[[quoteright:157:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SpyBoy_3762.png]]
[[caption-width-right:157:You'll be seeing a lot of [[{{Fanservice}} this]].]]
''[=SpyBoy=]'' is a comic book series created in 1999 by writer Creator/PeterDavid and artists Pop Mhan and Norman Lee, and published by Creator/DarkHorseComics.

The series centers around Alex Fleming, an ordinary teenage boy who is secretly part of a project to create the world's most deadly and effective secret agent. Unfortunately, while the world's various spy agencies are after him for reasons of their own, Alex himself is unaware of his super-ruthless sleeper persona. The adventures start when Alex's [=SpyBoy=] identity is activated, throwing [=SpyBoy=] into various death-defying situations around the world while Alex struggles to maintain relevance against his super-capable alter ego.

The basic idea for ''[=SpyBoy=]'' came from Dark Horse, who hired Peter David to develop the concept, including the cast and their back-stories. David has lamented that the ideas he had for the series' run were not completed, as Dark Horse chose not to continue with it.

A crossover 3-issue miniseries, ''[=SpyBoy/=]ComicBook/YoungJustice'', was published in 2002. Also ''[=SpyBoy=]: Final Exam'', a 4-issue spin-off limited series by the same authors, was published in 2004, serving as the GrandFinale.

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!!Tropes associated with this work:

* AbnormalAmmo: [=SpyBoy=]'s gun, the MagnumOpus, fires a variety of these.
* AntiHero: The [=SpyBoy=] persona. Because of his cold and sometimes ruthless methods, this trope doubles with NinetiesAntiHero.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Butch give an epic discourse to [[spoiler:both Anita and Gila at the end of the Confidential arc]].
* ArtShift: During the middle of the Marispan affair (or the beginning of the Bet Your Life arc) the art changes from anime-style to something out of [[ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} Mike Mignola's]] mind and back again.
* AscendedFanboy: Downplayed. Alex always liked spy movies and he's a fan of Franchise/JamesBond, being honored that his last name was [[Creator/IanFleming Fleming]]. But converting into a TeenSuperspy as the way he did (being a ManchurianAgent all his life and without memories of being [=SpyBoy=] when he's in trance) and with the background he later discovered [[spoiler:(his parents being super spies and her mother who was supposed to be dead is the BigBad)]], made Alex forget about what he loved in the beginning.
* BaitAndSwitch: A very infamous one; [=SpyBoy=] is confronting the villainous Madam Imadam, when she drops this bombshell in the last page of the issue;
-->''"I am... your ''mother''--"\\
''[next issue]''\\
"--'s sister."''
* BananaInTheTailpipe: Messed with in the first issue, where Bombshell blows up the bad guy's car by tossing what appears to be a lit cigarette into the tailpipe. The car blows up a few seconds later. Considering that Bombshell is an explosives expert, however, [[JustifiedTrope it's not quite as far-fetched]].
* BathroomBrawl: Before he discovers that he's a ManchurianAgent TeenSuperspy, Alex is attacked by a couple of bullies in the school bathroom after classes.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: For Butch, [[spoiler:it doesn't matter if Anita is her mother or not, she's the only person who ever gave a crap about him and he loves her deeply]] and the reason of why he is self-defined best friend with Alex.
* BecomingTheMask: [[spoiler:This is literally with Anita, for her mask became her permanent face after the TimeSkip.]]
* BettyAndVeronica: Played with Bombshell and [=SpyGirl=]. While the former is initially the blunt, reliable one compared to the more exotic, worldly [=SpyGirl=], she is also much more abrasive to Alex than the almost cheesily supportive Japanese agent.
* CamelCase: Officially the name of the protagonist as well the series are written as this. Also counts for [=SpyGirl=] and similar.
* ChangelingFantasy: Alex wishes at the beginning for one to escape his crappy school life until he realizes how brutal the espionage world really is. [[spoiler:For Butch, it's to escape the living hell that is his family life... it never truly sticks.]]
* CharacterNameAlias: [=SpyBoy=]'s partner Bombshell attends his sleeper personality's high school under the name "Marta Hari."
** When ComicBook/YoungJustice infiltrated said high school, they used even more obvious aliases, including Rob Roy (ComicBook/{{Robin}}) and Helena Troy (ComicBook/WonderGirl). Mercifully the charade didn't last long.
* ChildrenRaiseYou: According to Rita Moody.
* {{Cliffhanger}}: ''Final Exam'', and with it the entire series, ends this way. [[spoiler:[=SpyBoy=] is incriminated as a terrorist alongside his father and their gang, Anita is discovered, Lori shows she was also a spy all along and offers a very [[EmptyPromise dubious]] offer to Alex while he's suffering an existential crisis, and the last page is Spyboy being torn between Anita and his dad, promising they can start a new life together.]] It is either the most epic or the most sadistic ending you would ever see.
* CoolBike: The [=SpyCycle=].
* {{Crossover}}: With ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'', also written by Creator/PeterDavid.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Don't let the design and quirky humor fool you, this a very bloody and violent adaptation to the usual teenager spy theme.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: [[spoiler:[=SpyGirl=]]] during [=SpyBoy=]'s "Manga Affair" and [[spoiler:Alex's mother to Butch's mother]].
* DeepCoverAgent: [[spoiler:Both Anita and Lori are discovered or otherwise lose their fake identities at the end/]]
* DisproportionateRetribution: Even [[TheBully Schweitzer]] finds a little absurd the reaction of his father to the Class president's campaign: hire a hitman to take both Alex and his ex-girlfriend.
* DistaffCounterpart: [=SpyGirl=].
* DotingParent: Rita Moody truly believes that Butch is the kindest person you could ever met.
* ElaborateUndergroundBase: [=SpyBoy=] had a modest one of these hidden out in the woods.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Say what you will about Gila's ruthlessness, but [[spoiler:she has a soft spot for orphans and shed tears hearing Butch's family life]].
* EvilMatriarch: [[spoiler:Butch's mom was a physical and emotional abuser.]]
%%* EvilParentsWantGoodKids
* FakedRipVanWinkle: In "A Manchurian Candy-Date" has Bombshell waking up years in the future in a hospital, her legs atrophied and her long-distant parents happy to see her awake. Comic relief Butch, his face scarred, says she's been in a coma for almost a decade after a raid that went bad, killing Alex's father. Alex reverted to his Spyboy persona full-time and has since become a ruthless crime boss. After physical therapy, Bombshell is sent to kill Alex...but when she looks at her aged face in the mirror, we see her true form as it turns out she's been brainwashed by an enemy to kill the real Alex in the present. Her mind sees everything as part of the delusion (attempting to "fire" a sheet of papers like a gun) before Alex is able to get through to her.
* FakeMemories: As we learn in ''The M.A.N.G.A. Affair'', [[spoiler:the [=SpyGirl=] we've been following is actually a totally different person who was given fake memories of the original [=SpyGirl=] when she died -- assuming that "original" girl wasn't ''also'' some other person who was just brainwashed into thinking she was [=SpyGirl=]]].
* {{Fanservice}}: As the cheesecake cover of [=SpyGirl=] above indicates, the series had plenty of this. Bombshell had her own version of that same cover, and then there's the various {{Femme Fatale}}s [=SpyBoy=] comes up against.
* FemmeFataleSpy: Bombshell's fake identity is Marta Hari.
%%* FireForgedFriends
* FunWithAcronyms: The opposing spy teams are named S.H.I.R.T.S and S.K.I.N.S. The good guys occasionally team with their oriental counterparts, M.A.N.G.A.
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: Among other gadgets, Alex's goggles include a version of the flash that allows changing between the Alex and Spyboy personalities.
* GoodFeelsGood: Butch and [[spoiler:Anita, both times]].
* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction: S.H.I.R.T.S for United States and M.A.N.G.A for Japan.
* HappilyAdopted: [[spoiler:Butch doesn't care Anita is not his real mother; she is the only person who has ever gave a crap about him.]]
* ImGoingToHellForThis: [=SpyBoy=] is sharing a plane with Bombshell. She warns him not to look back while she changes, and so he promises not to turn around while [[WatchingTheReflectionUndress staring at her reflection in the sheer surface in front of him]]. His SuperDeformed alter ego informs him that he's going to hell for this.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Amusingly enough, in the comic book crossover between ''[=SpyBoy=]'' and ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'', Robin actually asks [=SpyBoy=]'s team if they indeed took the Stormtrooper Marksmanship course -- never realizing that ''he'' was also displaying Stormtrooper level of accuracy.
* InnocentFanserviceGirl: [=SpyGirl=] can be found giving constantly bra and panty shots.
* InstrumentOfMurder: Yoma Ma - a villain on Spygirl's TV show - uses his violin to fire bows like arrows.
* {{Joshikousei}}: [=SpyGirl=] spends most of her time in her sailor fuku school uniform (although it is possible that this is a costume from her TV show and not a real school uniform). However, given her age, she is almost certainly a high school student as well as being an actress and a secret agent. Either way, [[SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack this is her standard outfit]] till she transfers to Alex's school in the U.S. and starts wearing casual clothes to blend in.
* KnowsTheRopes: ProfessionalKiller Hanging Chad is an expert with the lasso and uses it hang his targets.
* LandmarkingTheHiddenBase: S.H.I.R.T.S. (Secret Headquarters International Reconnaissance, Tactics, and Spies) had their invisible headquarters suspended between the tops of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. (This was retconned out of existence after 2001, for obvious reasons.)
* TheLoad: This seems to be Butch's place.
* TheMafia: Schweitzer's father seems to have connections. How far and how big is left vague during the Butch affair but [[spoiler:is clearly a nobody compared to the power Gila can muster]].
* MamaBear: Rita Moody would go to any lengths to protect Butch. [[spoiler:Even more epic because she is in fact Anita Fleming, Alex's mother and she ''literally'' sacrificed her face, identity and contacts to keep protecting him.]]
* ManchurianAgent: Alex is a good version.
* [[ComicBookAdaptation Manga Adaptation]]: ''[=SpyBoy=]: The Manga Affair'' is done by the same people, but it is deliberately drawn in a more traditional {{Manga}} artstyle than when compared to the original comic.
* MissingMom: Alex's mom was killed during a mission, forcing the Fleming family to lay low for more than a decade.
* MostCommonSuperpower: Bombshell.
* MrSmith: In this world most cover names go with Girl, Guy, Dude and in one case Main Man.
* NoodleIncident: Apparently Bombshell managed to reunite with her parents during the TimeSkip.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: [[spoiler:[=SpyGirl=] didn't. The one we know is a different person brainwashed into thinking she was the original.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: Annie Mae is probably over eighty, but she looks and had quirks like a 5 year old girl. It is rumored in universe than she became eternally young after drinking the blood of a mermaid.
* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: Is never truly revealed what the echelon truly is or what are his goals.
* PantsPositiveSafety: Behold [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spyboy3.jpg the cover]] of ''[=SpyBoy=]'' #3!
* PaperThinDisguise: [=SpyGuy=] disguises himself as a substitute teacher named "Guy Mcguffin".
* ParentalAbandonment: Alex suffers from the "Mommy Dead Syndrome", [[spoiler:doubly so because her mother is actually next to him... deeply caring for his VitriolicBestBuds Butch]].
* PlayAlongPrisoner: It never works.
* PunnyName: As with much of David's work, [=SpyBoy=] is ''littered'' with wordplay.
** Madam Imadam, who works for an organisation known as the Palindrome.
** Annie Mae, Japanese techno-mage-something.
** [=REMbrandt=], the artist of dreams and a ShoutOut to painter Creator/RembrandtVanRijn.
** Yoma Ma, which is both a play on famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and a YourMom joke (say it out loud).
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Butch gives a unintended one to [[spoiler:his deceased mother]] at the end of Confidential.
* RogueAgent: [[spoiler:Seems to be a possible future for Alex.]]
* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: [=SpyGirl=] spends most of her time in her sailor fuku school uniform (although it is possible that this is a costume from her TV show and not a real school uniform). Either way, this is her standard outfit till she transfers to Alex's school and starts wearing casual clothes to blend in.
* SeriousBusiness: During the election for Class President, Schweitzer's father hires a hitman to take out both Alex and his ex-girlfriend.
%%* ShipSinking: Bombshell and Alex after the TimeSkip.
* ShoutOut:
** [=SpyBoy=]'s civilian identity is Alex Fleming, a nod to Franchise/JamesBond's creator Creator/IanFleming. Continuing the [[ShoutOutThemeNaming theme]], his father's first name is Sean (after Creator/SeanConnery).
** Marta Hari is also one to real life spy Mata Hari.
** To ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' of all things in one issue.
** An [[Creator/DarkHorseComics internal]] example: In one of the first numbers, Alex's grandfather is seen watching ''Film/TheMask'' when a group of ninjas tried to attack him in his house.
* TheSociopath: The [=SpyBoy=] persona may be the ultimate badass, but it is impulsive, mission-oriented, has no problem applying brute force solutions without hesitation and is impossibly (even violently) rude. Whoever programmed this guy really didn't thought that empathy (even faked) would be useful for whatever kind of missions he was going to be deployed on.
-->'''Young Girl:''' He... He took my sister... He...\\
'''Spyboy:''' Shut up. ''[applies injection]''\\
'''Young Girl:''' What are you doing?!\\
'''Spyboy:''' General anti-toxin. Should counter the tranq effects. Now shut up.\\
'''Young Girl:''' Can you save my sister?! She's in danger--!\\
'''Spyboy:''' [[WouldHurtAChild Not as much as you'll be if you don't shut up.]]
* SplitPersonality: [=SpyBoy=] himself is an artificial persona buried inside a normal high school student named Alex (arguably making him a BadassNormal SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan). Or, possibly, Alex is an artificial persona created to provide [=SpyBoy=] with a perfect cover. This is one of the main ethical questions explored by the series, in its more serious moments.
%%* SpyTuxReveal
* SpyVersusSpy: S.H.I.R.T.S. (Secret Headquarters International Reconnaissance, Tactics, and Spies) versus S.K.I.N.S. (Supreme Killing Institute).
* SuggestiveCollision: One instance has Bombshell falling with her breasts landing square on Butch's face. She lifts herself off him without a word (though looking mildly annoyed) while he lays there smiling goofily.
* SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands: Either it gets more silly or more awesome every single time.
* TeenSuperspy: Naturally. Alex Fleming is secretly one of these, and didn't know it until the first issue.
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: The comic skipped the 13th issue, but eventually it appeared as a miniseries that is numbered as 13.1, 13.2 and 13.3. Very bad things happen to a cast member in it.
* ThrowDownTheBomblet: Grenades are Bomshell's preferred weapons.
* TimeSkip: 1 year in ''Final Exam''.
* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:[=SpyGirl=] when she discovers that she is not the original, but a double replacement, and that her past life as Yukio was not hers in the first place.]]
* TwoPersonLoveTriangle: Alex is attracted to Bombshell, but she's only interested in [=SpyBoy=]. Becomes a ''double'' TwoPersonLoveTriangle when [=SpyGirl=] shows up and becomes hot for Alex/[=SpyBoy=] as well.
* UnInstallment: The series skips issue number 13, but the miniseries The MANGA Affair published later contains issues 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3.
* UnifiedNamingSystem: The two rival spy organisations are S.H.I.R.T.S. (Secret Headquarters, International Reconnaissance, Tactics, and Spies) and S.K.I.N.S. (Supreme Killing Institute).
* UnluckyEverydude: Alex, before becoming [=SpyBoy=] and also when he comes back during a mission.
* UnreliableNarrator: It resulted that [[spoiler:the first meeting with [=SpyGirl=] in #10 was a complete fabrication by M.A.N.G.A]].
* VitriolicBestBuds:
** Butch's relationship with Alex, [=SpyGirl=] and Bombshell.
** Bombshell and [=SpyGirl=] are literally two breaths from killing each other most of the time.
* WatchingTheReflectionUndress: Alex is sharing a plane with Bombshell. She warns him not to look back, and so he promises not to turn around while staring at her reflection in the sheer surface in front of him. His SuperDeformed alter ego informs him that he's going to hell for this.
* WeHaveReserves: This seems the default reaction to all the enemies of [=SpyBoy=], sending henchmen to their death without blinking and eye [[spoiler:and the response of M.A.N.G.A to [=SpyGirl=]'s demise]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Barbie Q and Taketmatesa are never see or heard again after being hit by a wave in the Marispan casino.
* WilliamTelling: In a FunnyBackgroundEvent, [[ComicBook/YoungJustice Arrowette]] entertains a crowd by having two teammates hold Butch for this stunt.
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