr. Viper," first when Purvis punches Zyme in the face, causing him to fall down the stairs. Then when Purvis runs down past him, Zyme kicks his briefcase at Purvis, knocking ''him'' down the stairs, causing him to spill the mutagen all over himself. |
| 414 | %%* TheStarscream: Lt. Steel. |
| 415 | * StatingTheSimpleSolution: |
| 416 | ** In "Night of the Dark Kat", Hard Drive questions Dark Kat's decision to put the SWAT Kats in a ConveyorBeltODoom DeathTrap instead of killing them outright. ("I still say you should’ve let me fry those two!") Dark Kat should have listened to him. |
| 417 | ** In 'Katastrophe', The Metallikats have Razor trapped and are about to [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim finish him]], when Dr. Viper stops them, telling them that Dark Kat wants to take him alive. Razor escapes while they're arguing: |
| 418 | -->'''Mac:''' Are you happy now?? He's still alive!! |
| 419 | * StealthPun: The [=TurboKat=] has a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable-sweep_wing variable-sweep wing design]]. The most well-known plane in RealLife with such a design is the F-14 ''Tomcat''. Though it may not exactly be a pun as a ShoutOut, as the [=TurboKat=] shares a LOT with the F-14 besides the wings. In fact, the only real differences are the additional engine, the ability to hover, a ([[BiggerOnTheInside ludicrously massive]]) internal bay, and to a lesser extent, the paint job. Razor's station in the back seat actually looks like a real-life Tomcat RIO console. |
| 420 | %%* StevenUlyssesPerhero: Rex Shard. |
| 421 | * StockFootage: Pieces of animation regarding the SWAT Kats entering the [=TurboKat=] and exiting the hangar is frequently reused. And in reverse, about a decade later, various backgrounds, the Pastmaster's vortex and an Enforcer chopper (with the symbol on the front covered up) were all reused for ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce''. |
| 422 | %%* SuperHero |
| 423 | * SuperWristGadget: The Glovatrixes, again. They even have training versions for their Reflex Room that are equipped with score counters. |
| 424 | * SurveillanceStationSlacker: Security in Megakat City is often lax: |
| 425 | ** The sergeant in "Night of the Dark Kat." Despite reassuring the NewMeat that if anyone tries to break into the defense center that the Enforcers will stop them, he's shown asleep at his desk minutes later while Hard Drive is helping himself to all the computer data. He has to be awakened by the burglar alarm. |
| 426 | ** The guard outside the top secret research lab in Puma-Dyne in "The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats" is snoring soundly when both the good and evil sets of SWAT Kats sneak in. |
| 427 | ** Emil in "The Origin of Dr. Viper" is either reading comic books of sleeping while manning the front desk at Megakat Biochemical. At least ''his'' excuse is he's elderly. Nevertheless, he allows Dr. Viper to literally slip in under his nose. |
| 428 | -->'''Callie:''' Tight security... |
| 429 | * SwampsAreEvil: The Dead Forest, a particularly polluted part of Megakat Swamp and the domain of Dr. Viper, is one seriously disturbing place. |
| 430 | * SwissArmyWeapon: The SWAT Kats' Glovatrixes, metal gauntlets (or in season 1, a wrist device) which can fire things like grappling lines, bolas, and scaled-down [=TurboKat=] missiles; it's also equipped with attachments like buzzsaws, retractable, multi-section shields, a radar, and other devices depending on the mission. |
| 431 | * TakeThat: Madkat a.k.a. Lenny Ringtail, and his catchphrase, and being cast as a villain who takes [[Creator/DavidLetterman David Litterbin]] hostage, is a not-so-subtle dig at his (real-life counterpart's) rival at the time, Jay Leno. |
| 432 | * TakingYouWithMe: At the end of "Katastrophe", Dark Kat tries this when he, Viper, and the Metallikats get captured in their own hideout. |
| 433 | --> '''Dark Kat:''' If I lose, EVERYONE LOSES! ''(pulls out a timer with seconds left)'' |
| 434 | --> '''Razor:''' Crud! The whole place is wired to blow! |
| 435 | --> '''Feral:''' MOVE! |
| 436 | %%* TalkingAnimal: The entire population. |
| 437 | * TanksForNothing: The only purpose the Enforcer tanks serve is getting stomped by the MonsterOfTheWeek so the heroes can save the day. |
| 438 | ** According to model sheets, they're called Peacekeepers, and rather bizarrely seem to lack turrets (despite appearing to possess them, they never rotate even once). Instead, their main armament seems to consist of two dual forward-mounted laser cannons that can tilt up and down but not side to side, meaning the Peacekeeper can ''only'' fire in whatever direction the front end is currently facing. |
| 439 | *** There have actually been a few tanks like this in real life, most notably Sweden's Stridsvagn 103 S-Tanks. They were designed in that manner so that they'd be very low profile, and thus blend into the environment and defensive barricades better. Their tracks could rotate rapidly in alternate directions in order to make the tank turn quickly in the event it needed to. Unfortunately for the Enforcers, the Peacekeeper seems to lack both of those qualities. |
| 440 | ** In "Metal Urgency," Puma-Dyne designs an experimental tank for them called the Behemoth. It seems impressive, since it is protected by a force field and (for whatever reason) all of its armaments are said to be thought-controlled. But after being stolen by Hard Drive, it's taken on a rampage so brief it never even leaves the facility where it had just been built before the SWAT Kats manage to take it out by frying its electrical systems, which results in the thought controls becoming disabled. And apparently there is no backup conventional control for it because once Hard Drive loses the ability to operate it with his mind, the million dollar prototype promptly drives itself into a wall and crashes uselessly. |
| 441 | %%* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Between the SWAT Kats and Feral at times. Also between Dark Kat, the Metallikats, and Dr. Viper in "Katastrophe" |
| 442 | %%--> '''Dark Kat:''' Choose now, my villanous friends! Who do you hate more? Me or the SWAT Kats!? |
| 443 | %%--> '''Mac:''' ... We'll settle with you later, Dark Crud! |
| 444 | %%--> '''Molly:''' First things first! |
| 445 | %%* TenMinuteRetirement: "Razor's Edge". |
| 446 | %%* ThatPoorPlant |
| 447 | * ThemeMobile: The [=TurboKat=] is at ''least'' as well known as the SWAT Kats' flight suits. The other bigger vehicles (the [=TurboMole=] and the [=HoverKat=]) all had the same basic paint scheme. The other smaller vehicles (the Cyclotron (both the one seater variants launched from the hangar, and the two seater that became the [=TurboKat=]'s seats) and the [=SandKat=]) had the same color scheme as their flight suits. All of them qualify. |
| 448 | * ThemeNaming: Much of the SWAT Kats' equipment has either a "Turbo" prefix or a "Kat" suffix. |
| 449 | %%* ThisIsADrill: Drillbit Missiles, and the [=TurboMole=]. |
| 450 | %%* ThoseTwoGuys: Burke and Murray. |
| 451 | %%* TimeForPlanB: It involves shutting off the Turbokat's engines in mid-flight to lose heat-seekers. Razor hates Plan Z. |
| 452 | * TimeTravelersDinosaur: In the episode "[[Recap/SWATKatsS1E1ThePastmasterAlwaysRingsTwice The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice]]", the Pastmaster summons a [[{{Whateversaurus}} Megasaurus rex]] and Pterodactyls from the past. |
| 453 | * TitleSequenceReplacement: When the series was originally broadcast, some first season reruns used the second season TitleSequence. |
| 454 | %%* ToastedBuns: The jetpacks in "Unlikely Alloys". |
| 455 | %%* ToonPhysics: Normally averted, though one episode had Chance briefly doing it after watching "Scaredy Kat", naturally. |
| 456 | * TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Dark Kat, Dr. Viper and the Metallikats seemingly die in the first season finale. Just watching the intro for the second season, which features Dark Kat and Dr. Viper prominently, will tip a viewer off that it didn't stick. |
| 457 | * TransformationSequence: From Chance and Jake to T-Bone and Razor. Uniquely, there isn't a TransformationTrinket needed; they just don flight suits, tactical webbing, bandanas and helmets, along with a Glovatrix. |
| 458 | %%* TrappedInThePast: In "Bride Of The Pastmaster". |
| 459 | %%* TrappedInAnotherWorld: "The Dark Side Of The SWAT Kats". |
| 460 | * UncertainDoom: While some death scenes (particularly Katscratch, Warden Meece and Mutilor) are pretty blatant, and even a few that [[KilledOffscreen happen offscreen]] are confirmed in dialogue later (the guards in "Katastrophe"), quite a few aren't entirely clear: |
| 461 | ** The museum guard in "The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice." Backing away from the sabertoothed tiger, he bumps into a dinosaur skeleton and brings the entire thing crashing down on top of him. He's never mentioned again, even when Callie and Dr. Sinian examine the bone pile before being attacked by the sabertoothed tiger themselves. |
| 462 | ** Dr. Zyme in "The Giant Bacteria." We see the bacteria monster's hand reach for him and begin to descend over him, but then it cuts away, and it even shows the monster seemingly being distracted from killing him by Feral's chopper, implying he could've slipped away. His death is never confirmed in the episode. |
| 463 | ** The partially mutated Dr. Street gets launched out a window on the top floor of a 300-story skyscraper in "The Ci-Kat-A." Despite possessing wings, he just plummets screaming to presumably make his name [[IncrediblyLamePun literal]] 300 stories below and is never mentioned again. He ''was'' scheduled to return in one of the unfinished episodes, "Doctors of Doom", however. [[spoiler:He unambiguously dies in that, though.]] |
| 464 | ** The homeless guy who encounters a tentacle monster in "Mutation City." He screams and it cuts away. |
| 465 | ** Cybertron in "The Deadly Pyramid." The poor little guy takes a ''ton'' of punishment before finally being so badly damaged he can't even move. He's a robot, so he can potentially be rebuilt, but the episode ends with Professor Hackle acting like it'll be extremely difficult, and it never confirms whether he'll be okay or not. Like Street, however, he was slated to return. In "Turmoil 2: The Revenge," he's rebuilt and helps the SWAT Kats. [[spoiler:And even survives at the end!]] |
| 466 | ** Conklin in "Caverns of Horror." The giant scorpion explodes through the ground underneath him and he's flung screaming into the air and right out of the episode, apparently, as he's never seen or mentioned again. This is strange considering that right before this occurs, he was about to be arrested for causing the whole thing, but the episode just forgets about him after he's sent flying offscreen. |
| 467 | ** The title villains in "The Dark Side of the SWAT Kats." Were they killed by the mega-detonator, or did it just transport them into ''another'' alternate dimension? |
| 468 | ** In the unfinished episode "Turmoil 2: The Revenge," [[spoiler:Turmoil is swept off a cliff to her apparent DisneyVillainDeath by an avalanche. However there are many ways she could've survived including a jetpack or parachute hidden under her BadassCape, or she could've had her fall broken halfway down by a ledge (as Cybertron does when ''he'' falls off a cliff earlier in the script).]] |
| 469 | * {{Unobtainium}}: Aggresite from "Caverns Of Horror". Also played straight in "When Strikes Mutilor" with ''water'', of all things. Turns out plain old aqua is actually unobtanium for aliens, which is the reason for Mutilor's attack on Earth or wherever the hell they are. |
| 470 | * VerbThis: In "The Ci-Kat-A," Street is about to turn Callie into a BrainwashedAndCrazy drone like himself: "I want you on our side! One bite and you will be!" Cue the SWAT Kats' BigDamnHeroes moment, with Razor telling a very surprised Street "Bite ''this!''" and [[DestinationDefenestration knocking him out the window]]. |
| 471 | %% (Trope-slasing isn't allowed) * VillainTeamUp[=/=]LegionOfDoom: The "Alliance of Evil" between Dark Kat, Dr. Viper and The Metallikats in "Katastrophe". |
| 472 | %%** "A Bright and Shiny Future", meanwhile, sees a brief alliance between the Pastmaster and the Metallikats. |
| 473 | %%* VillainessesWantHeroes: Turmoil wants T-Bone. |
| 474 | %%** In the unfinished episode "Succubus!", Katrina Moorkroft explicitly wants Commander Feral, although, admittedly only to drain his life force. |
| 475 | %%* WakingUpAtTheMorgue: "The Origin of Dr. Viper." |
| 476 | * WardensAreEvil: Warden Meece, although his greed is more of an InformedAttribute than anything else. Despite this, he gets what writer [[WordOfGod Lance Falk]] intended as a KarmicDeath. |
| 477 | * WeaponizedCar: Jake and Chance convert one of their tow-trucks into the heavily-armed Thunder Truck in "When Strikes Mutilor". In a sense, the [=HoverKat=] too, even though it's a hovercraft; same with the Metallikat Express. |
| 478 | * WeirdnessMagnet: Megakat City. Aliens, Monsters, Dinosaurs, Mobsters, Robots, ''[[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Mobster Robots]]''... where do these people (er, kats) come from? |
| 479 | * WhamLine: A rare example that's delivered to villains instead of heroes. In "The Metallikats", the titular villains are threatening to assault Mayor Manx because Mayor Manx allegedly turned down their bribe and denied their parole back when they were in prison. But Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs informs the Metallikats, "He didn't turn down your parole, ''I did!''" |
| 480 | %%* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys: From the military-owned junkyard, that's where! |
| 481 | %%** Played straight in a few cases. Razor says that a couple of his missiles are diamond-tipped. Who the hell would throw away diamonds, or even diamond dust?! |
| 482 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: |
| 483 | ** Chance and Jake [[SitcomArchnemesis Sitcom Archnemeses]] Burke and Murray never appear in season two, despite having been featured in the show's main models, suggesting they were intended to be major supporting characters. It's possible this is due to the second season focusing less and less on the SWAT Kats' civilian lives; outside of towing a car in "A Bright and Shiny Future," they're never shown doing anything related to their jobs as mechanics again, including interacting with Burke and Murray. |
| 484 | ** Steel. Despite being second in command in the Enforcers, he is MIA in the second season. |
| 485 | ** The old lady who was Chance and Jake's (more or less) regular customer, with two appearances in season one under her belt, is gone come season two. The explanation for her absence is likely the same as Burke and Murray; she wasn't needed anymore due to less focus on Chance and Jake's job. |
| 486 | ** Manx's chauffeur. Sure, he isn't a terribly important character (he hasn't even got a name), but still. In "Katastrophe," we see a masked Mac wearing his clothes and posing as "the new guy" in order to [[NotMyDriver kidnap Manx and Callie]]. When Manx asks where his regular driver is, Mac simply replies, "Uh, he's out sick." The actual fate of the chauffeur is never revealed, and although Manx's limousine continues to appear, the chauffeur doesn't (or at least we never see who's driving). |
| 487 | ** Al. Similar to Manx's chauffeur, he just stops appearing after a while, and although the Kat's Eye News chopper continues to show up, we never see who's flying it. |
| 488 | ** In the broadcast version of "The Giant Bacteria," a farmer disappears between shots after witnessing his cow get eaten by the bacteria monster. The DVD restores a scene of him being fed to the monster by Dr. Viper, but the trope still applies to the version that airs on TV. |
| 489 | ** "Enter the Madkat" never establishes what is done with Madkat after he's pushed out of Ringtail's body and returned to the jack-in-the-box. The episode seems weirdly more concerned about the fate of Ringtail himself rather than the very dangerous ghost who took over his body. |
| 490 | ** Another example from "Enter the Madkat" is the orderly at the asylum. We see Lenny Ringtail jump on him ("Heeeeere's Ringtail!") but it cuts away. The next time we see Ringtail is when he breaks into the antique shop to evade the Enforcers, and we never learn the orderly's fate. |
| 491 | ** In "Cry Turmoil," Razor leaves one of Turmoil's guards tied to his Ejektor seat under a tarp. We never find out what happens to her. |
| 492 | ** In "Volcanus Erupts!", the islander who warns Mayor Manx and Mr. Young about the Talisman Stone just sort of disappears halfway through the story. He's with them when they escape from Volcanus in their speedboat, and is alive and accounted for on the dock, and he can be seen standing next to Ann and Jonny watching Volcanus attacking the city, but this is the last we see of him. He isn't even at the opening ceremony of the Anakata Island Park at the end. |
| 493 | * WhatTheHellHero: |
| 494 | %%** "Razor's Edge". [[spoiler:Granted, it really ''wasn't'' his fault.]] |
| 495 | ** In "The Giant Bacteria", the SWAT Kats manage to defeat and capture a villain named Morbulus, right above the sea and near some rocks. Instead of holding him until the authorities got there or even going over to said authorities to hand Morbulus over, they decide to mess around and just drop the villain in the water. Of course, Morbulus takes advantage of this and escapes into a very nearby sewer duct in the rocky area before the enforcers get there. The Swat Kats never get called out on it by anybody other than Feral, who is actually in the right about the SWAT Kats screwing up this time around. The SWAT Kats get furious and throw a tantrum (with Chance even breaking their television) as well as blaming Feral for Morbulus getting away (though not to his face) and even Callie is uncharacteristically [[IncrediblyLamePun catty]] and tries pinning the blame on Feral for the whole thing, plus their letting Morbulus escape ends up with [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Dr. Viper transforming Morbulus into a bacteria monster that kills many innocent civilians]]. What makes it all even harsher is that it is only the second episode of the first season (and the first episode made), so it leaves a bad impression on the heroes, as well as Callie, very early in the series. Thankfully, nothing of that level happens afterwards in the series, so this might be chalked up to EarlyInstallmentWeirdness. |
| 496 | * WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: As revealed in the episode "The Ci-Kat-A", which is about giant insectoid aliens, T-Bone is terrified of bugs. |
| 497 | * WhyWeCantHaveNiceThings: A priceless historical site gets obliterated in "The Deadly Pyramid." Granted, it wasn't entirely their fault. |
| 498 | * WillingChanneler: Lenny Ringtail lets Madkat possess him in order to get vengeance David Litterbin, in exchange for using Litterbin and others as surrogates for those who once wronged the evil jester. May overlap with SymbioticPossession, as Ringtail and Madkat effectively become the same individual with no one having more control over the body than the other (or at least, which, if either, has more control is unclear). |
| 499 | * WireDilemma: {{Lampshaded}} ''and'' {{averted}} in In "The Wrath of Dark Kat". |
| 500 | -->'''Razor:''' Piece of cake, just remember, "always cut the red wire." [''opens the bomb, sees they're '''all''' red''] Augh, Dark Kat, you miserable psycho! |
| 501 | * TheWomanBehindTheMan: It's pretty clear Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs is the one who really runs the city--which is a good thing, considering how lazy and incompetent Mayor Manx is (except when it comes to [[spoiler:shooting down high-tech fighter planes piloted by ghosts]], of course). It's even {{Lampshaded}} in "The Metallikats" where Callie tells the titular villains that she, not the mayor, denied their parole. |
| 502 | -->'''Callie:''' Manx hasn't done an ounce of paperwork around here for years! |
| 503 | * WorldOfFunnyAnimals: Although unlike many examples of this trope, Megakat City has only one intelligent species, anthropomorphic cats. |
| 504 | * WorldOfPun: A world of feline species (and beyond) is filled to the litterbox with so many jokes and names based on cat based species and things cats do, you can cough up a hairball just thinking about it. |
| 505 | * WorldOfWeirdness: Megakat City is a hotbed of strangeness -- a police force with access to fighter jets, tanks and a seemingly endless supply of helicopters, villains who try to blow up or remake the city every other week (the villains themselves range from a monstrous kat/snake hybrid to robotic mobsters), and a scrapyard populated with enough cast-off Enforcer tech to outfit a couple of mechanics as vigilantes with a boatload of vehicles, including a custom fighter jet. |
| 506 | * XtremeKoolLetterz: Replace the C in "Cat" with a K, and you have "Kat". |
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