[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dc_52_2940.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:It was a year without [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} DC's]] [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} greatest]] [[ComicBook/WonderWoman heroes.]] There would be others [[HeroesUnlimited to take their place.]]]]
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''52'' was a yearlong series published by DC Comics from May 2006 to May 2007. As the name suggests it consisted of an issue every week for an entire year, a Herculean task made easier by having four writers (Creator/GeoffJohns, Creator/GrantMorrison, Creator/GregRucka, and Creator/MarkWaid), one breakdown artist (Keith Giffen), and a veritable army of pencilers, inkers, colorists, and letterers. The story takes place between the events of ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis and the ComicBook/OneYearLater storylines of Characters/{{Wonder Woman|TheCharacter}}, Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}}, and Characters/{{Batman|TheCharacter}}.

While Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman appear occasionally throughout the story, the main focus is on the rest of the DC Universe as it functions without its iconic heroes, devoting most of its panel time to second and third string characters, including some who had been all but abandoned at the end of MediaNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks. Because of the sheer number of characters to keep track of and all the continuity and decades old story lines used as the backbone of the story, ''52'' could be accused of veering into ContinuityPorn. This is alleviated to a certain degree by the collected volumes of the series, which included creators' notes at the end of each week that tended to illuminate various parts of that week's chapter (including some of the more obscure references). DC also produced a companion book to the series that reprinted some classic issues featuring some of the major characters of the series that are not as well known (Rip Hunter, for example, had been pretty much been out of DC Comics since the 1960s, but becomes pretty important as 52 presses on), as well as more recent issues that set-up the characters for their individual stories.

While plot lines and various characters flow in and out of each other as the year goes on, there are seven main plot threads that the entire series can be boiled down to for simplicity's sake (minor spoilers ahead):

* ComicBook/BoosterGold's [[GloryHound attempts to become the next big name superhero]] in the absence of Superman begin to unravel as newcomer Supernova captures the public's attention. Meanwhile, [[RobotBuddy Skeets]] begins to suffer from continual temporal distortions, forcing Booster to turn to Rip Hunter (the time traveling hero) for help.
* [[ComicBook/ElongatedMan Ralph Dibny]], still reeling from the events of ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis2004'', begins to investigate a Kryptonian cult devoted to resurrection (most importantly, the resurrection of the [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis recently deceased]] [[Characters/SupermanConnerKent Conner Kent]]) that appears to have an interest in his dead wife, Sue. After busting up one of its rituals, Ralph begins his own journey to resurrect Sue with the help of the Helm of Nabu.
* The strained relationship between John Henry Irons (ComicBook/{{Steel}}) and his niece Natasha eventually drives her to join [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]]'s Everyman Project, a program that promises to awake latent metahuman genes at whatever price Luthor deems fit. However, Irons soon discovers that the artificial metagenes come at a serious price, and Lex's paranoia of Supernova has led him to try to get the treatment himself...
* Renee Montoya, vacillating between alcohol and hook-ups to ease the pain over the death of her partner Crispus Allen, is recruited by ComicBook/TheQuestion to investigate the expanding activities of Intergang. Their journey together becomes just as much about saving her from herself as it does the rest of the world from the newly founded [[ReligionOfEvil Religion of Crime]].
* As [[Characters/ShazamBlackMarvelFamily Black Adam]] continues to rule over the nation of Kahndaq he begins a new war against crime by publicly executing any super criminal that comes within his borders. His call for a new brand of superhuman justice is answered by other nations tired of American heroes running rampant across their borders, including China and its government sanctioned superhumans The Great Ten. Things begin to change though as Black Adam begins to build his own Marvel family, [[MoralityPet who convince him to follow a less bloody path.]]
* In the wake of a teleportation accident, ComicBook/AdamStrange, ComicBook/AnimalMan, and [[Characters/TeenTitansStarfire Starfire]] must find their own way back home with limited supplies (including a lack of eyes in their pilot, Adam). Their journey not only puts them against some of the darkest forces in space, but makes them a target for the evil [[EldritchAbomination Lady Styx]]. In order to survive long enough to find someone to help them return home, they are forced to join up with Lobo, [[MindScrew now a cardinal in an interplanetary religion of nonviolence devoted to a gigantic space dolphin]].
* Doctor Will Magnus, creator of the ComicBook/MetalMen, finds himself abducted to Oolong Island and forced to participate with [[MadScientist mad super scientists]] to create weapons of mass destruction for Intergang and its global ambitions. His resistance to the idea is severely hampered when his psych meds are confiscated.

The major consequences of the series on Franchise/TheDCU as a whole is proving that the DC Multiverse still exists as well as setting up some of the future storylines of some of its major characters. It also set the standard for weekly yearlong series published by DC, which has yet to be equaled by any of the other series that have followed.

Not to be confused with ''VideoGame/{{Action 52}}'' or ''ComicBook/{{New 52}}''.
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!!'''This series provides examples of:'''

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:A-D]]
* AbnormalAmmo: Will Magnus eventually starts actually shooting miniature versions of his ComicBook/MetalMen out of a homemade gun.
* AbortedArc: The original Booster Gold/Skeets arc involved the duo fixing the time-stream after it had been damaged during the ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis. However, several issues into the series, after Skeets had already noticed several discrepancies between events as they happened and as they were recorded in the future, the writers decided that this plot had been used too often by other time-travel heroes and was too generic, so they switched to an actual malevolent threat that intended to manipulate time and reality for its own gain.
** Rip Hunter lets slip that the Multiverse exists in front of [[MadScientist Doctor Sivana]]. This was probably intended to lead in to ComicBook/TheMultiversity, where the bad doctor plays a key role, but given the long period of DevelopmentHell it languished in, that Sivana's involvement had to be abandoned.
** [[spoiler: During the final clash against Mister Mind, Rip Hunter reveals that this will mark the beginning of Booster Gold's glory days, and "the dawn of something called the Megaverse." This was never brought up again. In fact, the follow up ''Booster Gold'' series centered around Booster actually having to retain his reputation as a "failed hero."]]
* ActionGirl: Renee Montoya, Kate Kane, Starfire (once they get past Devilance), Adrianna Tomaz (Isis), Natasha Irons, and a slew of action girls from other DCU titles that appear as minor and background characters throughout the series. Mercy Graves, a character created for [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries the Superman cartoon]] [[CanonImmigrant that was introduced into the comics]], appears with Lex Luthor in almost all his appearances, but only gets one opportunity to do anything.
* AffirmativeActionLegacy: Renee Montoya, a [[TwoferTokenMinority Hispanic lesbian]], [[spoiler: takes over from the late Vic Sage to become the new [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Question]]]]. Katherine "Kate" Kane, a Jewish Lesbian, is introduced as the new ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}.
* TheAlcoholic: When the story starts, Renee Montoya can be easily located in the bottom of any bottle found near her apartment. She is busy [[DrowningMySorrows trying to forget]] all that she has gone through, and creator commentary implies that she is not just on a brief bender after the death of her partner and driving off her girlfriend, but that she is actually a complete drunk. One panel, which showed her taking a pair of aspirin, was specifically drawn to give the impression that she was chewing the pills instead of just swallowing them, which turns out to be "an old drunks' trick."
* AmazonChaser: When Batwoman [[BigDamnHeroes bursts to the rescue]] to save Renee Montoya and the Question, Renee ogles her with almost slack-jawed awe as she backhands one of the mutant human/alien creatures.
--> "Hot damn."
* AntiVillain:
** Black Adam, who slowly begins to deviate from his extreme policies after the growth of his [[MoralityPet Marvel Family]].
** Dr. T.O. Morrow, an unapologetic supervillain who never even tries to redeem himself, is nonetheless lonely and depressed due to the lack of recognition, or even friendship, he gets while his student, William Magnus, is celebrated and heralded.
* ArcNumber: 52, doubling as a TitleDrop. It's referenced by ComicBook/RedTornado, written all over Rip Hunter's blackboard, and address of the warehouse Renee stakes out at 520 Kane Street.
* ArcWords: "Who are you?" and "Are you ready?" By ComicBook/TheQuestion. [[spoiler: Both incarnations.]]
* ArtificialIntelligence: The ComicBook/MetalMen, which are a team of well-beloved superheroes created by Dr. William Magnus, one of the main characters of this series.
* {{Ascended Fan|boy}}girl: Eliza Harmon, who idolized the ComicBook/TeenTitans and all things [[ComicBook/TheFlash speed]]. When she became Trajectory and a member of Luthor's new ComicBook/InfinityInc, she never stopped hoping to eventually join the Titans, and dreamed of eventually becoming the [[LegacyCharacter new]] Kid Flash.
* AsteroidThicket: Apparently the thicket that ComicBook/AdamStrange, ComicBook/AnimalMan, and [[Characters/TeenTitansStarfire Starfire]] are stuck in has a diameter measured in ''parsecs''. This is handwaved with the explanation that it is not a natural asteroid field, but that comes nowhere close to explaining the sheer amount of mass that is present.
* AuthorAppeal:
** The collected volumes make it clear which characters the writers loved most of all. Even Creator/DanDiDio, Editor in Chief of DC, got in on this; while Dan stayed out of much of the writing of 52 [[WordOfGod (his words)]], he did insist that [[spoiler: Ralph Dibny die as both "...a Hero and a husband."]] and had the end of the Ralph Dibny storyline rewritten.
** Grant Morrison is an avowed fan of the Silver Age, which is why many of the goofier characters appear in their stuff, such as Egg Fu in ''52'' (albeit DarkerAndEdgier). Still, Morrison was frustrated at being forced to ditch Egg Fu's prehensile mustache.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Batwoman outfit comes complete with [[CombatStilettos high-heels]], which would make even running a difficult challenge, let alone combat and leaping from the rooftops. The writers actually recognized this and, in her later appearances in ''[[Creator/DCComics Detective Comics]]'', her father explains that those were the only boots that could be found in the proper color, and her new footwear is considerably more practical.
* BadPowersBadPeople: [[spoiler: Hannibal]]. He has to ''eat'' a part of something in order to turn into it. [[{{Squick}} Ugh]].
* BadassBoast: "I'm a '''''detective.'''''"
* BadassBookworm: Ralph Dibny, the ComicBook/ElongatedMan. He has a respectable level of combat ability due to his stretching powers, but what ''really'' puts him above and beyond is his inquisitive and intellectual nature, which [[Characters/GreenLanternHalJordan Hal Jordan]] has said is more rational than any man he has ever met, even moreso than {{Characters/Batman|TheCharacter}} and [[Characters/TheFlashBarryAllen Barry Allen]].
* BadassNormal: Renee Montoya and the Question especially, but almost every Badass Normal in the DC Universe pops up at some point. It even introduces a few new ones, including the new ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}.
* BatmanGambit: Ralph Dibny's plan to defeat [[spoiler: Felix Faust and Neron]].
* BattleDiscretionShot: The climax of the Everyman storyline ends with [[spoiler: Natasha Irons managing to deactivate Luthor's new superpowers during his fight with Steel]]. The next panel, after [[spoiler: Luthor's [[OhCrap realization]]]], is a wide shot of the building and the sounds of smackdown ''echoing'' across Metropolis. It is ''unspeakably'' [[Awesome/TheDCU satisfying]]. The creator commentary included in the trade paperback reveals that, originally, we were supposed to actually see the end of the fight, but the writers realized that nothing they could draw could possibly look as amazing as what the readers' own minds would fill in.
* BeardOfSorrow: Over the series, Ralph Dibny comes closer and closer to outright despair and insanity and, as he does so, his personal hygiene falls by the wayside. It starts as a thin brush after the Cult of Conner fiasco, but over the weeks his beard becomes thicker and longer until the final climax of his story. Here, where he asserts control and reveals his plan, [[HesBack he appears clean-shaven and properly dressed for the first time in weeks.]]
* BelligerentSexualTension:
** Renee and Kate's relationship throughout the series is just-this-side of hostile, filled with [[UnresolvedSexualTension tension from their past relationship]] and ongoing personality conflicts. Renee herself recounts that even back when they were together they could always push each others buttons, that that was one of the things that made their relationship so passionate, [[{{Deconstruction}} but that was also a reason why they could never work as a long-term and stable couple]].
** Black Adam and Adrianna begin their courtship the same way, and the commentary in the trade-paperback recognizes that "you just know it's gonna be love when Andrea spits in Black Adam's face and lives to tell the tale."
* BenevolentBoss: Lex Luthor presents himself as such to Infinity Inc. and to his credit, makes an effort to actually be this. Unfortunately, Luthor being Luthor, cannot help but put his self-interests above others.
* BigBadEnsemble: [[spoiler: Mister Mind, Lady Styx, Lex Luthor, Chang-Tzu, Bruno Mannheim, and Neron]].
* BigDamnHeroes: ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}, in what was supposed to be her [[TheReveal reveal]], appears in a full-page splash panel knocking out two [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot mutant human lion/leopard cultists]] as she dramatically saves both Renee Montoya and ComicBook/TheQuestion from an unpleasant turn of events (namely, being eaten by the aforementioned cultists).
* BlackComedy: Issue 35 is titled "Rain of the Supermen" and begins with several of the humans augmented with super powers by Luthor's Everyman project suddenly losing their powers and falling to their deaths.
* TheBlank: [[ComicBook/TheQuestion One of the]] [[TropeCodifier originals]].
* BodyHorror: Many of the superheroes in the temporary hospital at Saint Camillus qualify. Due to a [[TeleFrag teleportation accident]], various heroes ended up fused together. Special mention to Cyborg and Firestorm, whose nervous systems were fused together, but most of all to Alan Scott.
--> '''Alan''': I lost an eye. And it turns out the one I do have isn't even my own.
* BrattyHalfPint: While a bit old for the role, Osiris fits it pretty well.
* [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim Break Her Heart To Save Her]]: After asking her for help, Renee rudely tells Kate that this affair has nothing to do with her and that she (Renee) does not owe her ''anything''. Kate is obviously crushed, but Renee's narration reveals that, if the Question's theories are correct and Intergang is behind everything, it is not just themselves who are in trouble, but all their friends and loved ones as well. Renee does not want to drag Kate into this.
* BreakTheHaughty:
** Booster Gold, after nearly reaching the very top of the superhero world, crashes down in ruins as Supernova steals all his glory, and his last staged heroism is exposed when the actor he hired to portray a supervillain exposes him when his check bounced.
** Natasha Irons is not quite as ready for the responsibility of being a hero as she believes she is, and struggles to deal with the realization.
** August General in Iron, who fervently believed that China's superheroes were strong on their own, was forced to allow outside help to stop [[spoiler: Black Adam]]'s rampage.
** The Heroes in the Everyman Project acted like stuck up snobs saying they're better than the [[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]], but when Black Adam starts rampaging across the world, and Alan Scott asked for their help, they chickened out.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: ComicBook/AmbushBug, who else? WordOfGod stated it was reflecting Grant Morrison's fatigue during the series.
-->'''Ambush Bug:''' Hello, room service? Send up a plot and three pages of dialogue right away! The weekly grind is tearin' me apart! '''''[[TitleDrop Fifty-two!!!]]'''''
** If you've read Animal Man's own comic (also written by Grand Morrison) you know he's a FourthWallObserver. So you understand that when Buddy looks into the "Camera" he's actually making eye contact with the reader. At one point he even points at us to assure his colleagues we're cheering them on!
* BroughtDownToNormal: Superman recently lost all of his powers and is spending the year simply as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, learning to do things as we humans do them (including shaving and picking up scalding hot pots). Both he and Lois are taking the entire affair in rather good order, content to be only human, but according to Perry White his work has really suffered as of late (since he is not used to actually having to ''look'' for news) and he is on the edge of termination. He ''does'', however, pull off a few BroughtDownToBadass stunts, like [[spoiler:jumping out a window to snag an interview with the new superhero on the block]].
* BuffySpeak: "It's been three weeks since I saw Mister cryptic-I-have-no-face-but-plenty-of-attitude."
* ButterflyOfTransformation: Vic Sage's [[spoiler:last words]] invoke this.
* TheCape: Not strictly anyone in the series, but as Black Adam [[CharacterDevelopment softens up]], he takes to wearing his cape more as symbolic gesture.
* CaptainEthnic: The Great Ten of China. [[EnforcedTrope Deliberately]].
* ChekhovsGun: At Black Adam's and Isis's wedding in Week Sixteen, the Intergang bomber quotes from the Crime Bible that serves as the foundation of the Religion of Crime. The bible itself and the religion as a whole would not be featured or even named until Week Twenty-Three, when the Question and Renee Montoya infiltrate one of their occult meetings.
* ChildSoldiers: Intergang recruits and brainwashes young children to serve as foot soldiers and [[SuicideAttack bombers]] against their enemies.
* ChristmasEpisode: The 33rd issue takes place during the Christmas season.
* CListFodder: Good-bye [[spoiler: ComicBook/ElongatedMan, Question, Terra-Man, Terra, Devilance, Captain Comet, and the entire population of Bialya]].
* CollectorOfForms: Everyman is a shapeshifter who can only assume a form if he's eaten a small piece of it first. When this is brought up, his teammates note that he's turned into such things as a gorilla or a giant crab...
* ComesGreatResponsibility: The underlying theme of the John Henry/Natasha Irons subplot is the responsibility of those with power and the worthiness of those same people to ''deserve'' their power.
* ContinuityNod: The series refers heavily to the immediate history of the DCU and the pasts of its characters, which set up the various plots for this series. This includes (for the different storylines):
** ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' for ComicBook/BoosterGold, ComicBook/{{Steel}}, Black Adam, and the Space Heroes (ComicBook/AnimalMan, ComicBook/AdamStrange and [[Characters/TeenTitansStarfire Starfire]]), who all took part in either fighting the crisis itself or the set-up.
** ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis2004'' for Ralph Dibny, in which his wife was murdered, he stopped being the Elongated Man, and a lot of moral ambiguity was introduced to the formerly [[IncorruptiblePurePureness all-good]] ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica.
** ''ComicBook/GothamCentral'' for Renee Montoya, the series which covered her involuntary outing by Two-Face, her gradual descent into alcoholism and violence, and the death of her partner, Crispus Allen.
** The 1990's ''ComicBook/MetalMen'' series for Dr. William Magnus, [[RetCon which he describes as a delusion resulting from a psychotic break]].
* ContinuityPorn: The series is largely filed with references to old and obscure stories and series.
* CosmicPlaything: Buddy Baker. Makes sense when you realize the [[Creator/GrantMorrison one]] who wrote Buddy's scenes wrote a run of [[ComicBook/AnimalMan his series]].
* CrisisCrossover: An unusual example of a Crisis Crossover that happens immediately after another. DC has referred to the surrounding Crisis' as chapters in a single large story beginning with ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', then ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' and ending in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''. (Of course, there was also ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'', but that doesn't count because it's largely been [[CanonDiscontinuity expunged from canon]] due to how awful it was.)
* CutLexLuthorACheck: Luthor uses the Everyman project as a legitimate means of income, but it turns out the underlying plan is all about [[IJustWantToBeSpecial getting powers himself]] and destroying Superman.
* DamselInDistress: Despite ComicBook/AdamStrange's speech that she is a true Warrior Princess and gender equality is a fact of life out in space, the first plot-worthy event to befall the Space Heroes is when Starfire is taken prisoner by Devilance the Pursuer and the two men need to come rescue her.
* DarkerAndEdgier:
** Classic villain Egg Fu was transformed into the horrific and monstrous Chang Tzu, who killed a henchman because he ''might'' have once called him "Egg Fu." According to the WordOfGod, Morrison was ''begging'' them to retain the prehensile mustache, but was voted down.
** Invoked by Ralph Dibny, who states that being a jokester is ComicBook/PlasticMan's job; ComicBook/ElongatedMan is the ex-detective.
* DeathByDepower: Lex Luthor turns off the superpowers of the normal people he gave them to as a test for Superman would come and save them. Unfortunately he wasn't available and they plummet to the ground mid-flight.
* DeathIsCheap:
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Ralph Dibny when he, [[Characters/GreenLanternHalJordan Hal Jordan]], ComicBook/GreenArrow, ComicBook/{{Metamorpho}}, and Zauriel are breaking up the Cult of Conner, which preaches resurrection. Ralph points out that Jordan and Arrow have both been dead before, and Ralph has actually ''lost track'' of how many times Metamorpho has been deceased in the past. With all their history, who is to say that the Cult of Conner does not have a legitimate point?
** The trope is later played with by the authors, who realised that past experiences would color the perspective of any readers. [[spoiler: ComicBook/BoosterGold]] was never meant to be KilledOffForReal, it was always planned to be [[FakingTheDead a deliberate trick to fool the villain]], but the writers wanted to conceal that fact from the audience and they knew that comic readers would ''automatically'' view any "death" with skepticism. So, they had to find a way to actually convince readers of his death while not actually killing him, and they eventually settled on the simple and effective plan of showing his corpse. The trade paperbacks feature several rough sketches of attempts to pull this off, with panels showing his bisected body falling to the ground in several places, but this was determined to come off as [[{{Narm}} hilarious instead of dramatic]]. The panel eventually decided upon was a half-success; fans did not actually believe [[spoiler: Booster Gold]] was dead, but they ''did'' believe that [[PutOnABus he was permanently out of the series.]]
* DeathSeeker: Renee begins the series suicidal after the events of ''ComicBook/GothamCentral'' and, after she is forced to kill an Intergang suicide bomber that was just a child, she begs Black Adam to kill her when he finds her "drunkenly taking pleasure with one of [his] citizens."
--> "That's it... that's right... just ''do it''..."
* DependingOnTheArtist: The series retained a single breakdown artist (Keith Giffen) for all fifty-two issues to deliberately avert this trope and maintain consistent portrayals of characters throughout the series. There were minor variances over the year (the design of Natasha Irons when she first appears with ComicBook/InfinityInc does not match either her previous or later appearances, and the changing bust size of Renee Montoya and Kate Kane [[AccentuateTheNegative got a lot of criticism from internet reviewers]]), but these were few and far between.
* DespairEventHorizon: There are actually many of them, each taking place in one of the independent storylines where they are turning points not just in the story, but in the lives of the characters as well. Commentary released in the trade paperback reveals that some of these scenes were specifically designed to push the envelope as far as possible in a comic book and others drew from painful personal experiences of the writers.
** The deaths of [[spoiler: [[MoralityChain Osiris and Isis]]]] sends [[spoiler: Black Adam]] into a deep depression and homicidal rage that dramatically affects not just him, but the entire planet.
** When [[spoiler: ComicBook/TheQuestion]] dies, [[spoiler: Renee Montoya]] seems to be okay, but actually has a personal crisis of faith, identity and purpose.
* DestinationDefenestration: In her introduction, Batwoman throws one of the mutant human/animal cultists out a window [[TechnicalPacifist after she stopped Renee from shooting him]].
* DidntThinkThisThrough: In Week #42, Ralph Dibny cites this as what doomed [[spoiler: Felix Faust's deception as the Helmet of Fate. To manipulate Ralph and acquire his soul, Faust had to set up an elaborate BatmanGambit (the accidental deaths of prominent occultists) to get Ralph involved, wherein he'd 'take possession' of the Helmet. To earn Ralph's trust, 'Fate' also shows him a vision of the deaths. What Faust didn't consider was that he had just shown one of the greatest Detectives in the DCU a classic locked room murder mystery scenario. The Helmet was the murder weapon. And as Ralph so succinctly puts it, what's the first thing you do with a murder weapon? ''You look for prints'']].
* DontAsk / YouDoNOTWantToKnow: [[spoiler: Booster on where Waverider got his future corpse from. He doesn't want to know, either]].
* DrowningMySorrows:
** Her partner is dead, she has driven away her girlfriend, and she has been slowly descending into violence and disassociation from everybody and everything she once held dear. When the story starts, Renee Montoya has been living inside a bottle for so long that the creator commentary implies she is a full alcoholic who might not be able to get back on her own.
** After the Cult of Conner, as Ralph Dibny edges closer and closer to despair and insanity he begins to perpetually carry around a hip flask and frequently drinks, regardless of the situation. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope He is drinking]] ''[[SuperSerum gingold]]'', keeping Felix Faust off balance by giving the impression that he is getting drunk.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:E-H]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: The Super Young Team are first mentioned in ''52'', but do not appear until ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''.
* TheEarthPrimeTheory: As of this series, the multiverse hinges on "New Earth" - not just a specific universe, but a specific planet in that universe. This becomes a plot point shortly afterwards in the Sinestro Corps War, where Sinestro wants to conquer Earth for this very reason.
* EatingTheEyeCandy: In the middle of her first encounter with Batwoman, Renee takes a moment to appreciate her muscular physique, clad only in a skintight suit.
* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler: Mister Mind becomes this in the end]].
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Natasha Irons, after a fallout with [[ComicBook/{{Steel}} her uncle]], enlists in the Lex Luthor Everyman Project and gains actual superpowers, going from a human in PoweredArmor to a human capable of ''crushing'' PoweredArmor. John Henry is infected with a metagene against his will and transforms into a being composed of stainless steel, capable of deflecting bullets and hurling blobs of molten metal.
* EnergyWeapon: Intergang has access to Apokoliptian and Thanagarian weapons technology, and Renee Montoya steals a very handy laser pistol from one of their warehouses.
* EurekaMoment: After Renee and the Question storm the mysterious warehouse she was hired to investigate the trail goes cold, without any clues or leads to where the alien and lasers came from or where they were going, and she has just about given up on the entire affair. The three weeks ([[SeriesContinuityError Or was it two?]]) she was paid for have passed, Captain Sawyer is correct in that she is not even really a licensed [[PrivateDetective P.I.]] and she does not owe the Question anything. Then, just as she is about to close the mental file completely, she notices an open tabloid covering a gala that the Kane family is throwing... the ''Kane'' family...
* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Sobek, who is actually Famine. Dr. Fate, who is actually Felix Faust, and Skeets, who is actually possessed by Mr. Mind]].
* EvilCounterpart: Inverted. Black Adam is normally the Evil Counterpart of [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], but in this series, he tries to turn over a new leaf and serves as one of the protagonists.
* EvilSorcerer: [[spoiler: Felix Faust]]
* EyesDoNotBelongThere: Batman encounters the Ten-Eyed Men while on his journey around the world, who have an eye at the end of each finger. They were inspired by the Ten-Eyed Man, an old villain from MediaNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}} that one of the writers remembered fondly.
* FaceStealer: The shapeshifter Everyman needs to eat a part of something to turn into that thing. He makes numerous mentions of hairs and nails to explain his combat forms [[MindScrew and some shapes he uses just for fun]], but this does raise some questions when he begins to change into mutant animals and {{Giant Enemy Crab}}s. Just what did he eat to turn into ''that''?
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: ComicBook/BoosterGold]]
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath:
** [[spoiler: The Black Marvel Family's decimation.]] Creator commentary reveals that they were deliberately pushing the envelope as far as they possibly could in a comic.
** [[Characters/ShazamBlackMarvelFamily Black Adam kills]] [[spoiler: Sobek]] by forcing his jaw open until his head is torn in half.
* {{Fanservice}}:
** Natasha was written as wearing proper welding gear in the scene of her building her own armor, but the artist drew her without proper protection and [[MaleGaze focused on her chest when she hit an air pocket]]. The writers were very disappointed with the change, since it not only made Natasha less sympathetic when she gets burned, but also undercut her argument with her uncle. By recklessly forging ahead without protective gear, she shows that she really is not ready for the responsibility of wielding PoweredArmor, and the legitimate disagreement she has with John Henry begins to become more one-sided.
** An early issue has Animal Man and Adam Strange stranded on a paradise-like planet with Starfire. In one scene, Starfire showers and talks with Animal Man while completely naked. Naturally there is SceneryCensor to cover her.
* FauxActionGirl: Starfire in the early weeks. Just after ComicBook/AdamStrange gives Animal Man an entire speech about how she is a true Warrior Princess, that gender-equality is old news out in space and she has no need for anybody to protect her or care for her, she is ambushed and imprisoned by Devilance the Pursuer without even a struggle [[DamselInDistress and needs the two men to come and rescue her]]. Of course, [[JustifiedTrope she had been eating mind-altering fruit that degraded both her movement control and decision-making abilities]]; [[ActionGirl she makes up for it later on]], so we can cut her some slack.
* FieryRedhead: "Kate Kane has the kind of beauty that leaves you ''breathless'' and the kind of temper that leaves you ''bruised''."
* FightingFingerprint: Renee Montoya realizes that Batwoman is her ex-girlfriend Kate Kane because she uses the exact same punching technique (in addition to the other clues).
* FiringDay: [[Characters/SupermanTheCharacter Clark Kent]] has lost his superpowers and [[BroughtDownToNormal is living a year as just a normal human.]] Unfortunately, this means that his work as a reporter is seriously lacking, as he isn't used to needing to go out and ''look'' for news. Perry White is on the verge of firing him, and in fact has his termination letter in his hand, when Clark is motivated to take a lesson from his wife's playbook and ''leaps out a window'' in order to attract the attention of the new hero Supernova for an interview.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** In Renee's story, Vic constantly telling Renee her cigarettes will kill her and asking her if she knows how many poisons are in cigarettes foreshadows [[spoiler: Vic dying of lung cancer]].
** Several of The Question's lines take on a new meaning once you find out [[spoiler: he is dying from cancer and knows it]]. This line in particular from Renee is especially wince-worthy.
---> "I swear before this is over [[spoiler: I'm gonna hold his dead body in my hands.]]"
** Similarly, Sobek's constant complaints of hunger suddenly hit a lot harder when you learn that [[spoiler:he's really Famine, a Horseman of Apokolips]].
** This story, along with the ComicBook/SevenSoldiers maxi-series, sets up important plot points for ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''. The scenes showing what Batman and Characters/{{Robin}} did in their year off set up a number of points which become important during Morrison's run on Batman, and Rip Hunter's chalkboard predicts events in a whole host of future stories.
%% * ForScience: The Science Squad on Oolong Island.
* FridgeLogic: In-universe, Skeets is listing off the future-crimes of Metropolis while Booster Gold explains why each of them does not satisfy his needs of a big, showy crime to get himself back on top of the fame and money game. When Skeets eventually gets to a nuclear submarine crash in Midtown, Booster explains that that one is particularly useless, since who will even ''notice'' him underwater at night--wait, how is a submarine going to crash in ''Midtown''?
* GambitPileup: Ralph Dibny, [[spoiler: Felix Faust, and Neron]], as well as Booster Gold, Rip Hunter, [[spoiler: Skeets, and even Daniel Carter]].
* GeniusBruiser: John Henry Irons, doctor, metallurgical engineer, government scientist, and a six foot tall wall of muscle.
* GenreShift: The initial storyline for Renee Montoya is straight out of [[FilmNoir classic detective fiction]], [[ComicBook/TheQuestion faceless employer notwithstanding]], as she is hired to surveil an abandoned and decrepit warehouse... then her surveillance discovers the nightmarish alien ''thing'' entering the warehouse and the crates of laser weaponry stored within.
* GiantEnemyCrab: Hannibal turns into one to fight [[spoiler: Steel, who]] responds by breaking his grip -- and his hand. This does raise the question, just what has Hannibal been eating?
* GloryHound: Booster is reckless in his search for glory. [[spoiler: Subverted a quarter of the way through. While Booster does seek to be the big hero the moment he enters the Rip's lab it all becomes an act to defeat Mr. Mind]]
* GoingForTheBigScoop: Clark Kent emulates his wife's notorious recklessness to save his job, such as [[spoiler:jumping out of window to get an interview with Supernova]]. Lois is not amused.
* MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks: It is solidly set in the [[MediaNotes/TheModernAgeOfComicBooks here and now]], but many of its characters are classic creations of the [[MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] with the baggage that comes with them.
* GrandfatherClause: For a lot of fans, this is the only explanation for the inclusion of Chang Tzu (better known as Egg Fu back in the [[MediaNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Sixties]]).
* HalfwayPlotSwitch: The original plan for the Booster Gold/Skeets subplot involved fixing the time-stream, which had become broken during the recent crisis, and this is hinted at by the discrepancies in Skeets' history files starting in the first issue. However, the writers eventually decided that this plot was too generic and had been done far too often with other time traveling heroes, so they instead [[spoiler: had Skeets possessed by Mr. Mind who planned to ''eat'' reality]].
* HeadgearHeadstone: The cover of #1 shows ComicBook/{{Batman}}'s cowl perched atop ComicBook/WonderWoman's [[WeaponTombstone sword]] thrust through ComicBook/{{Superman}}'s cape: signifying their symbolic deaths. This [[BookEnds bookended]] by the cover of #52 which depicts ComicBook/TheQuestion's iconic fedora perched on top of a gravestone (with ComicBook/ElongatedMan's orange costume wrapped round the stone): representing their actual deaths.
* HeKnowsTooMuch:
** The reason Lady Styx wants the "Space Heroes" dead is because she believes they [[spoiler: saw the recreation of the Multiverse]].
** [[spoiler: Skeets]] tries to lock Daniel Carter in a time-loop believing he saw too much in Hunter's lab, actually quoting the line.
* HesBack: Ever since ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis2004'' Ralph has been "un-Elongated" and near-suicidal, and he verges quite close to outright insanity over the course of this series. He is [[DrowningMySorrows perpetually carrying a flask]] and [[BeardOfSorrow has let his personal hygiene fall by the wayside]], but when Ralph [[spoiler: unmasks Felix Faust and reveals he knew it was him all along]] he is, for the first time in several weeks, clean-shaven and properly dressed while his opponent cowers and trembles.
-->[[spoiler: '''Ralph Dibney:''' It's not booze, Faust. ''Gingold.'']]
* HeroicBastard: The Question. It is not a big part of either his character or the story, but when Renee calls him a bastard [[InsultBackfire he agrees that, since he was raised in an orphanage, he most likely really is a bastard]].
* HeroicBSOD:
** Booster Gold has a complete emotional collapse in the first issue when Skeets first begins to lapse in his historical knowledge. Not only does ComicBook/MartianManhunter need to physically restrain him, but he even bloodies the nose of mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, who was there to report on the memorial service.
** After the Cult of Conner ceremony, Ralph Dibny is reduced to crying beneath a highway overpass, promising to [[MadnessMantra "try again."]]
** When Renee Montoya is [[ShootTheDog forced to kill a young girl, a child, that Intergang was using as a suicide bomber]] she [[TheseHandsHaveKilled can not deal with the guilt]] and even begs Black Adam to kill her.
* HeroicSacrifice: It will bring tears to your eyes.
* HiveMind: Lady Styx and her empire of zombies.
* HollywoodHypeMachine: When it was announced that ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} would be reintroduced to Franchise/TheDCU in this series, and that she would be gay with a history with Renee Montoya, the media reaction was ''astounding''. Creator/DanDiDio himself said that he was completely unprepared for the amount of focus and recognition, including spreading into media that is not traditionally related to or focused on comic books. With such a focus on her and her sexuality she became known as DC's most high-profile gay superhero. However, the press response was greatly out of proportion to her role in the series, which was as a supporting character spread out over fifty-two issues, and after its conclusion she did not receive another starring role until her 2009 headlining of ''Detective Comics''.
* HowDareYouDieOnMe: Happens in the climax of Renee's storyline, after [[spoiler: Renee's girlfriend Kate is kidnapped and stabbed through the heart]].
* HumanKnot: A non-comical example. [[ComicBook/ElongatedMan Ralph Dibny]] knocks out a demon, pumps him full of gingold (a substance that makes a body super-elastic), then ties him up in a giant knot. By the time the demon regains consciousness, the gingold already begins to wear out (with all the nasty consequences of a regular body being tied into a knot), and Ralph offers another portion for the information he needs from the demon.
* HypocriticalHumor: After a depowered [[Characters/SupermanTheCharacter Clark Kent]] scores an interview with Supernova by throwing himself out of a high window in order to get caught, Lois throws the newspaper with the story at him.
--> '''Lois''': What ever possessed you to throw yourself out a window to get someone's attention?
--> '''Clark''': The memory of you asking me that with a straight face will last a lifetime. Lois, you wrote the playbook on this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:I-L]]
* ImAHumanitarian:
** [[spoiler: Hannibal, the metahuman Everyman. Really, is it a surprise that a character named '''''[[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal]]''''' was a cannibal?]]
** Yuurd the Unknown [[spoiler: AKA Sobek the Talking Crocodile]].
* IveGotAnXAndImNotAfraidToUseIt: "Stand Back! I've got a particle wave ray gun and bipolar disorder!"
* IJustWantToBeSpecial:
** Lex Luthor. He manages to convince thousands of others to do so as well.
** Natasha Irons ''is'' special, but it takes her most of the series to realize that being special does not actually ''make'' you special. Brains she was given, but she needs to ''earn'' wisdom.
* InNameOnly: Literally. Lex Luthor has bought the copyrights to several superhero identities and teams and has begun distributing them to the creations of his Everyman Project, giving them the names of iconic characters without any connection (personally, thematically or professionally) to their earlier incarnations. This leads to extensive friction between the new ComicBook/InfinityInc and the ComicBook/TeenTitans and the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica; the latter two teams knew, and in some instances ''fathered'', the people behind the old identities and the members of the original Infinity, Inc., and they take Luthor's buying of their identities as a personal insult. Infinity, Inc., however, throws this right back at them; the Teen Titans are also not what they once were, they have lost so many members and been reformed so often that they are no more the original team than Infinity, Inc. is.
* InsultBackfire:
--> '''Renee Montoya:''' "You really ''are'' a bastard."\\
'''The Question:''' "Well, I was raised in an orphanage, so you're probably right."
* IntrepidReporter: Since [[BroughtDownToNormal he lost his powers]] it seems that Clark Kent is actually ''not'' an example of the trope, and has actually been in such a reporting slump that Perry White is prepared to terminate him from the ''Daily Planet'' since he seems to be expecting stories to just fall into his lap. Once he understands that his job is on the line, however, he decides that he might as well go out with a bang. He steals a page from his wife's playbook and ''leaps from a window'' in order to attract the attention of Supernova, the newest hero in Metropolis, in order to get the first interview with the mysterious figure.
* InvulnerableKnuckles: In Kate Kane's third panel in the series, she punches Renee Montoya across the jaw, apparently hard enough for blood to start filling in Renee's mouth. However, when she should have at least split her knuckles, if not broken her hand altogether, the following panels show no pain or damage whatsoever.
* IronicHell: The Helm of Nabu shows Ralph Dibny a literal ironic hell as a lesson on what happens to sorcerers who mess up bad. Ralph also gets the chance to inflict one of these on [[ComicBook/IdentityCrisis2004 his wife's murderer]]. He could not bring himself to go through with it.
* ItGetsEasier: When Renee and the Question stumble across a bloody murder scene in Kahndaq, her police instincts are yelling at her not to touch anything for fear of contaminating the crime scene. She notes that, after already committing several misdemeanors and felonies breaking into Ridge-Ferrick Holdings back in Gotham, it is getting easier and easier to ignore that part of her mind.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Lex Luthor is utterly convinced that Supernova is Superman in disguise. Why would Superman do this? Why create a new uniform, develop new technologies to give himself new powers and cut off all contact with friends and allies? Why go to so much trouble? To ''toy'' with him.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: After getting her help to look into the background of a seemingly abandoned warehouse, Renee bluntly explains to Kate that this affair has nothing to do with her and that she (Renee) does not owe her ''anything''. This leaves Kate visible crushed, but Renee's narration reveals that if the Question is correct and Intergang really is behind everything it is not just themselves who are in trouble, but their friends and loved ones as well, and she does not want Kate to be dragged into this.
* JawBreaker: After [[spoiler: Sobek]] reveals himself, he is killed this way.
* JerkassGods: The Egyptian gods who power Black Adam. [[spoiler: During World War III, Captain Marvel begged them to sever their ties with him, but they laughed in his face, apparently in full support of Black Adam's rampage.]]
* KickTheDog: Luthor on New Year's Eve. Sobek's taunting of Isis when she calls him out is also pretty cruel.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: ComicBook/TheQuestion, Osiris, Isis, and others]]. Their deaths were either drawn-out and heart-wrenching ([[spoiler:The Question]]) or graphic and brutal ([[spoiler:Osiris]]). Commentary in the trade paperbacks revealed that the authors and artists drew from personal life experiences for the more emotional deaths, whereas others were specifically designed to be as graphic as they could possibly be in a comic book.
* KnightTemplar: Black Adam genuinely believes in justice and making a better world, but personal tragedies and millennia of fruitless efforts have made him bitter, jaded and willing to go to any lengths, regardless of the blood those lengths are soaked in, to achieve his goals.
* LadyDrunk: Renee Montoya for the first half of the series as she deals with the death of her police partner, Crispus Allen, and being left by her romantic partner, Daria Hernandez. Unlike many versions of this trope it is not played for laughs; the creator commentary published in the trade paperbacks imply that she is now an actual alcoholic. One panel, which showed her taking a pair of aspirin, was specifically drawn to give the impression that she was chewing the pills instead of just swallowing them, which turns out to be "an old drunks' trick."
* LadyInRed: Kate Kane's first appearance is in a floor-length red party dress and, as Renee Montoya explains, "she has the kind of beauty that leaves you breathless."
* LastDisrespects: Only a handful of second-rate heroes are present at ComicBook/BoosterGold's funeral, and even they make it clear that [[OnlyInItForTheMoney they are only there because they are being paid]].
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: An image of [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]] can be seen in a newspaper about a temporally-displaced pirate attack.
* LegacyCharacter:
** Renee when [[spoiler: she becomes the new [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Question]]]].
** ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} makes her first return to DCU comics continuity in several decades when Katherine "Kate" Kane is introduced.
** Lex Luthor has bought the copyrights and trademarks to various superhero identities and teams and is using them for the products of his Everyman Project. This results in a new ComicBook/InfinityInc running around and a new Nuklon, [[KickTheDog but also a new Jade]].
* LetsGetDangerous: [[spoiler: Black Adam has just massacred an entire country out of vengeance for his dead family, including the four Eldritch Abominations responsible for said dead family, and now he shows up at the front door of the Science Squad, the people responsible for the creation of the Eldritch Abominations. The Science Squad, a collection of various mad scientists from around the DCU, has mostly had their various social phobias and maniac tendencies played for laughs up until this point. This should be a Curb Stomp Battle, and it is... but not in the direction that you think. The Science Squad finally puts aside their myriad squabbles and works together to lay the hurt on Black Adam, eventually capturing him. Just to put this in perspective, once Black Adam later escapes, he starts World War III. By himself. Against everyone. With no allies. World War III is Black Adam vs. the entire planet. And the Science Squad, of all people, take him down with little effort]].
* LetsSeeYouDoBetter: When Booster Gold and Ralph Dibny meet, one of the very first crossovers of the separate stories, Ralph becomes almost violently angry when he remembers that Booster is from the future and, as such, should have known about his wife's murder and been able to do something about it. This leads to [[WhatTheHellHero general contempt for Booster Gold's glory-seeking ways and overall status as a sell-out.]] Booster, however, is having none of it, and points out that even though he sympathizes with Ralph, he will not be lectured by a former hero who has not even put on his costume in eight months, and at least Booster is still ''doing'' something.
* LodgedBladeRecycling: [[spoiler:Kate kills Bruno with the same sacrificial dagger he has just used to cut her heart half-way out]].
* LoveAtFirstSight: Sort of. It turns out they already know each other, and had actually dated in the past, but in the few panels before Renee realized that Batwoman was Kate Kane, her old girlfriend, she was dumbfounded and awe-struck by the [[AmazonChaser dramatic, gorgeous woman who has leapt into the fray to save her life]].
--> "Hot damn."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:M-P]]
* MadScientist: Intergang actually goes around the world to collect all the mad scientists it can for Oolong Island, where it lets them run free and create to their wildest and most wretched dreams.
* MadnessMantra:
** "Try again..."
** [[HiveMind "Believe in Her! Believe in Her!"]]
* MaleGaze: Lobo's first action when he meets Starfire is to rip her shirt off and ogle her lustily. Her species has no nudity taboo, so she just stares him down until he gets it out of his system and offers him a bribe to give them a lift home.
* MeaningfulName: The title of the story, which refers to [[spoiler: the newly created Multiverse, which numbers at exactly 52]], the 52 weeks in a year, '''and''' 52, when written in a certain way, forms the Greek symbol for Omega.
* MidSeasonTwist: Initially, the space heroes had a personal and self-contained story-arc, simply trying to get back to Earth from deep space. Then they meet Lobo, and find out about the Stygian Passover and what that entails for the continuation of life.
-->'''ComicBook/AdamStrange''': You know what we didn't need? One more disaster, one more roadblock. One more f^&*ing '''twist'''!
* MindScrew: Lobo is now a cardinal in an intergalactic religion of peace dedicated to the Triple Fish God. Seriously.
* MistakenDeathConfirmation: ComicBook/BoosterGold dies in front of hundreds of eyewitnesses, and they later recover his corpse and confirm his identity via DNA. When he turns out to not actually be dead, he reveals that he pulled a switcheroo with his ''own'', actual corpse [[TimeTravel from far in the future]] in order to fake his death as convincingly as possible.
* MoodWhiplash: When Black Adam and Isis are getting married, which is a joyous occasion where the heavens themselves are thundering their approval and thousands of spectators are laughing and cheering, Renee Montoya and the Question are scouring the crowd for a [[SuicideAttack suicide bomber]] that could kill hundreds. The panels keep cutting back and forth between the characters, the joy of the wedding and the stress of the search, and Renee is eventually [[ShootTheDog forced to kill the bomber to stop the explosion]], which occurs superimposed over the final pronouncement that they are husband and wife. The last image of the scene, of Adam and Isis waving to the crowd, is reflected in the pool of blood coming from the dead child bomber. Later, when Adam and Isis enjoy their first night together as husband and wife, janitorial staff outside their windows are scrubbing the blood off the ground.
** The issues veered wildly from dark to just plain silly, like going from Ralph's [[spoiler: seeming]] self-destruction to Lobo and space dolphin gods.
* MookFaceTurn:
** Dennis, the head scientist of Lex Luthor's Everyman Project, knew that Lex could not be trusted with superpowers. [[spoiler: He kept telling Lex he was incompatible with the exo-gene therapy when he was actually able to have the treatment. When this led to Lex having an innocent young man killed, Dennis committed suicide and tried to take all of his research with him]].
** Abbot, one of Bruno Mannheim's underlings, [[spoiler: rebels against Mannheim's plans to create Apokoliptian Firepits in Gotham City and helps Characters/{{Nightwing|DickGrayson}} and Renee Montoya prevent the plot and save ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}]]. He himself explains that he is just ''sick'' of the whole damn thing, although his later appearances in ''Detective Comics'' instead have him label himself a "true believer" of the Religion of Crime who no longer agrees with Mannheim's specific interpretation of prophecy and doctrine.
* MoralityChain: It seems that his own personal Marvel family is all that keeps Black Adam from just going around and tearing people in half all day long.
* MoralityPet:
** Isis (and eventually Osiris) becomes this for Black Adam. The writers hoped to slightly deconstruct the trope with the prisons of Kahndaq, which Renee and the Question experience first hand, by showing that even if Black Adam is being made warm and fuzzy by Isis that does not instantly negate everything he has done or his impact on society.
** The Space Dolphin is one for Lobo, convincing him to do the right thing. [[spoiler: It eventually fails in its task when Lobo kills the Triple Fish God when Lobo learns that he was being used.]]
* MotivationalLie: Lobo's translator tells Lobo that Lady Styx is insulting him so that Lobo will rip her apart. He does.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** In the midst of his attempts to tear down what he feels is the scam-backed Cult of Conner, which has claimed to be trying to resurrect his dead wife, Ralph Dibny is horrified to see the ceremony actually ''work'', only for his efforts to disrupt their efforts reduce it all to ash.
---> "Oh, god... oh, ''god'', what have I...?"
** Renee is forced to kill a [[SuicideAttack suicide bomber]] that Intergang sent to disrupt Black Adam's and Isis's wedding, but the bomber herself was only a young girl, a ''kid'', and Renee begins to pray to God, begging forgiveness [[ShootTheDog for what she had to do]].
---> "God forgive me... Mary, full of grace..."
* MythologyGag: The initial issues contain numerous references to people and companies important to the history of Creator/DCComics and its iconic characters. These include, but are not limited to, [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Siegel Street and Shuster Road]], [[Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer Fleischer Bros. Transportation]], and [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Kane Street]]. The last later receives a {{justifi|edTrope}}cation; the Kane family is revealed to be a wealthy and influential family in Gotham City that owns the street in question. This also serves as another ContinuityNod; Martha Wayne, mother to Bruce Wayne, is often given the maiden name of Kane.
* TheNamesake: Fifty-two [[spoiler: parallel universes; i.e. TheMultiverse]].
* {{Narm}}: [[WordOfGod By the writers own admission]], their original plans for killing [[spoiler: Booster Gold]] came off as hilarious instead of traumatic and they had to rewrite the scene several times in order to arrive at a scenario that had both the impact and the solemnity they wanted.[[invoked]]
* NaughtyNuns: Whisper A'Daire, priestess of the Religion Of Crime, whom Renee actually ''calls'' a Naughty Nun. Unfortunately, neither the "naughty" or "nun" vibe really came across on the page, something that Greg Rucka felt was just lost in the translation from script to final product.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: The Religion of Crime uses mutating hybrid human/animal cultists as their soldiers, and even the "modern" Chang "Egg Fu" Tzu can not be described without using the terms "giant egg", "cyborg", "mutant", and "no sense of humor."
* NoMedicationForMe: Averted by Magnus, who suffers from Manic/Depressive Bi-Polar disorder with delusional episodes and knows that he needs to take his medication to retain his balance. He is understandably upset when he is forcibly separated from his pills.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: The climax of the Luthor/Steel storyline, where the newly-powered Luthor effortlessly smacks the hero around, ruptures his internal organs and laughs about how it is so easy and he feels none of Steel's own attempts to fight back.
* NoirEpisode: Renee Montoya's initial storyline revolves around her employment to surveil an abandoned warehouse by a mysterious financial backer, complete with [[PrivateEyeMonologue first person narration]], the only character to narrate in the series.
* NotSoInnocentWhistle: When Renee and Kate are verbally laying into each other in the park in Week Eleven, the Question, who has faced aliens and mutants without fear, is whistling to himself in order to avoid getting dragged into it.
* {{Novelization}}: Written by Greg Cox, who also wrote the prose novel versions of ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis and ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis. It leaves out Luthor's Everyman Project, the Religion of Crime, the Great Ten, Ralph's quest, the space heroes, Steel and Natasha, and Will Magnus.
* ObfuscatingDisability: Subverted. Ralph Dibny believes that minor villain Professor Milo is faking the need for a wheelchair so he can disguise a mystical artifact as one of the wheels. Ralph dumps him out of the chair then rips off the wheel since he needs it for a ritual that will supposedly revive his late wife Sue. He is horrified when he realizes that Milo wasn't faking his disability and really needed that wheelchair ''since he lost both of his legs''.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: [[spoiler: Booster]] begins doing this once Rip Hunter gives him the lowdown on [[spoiler: Skeets]].
* ObviouslyEvil:
** Chang Tzu, the [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot horrible giant egg mutant cyborg thing]].
** A [[BaldOfEvil bald guy]] with [[{{Squick}} rather Squicky powers]] named [[spoiler: ''Hannibal'']]?
** An organization called the "Religion of Crime"? Might be a good idea to steer clear of that one. One of the writers even commented that, in retrospect, it was not the best choice for a name.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: In the aftermath of the ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis, the cosmic event that shattered existence, Alan Scott has to deal with the realization that his daughter died in the crisis, and no parent should ever have to outlive their children.
* PapaWolf: Despite having a strained relationship with her throughout the entire series, the instant John Henry Irons figures that Luthor has Natasha hostage he goes on a full-on rampage, beating up all the villains in his path to make a beeline for his niece and does not quit, even when Luthor reveals [[spoiler: he has Superman's powers]].
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Black Adam, a man with strength on par with {{Characters/Superman|TheCharacter}} and a KnightTemplar mentality towards all things crime.
* PhlebotinumBreakdown: Dr. Magnus cannot get his responsometer technology to work again, so his ComicBook/MetalMen are just lumps of inanimate matter.
* PlanetaryParasite: One of the possible futures that Rip Hunter foresees (and successfully averts) involves [[spoiler:Mr. Mind]] spawning 52 giant extradimensional parasites that feed off the mental energies of entire ''universes''.
* PoweredArmor: John Henry and Natasha Irons both begin the series in their iconic armor, but a theme running throughout the story is the question of whether or not they are worthy of this power, and if they can become so if they are not.
* PrivateDetective: Renee Montoya is an experienced detective from the Gotham City Police Department, [[ComicBook/GothamCentral recently having left their employ]], and the Question hires her to surveil a warehouse with the first three weeks ([[SeriesContinuityError Or is it two?]]) paid in advance. Captain Maggie Sawyer, however, later reveals that she is not licensed to operate as such, and Maggie will not tolerate her investigations if they go somewhere they should not.
* PrivateEyeMonologue: Renee Montoya's appearances are the only sequences narrated in the first person, and she is initially hired to investigate an abandoned warehouse.
* ProductPlacement: A staple of Booster Gold's character is his constant endorsement of various commercial products, and after his various superhero activities, he will often pitch and use those products to the bystanders and media that have gathered. These same products, including Lit Beer, Big Belly Burger and Soder Cola, appear throughout the series in the background and being used by various characters.
* PupatingPeril: Mister Mind is exposed to artificial time particles known as suspendium, allowing him to finally escape his larval form and use [[spoiler: Skeets]] as a makeshift cocoon, eventually emerging as a monstrous winged creature capable of devouring time itself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Q-T]]
* QuickNip: Ralph Dibny begins to carry around a flask [[DrowningMySorrows after the Cult of Conner fiasco]], and drinks from it throughout his various adventures. [[spoiler: It contains ''[[SuperSerum gingold]]''.]]
* RealTime: Published weekly with each issue covering a week of time.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: When Ralph [[spoiler: unmasks Felix Faust and reveals he knew it was him all along]] he ''tears into him'', explaining all the steps of how they got here and the familiar "stink of desperation" surrounding the whole plot. Dibny is, for the first time in several weeks, clean-shaven and properly dressed while his opponent cowers and trembles, and Dibny lets him know ''why''.
* RedHerring:
** Supernova's identity, even up to the very moment of his identity reveal. [[spoiler: The writers ''were'' going to have Booster shout, "Look at me! I'm Supernova!" just before getting killed trying to save the day, but decided readers would pick that up as Supernova's identity.]]
** The number 52 appearing in several places (52 'stolen' seconds, Gotham City's 52nd street, etc.) tricking the readers into thinking they were important clues. They were not.
* RedShirtArmy: At one point two dozen of Luthor's Everymen storm out to try and help the new Justice League against some temporally displaced pirates... and get slaughtered in a panel. It also gave Mark Waid a chance to use the superhero name "Poledancer", which he had wanted to do for fifteen years.
* ReligionOfEvil: The Religion of Crime, created by Intergang. Its leader, Bruno Mannheim, believes their dark angel is [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]], in a foreshadowing to ComicBook/FinalCrisis. It gets better - their Crime Bible is presumably made of the stone [[Literature/TheBible used by Cain to kill Abel]]. Mannheim uses it to smash people's heads in.
* RetCon: The series re-writes a large portion of the early-90's ComicBook/MetalMen history, which featured the Metal Men as human minds that had been transferred to, and trapped in, robotic bodies. In this series, Will Magnus, creator of the Metal Men, describes those events as a delusion he suffered after a psychotic break and the Metal Men are, and always have been, completely artificial constructs with ArtificialIntelligence.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Ralph has been pretending to be TheAlcoholic. The drink in his flask? Gingold]]. Also, for the duration of Lex's arc, he grows steadily more frustrated that his genetics are incompatible with the Everyman Project upgrades. Finally, he looks into it himself only to discover that [[spoiler: his own scientists know him too well to trust him with the truth that he's a prime candidate.]]
* RoaringRampageOfRescue: Steel leads a team of heroes to rescue Natasha after Luthor manages to take her hostage the previous week.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: World War III.
* RobotBuddy: Skeets, the iconic buddy with ComicBook/BoosterGold since the very beginning.
* RoomFullOfCrazy: Rip Hunter's lab.
* RuleOfEscalatingThreat: The entire population of Biyala (one of Franchise/TheDCU's {{Qurac}}s) is killed in a single issue. Despite the horrified reactions of characters at the time, this had never been mentioned before (since ''52'' was a prequel), and the few times it was brought up again, it was "Dangit! Some people died!" rather than being a horrible, culture-breaking genocide.
* SanityHasAdvantages: Doctor Magnus really wishes his fellow mad scientists would believe him on this one.
--> '''Dr. Magnus''': You shouldn't have taken away my meds! I told you I do '''crazy''' things without my meds!
* SapientCetaceans: Lobo is accompanied by an intelligent space dolphin and is a member of a church worshiping the Triple Fish God, also a space dolphin, but of large size.
* SarcasticConfession: [[spoiler: Booster's death in Week 13 was originally going to play this way. Booster was going to sarcastically confess he was Supernova. While the writers felt this was in character for Booster (due to his ego), they also ultimately felt they were tipping their hand too early and too much]].
* ScrewTheWarWerePartying: Oolong Island's under attack from a furious [[spoiler: Black Adam]], the rest of the Science Squad are desperately firing off every countermeasure they have, and what's T. O. Morrow doing? Bid-sniping Red Tornado shrapnel on eBay.
* SecondSuperIdentity: Everyone thought that Supernova was Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}} in disguise. [[spoiler:Actually, it was ComicBook/BoosterGold from the future all along.]] (The original Silver Age Supernova ''was'' Superman in disguise.)
* SelfDeprecation: Mark Waid came up with the title for Week 35, "Rain of the Supermen." Not everyone thought the title was appropriate. Then in Week 38, an in-universe newspaper, The Daily Star, uses "Rain of the Supermen" as their headline about the event. A character comments, "What do you expect... The Daily Star's a rag that's been kissing Luthor's ass for years."
* SenselessSacrifice: When Renee and the Question sneak into a ceremony for the Religion of Crime, they discover Amon Tomaz, Adrianna's missing brother, and they watch him being viciously beaten for trying to escape. Witnessing the beating, Renee plans to jump down and do what she can to save him, but the Question stops her and points out that it would be a truly senseless sacrifice.
--> '''The Question:''' "We go down there, we'll ''die''. Simple as that. It ''stinks'' and it's ''wrong'' and it hurts like hell, but there's ''nothing'' we can do for Amon right now."
* SeriesContinuityError:
** The Question initially hires Renee Montoya with payment in advance for three weeks of surveillance, but subsequent references to the event mention only ''two'' weeks, and then later switch back to three.
** When Renee and the Question travel to Kahndaq they discover an Intergang safehouse and deduce that a bombing will occur sometime in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, the bombing in question is later revealed to be planned for the wedding of Black Adam and Isis which, due to the creative team deciding to delay the engagement of the two until a later week, has not actually been revealed by the time Renee and Vic head to Kahndaq. The writers acknowledge in the annotated edition that this makes Intergang into something of a prophetic criminal organization, because they apparently knew of the wedding before Adam had even proposed.
* [[TwoLinesNoWaiting Seven Lines No Waiting]]: At first glance, the story looks bloated and overly-complicated, but its ability to mesh the individual stories into one narrative whole managed to accomplish the impressive task of avoiding FourLinesAllWaiting, and is often credited as one of the series best points.
* SexForSolace: Renee admits to Charlie that she has a clearly defined pattern whenever it comes to severe emotional trauma, namely [[DrowningMySorrows getting drunk]] and then [[SexForSolace hopping into the nearest bed she can find]]. The series opens with her picking up random women in an attempt to deal with the death of Crispus Allen and being left by Daria Hernandez, and the Question first approaches her just after one of her liaisons. When it looks like she has gotten a handle on her emotional problems, she then [[ShootTheDog needs to kill the Intergang suicide bomber to protect Black Adam's and Isis's wedding]] and is found "drunkenly taking pleasure with one of [Black Adam's] citizens." A key point in her [[CharacterDevelopment character arc]] is when she is eventually able to deal with her personal troubles emotionally, instead of running away from them through alcohol and sex.
* ShootTheDog: Intergang tries to attack Black Adam's and Isis's wedding with a [[SuicideAttack suicide bomber]] that Renee tries to stop, but with the heavy crowd blocking her way Renee can not reach the brainwashed young girl before she detonates her bomb, forcing Renee to shoot and kill her to protect the massive crowd.
* ShootingSuperman: Superman himself [[BroughtDownToNormal might not be able to take any bullets right now]], but Black Adam steps in and takes enough to compensate. At one point, a mob even resorts to throwing ''rocks'' at him.
* ShoutOut:
** The concept, and title, are derived from ''Series/TwentyFour''.
** There are numerous references to ''Franchise/StarWars'', including comparing traveling through an asteroid field to ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' and telling Skeets that "I am not the droid you are looking for."
** Booster's rant before getting killed was a reference to WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck's insane "I'm a fiddler crab! It's fiddler crab season!" rant, according to the WordOfGod.
** "This is crazy talk. When does Sarah Connor show up to stop me from inventing {{Franchise/Terminator}}s?"
** Johnny Warrawa, Australian "artist" (Read: Mechanic) has a [[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} Bender]] welding mask.
** The revelation of the true nature of the powers of one of the Everyman Project: [[spoiler: [[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs a squicky cannibal called Hannibal, anyone]]?]]
** In the aftermath of Week 24's RedShirtArmy massacre, the pirate on the front page looks suspiciously like [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Captain Jack Sparrow]].
** Ralph Dibny's gun is labeled as being evidence from the "Anselmo Case". The Anselmo Case was a RunningGag in the detective series ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}''.
* ShownTheirWork:
** When Renee Montoya takes aspirin, the panel was specifically drawn to give the impression that she was chewing the pills instead of just swallowing them; this is "an old drunks' trick" according to the commentary in the trades.
** During the Black Adam/Isis wedding arc, Intergang coats the shrapnel of their suicide bomb with rat poison, an anti-coagulant, which is what real bombers do to make sure that their victims bleed out if they are not killed by the immediate blast.
** [[spoiler: ComicBook/TheQuestion has lung cancer resulting from years of smoking.]] Instead of a quick and clean death from the disease, or a HeroicSacrifice since he knows he is already dead, he slowly wastes away over weeks, becoming sickeningly gaunt and delirious, hallucinating old friends and lovers as he babbles incoherently. [[DespairEventHorizon Ungodly godawful]], but a realistic depiction of a cancerous death, with accompanying moaning and groaning which author Greg Rucka knows from personal experience.
* ShutUpHannibal: Yes, the [[spoiler: villainous]] metahuman Everyman is named Hannibal and yes, he is told to shut up.
* SlapSlapKiss: In their first scene in the series, apparently their first meeting in approximately ten years, Kate Kane hits Renee, Renee goads her into trying again, and then the two of them nuzzle for a second before separating dramatically. Unlike most examples of the trope, however, [[SubvertedTrope this does not lead to a reconciliation or revelation]].
* SlouchOfVillainy: Black Adam on the cover of issue #45.
* SmokingIsCool: [[SubvertedTrope No]]. [[{{Tearjerker}} No... it is not]]. The Question explains to Renee in great detail all the problems with smoking, including what, exactly, is found within cigarettes. [[spoiler: Then you learn why The Question is so anti-smoking - he's dying from cancer due to a lifetime of puffing.]]
* SmugSmiler: In one panel, as Natasha is bitterly and publicly rejecting her uncle to join Luthor's initiative, there is a shot of Luthor standing behind Natasha with an ''infuriatingly'' smug smirk on his face directed towards Steel.
* SociopathicHero: Lobo.
* SpaceMadness: Animal Man is told not to look out the spaceship's windows for too long because it tends to cause existential crises.
* {{Spinoff}}: ''52'' spawned two ongoing series (''ComicBook/BoosterGold'' and ''Infinity Inc.'') and several miniseries (''WorldWarIII'', ''Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood'', ''Black Adam: The Dark Age'', ''The Four Horsemen'', ''Metal Men'', and ''The Great Ten'').
* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler: Mister Mind gets caught in one, until later in ComicBook/BoosterGold's own title. Booster and Rip Hunter also set one up to fake Booster's death and make him into Supernova]].
* TheStakeout: Renee's storyline opens with her being hired by the Question to surveil an abandoned warehouse. She complains because she does not know what she is supposed to be looking for or what the circumstances of her surveillance are. She also admits to herself that, as she is only a single person without either technological or organizational backup, she is doing a bad job of it since she is tired, bored, and unable to remain at the position around the clock.
* SuddenNameChange: An Asian magic user by the name of "Terri Thirteen" appeared as part of the Croatoan detective society. Post-52 continuity would clarify that this was actually meant to be Traci Thirteen, a pre-existing character (and Doctor Thirteen's daughter). It appears there was some editorial oversight that lead to the name slip-up.
* SuicideAttack: Intergang tries to attack Black Adam's and Isis's wedding with a brainwashed girl carrying a bomb, [[ShootTheDog forcing Renee to kill her before she can detonate the device.]]
* SuperSerum: Gingold, the chemical extract that gives the ComicBook/ElongatedMan his powers, plays an important role in a few crucial parts of the story.
* SuperZeroes:
** ComicBook/BoosterGold's pallbearers. For the record: Beefeater, the Blimp, Honest Abe, Mind-Grabber Kid, Odd Man, and the Yellow Peri.
** Most of the Everyman recipients, bar Luthor's main team, fall into this; they're blatantly incompetent with using their powers, and a few hundred of them trying to get involved in a particular fight and mostly just making it worse.
* SuperheroSpeciation: None of the witnessed products of the Everyman project are seen to have duplicate powers, despite the thousands of metahumans produced by Luthor. When Everyman himself, a [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifter]] from the project, squares off against Beast Boy of the ComicBook/TeenTitans, Beast Boy actually remarks there is only room for one shapeshifter.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial:
--> '''Skeets:''' "It could have been worse, Daniel Carter. You could have ended up a ''museum janitor''."\\
'''Daniel Carter:''' "Uh... that's a pretty specific reference."
* TakeUpMySword: [[spoiler: Renee becomes The Question]].
* TalksLikeASimile: Renee's [[PrivateEyeMonologue early narration]] is full of simile and metaphor as the rain lulls her to sleep like a lullaby.
* TechnicalPacifist: Batwoman forcefully objects when Renee Montoya is about to shoot one of the mutant human/animal cultists used by Intergang, but then [[DestinationDefenestration throws him out a window instead.]]
* TeleFrag: Some of the heroes experienced this after the crisis. Hawkgirl grew to 20 feet tall due to Bumblebee, Alan Scott lost both [[EyeScream his eyes (and got one that wasn't his own)]], Cyborg and Firestorm were fused together, and Red Tornado ended up split into pieces, one of which was embedded in Mal Duncan.
* TemporalParadox: As the series progresses, Skeets begins to suffer greater and greater database errors as events diverge from established historical records.
* ThanatosGambit: [[spoiler: Ralph Dibny uses his death to trap both Felix Faust and Neron in the Tower of Fate for eternity, since by killing him before he removed the binding spells around the tower, there is no way to escape]].
* TherapyIsForTheWeak: See below.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: When all the heroes who went out into space in ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis are rescued and brought down to Australia they have all been mutated, transformed, merged or deformed in unique and disturbing ways. Original ComicBook/GreenLantern Alan Scott got off lighter than almost anybody else - he only lost one eye, but even the eye he still has was not originally his and his daughter Jade died during the Crisis. ComicBook/{{Steel}} recognizes that, physical rehabilitation aside, all these returning heroes are going to need counseling to help them deal with what happened, but Alan is adamant that that is not even an option.
--> '''Green Lantern Alan Scott:''' "It's my job to set an example. I have to show we don't break like other people. We don't give in to fate."
* TheseHandsHaveKilled: Renee Montoya has killed people before, in her duties as a cop and when fighting for her life against Intergang, but at Black Adam's and Isis's wedding she is forced to shoot an Intergang suicide bomber that is a young girl, just a kid. Regardless of the reasons for her actions she is wracked by guilt over having killed a child and prays for forgiveness.
--> "I killed a ''kid'', Charlie."
* ThouShaltNotKill: Batwoman, like Batman before her, has a very strict no-killing policy, even extending to knocking down her own teammates instead of letting them take a killing shot. Except against [[spoiler:Bruno Mannheim, which may have something to do with the fact that she killed him with a knife that he half-way cut her heart out with just moments before that]].
* ThrowawayCountry: [[spoiler: Bialya]]
* TimelineAlteringMacGuffin: Skeets replicates the function of [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartII the original almanac]] and gives Booster the winning scores of sporting events in order to bet on the winner. He also has more sideline and less immediately beneficial information, like ''the entire sweep of future events''. Oddly enough, as time goes on and his files on business dealings, superheroes and disasters become more and more inaccurate, he is never shown being anything but spot-on-accurate when it comes to gambling.
* TimeyWimeyBall: Rip Hunter, Booster Gold, and Skeets jump back and forth through time, altering the stream at key moments, and referring to events that have happened, will happen, and even to events which never will happen but which already happened anyway.
* TitleByNumber
* TitleDrop: Every single issue worked the number "52" in somehow. Some, like ComicBook/AmbushBug's outburst above, were more obvious than others.
* TheTopicOfCancer: [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Vic Sage's]] battle with cancer forms one of the main storylines. And then he dies of it.
* TheTopicOfCancer: ComicBook/TheQuestion has terminal lung cancer exacerbated by a lengthy smoking addiction, gradually wasting away and losing both his mental and physical faculties. Despite his history of fighting alien menaces and international conspiracies, there is nothing he can do to stop his cancer from metastasizing.
* TruthSerums: Played with when Lex Luthor kidnaps Clark Kent and gives him an experimental truth serum which his scientists explain is a synthetic recreation of Characters/{{Wonder Woman|TheCharacter}}'s magic lasso. He then asks Clark, who broke the story about new hero Supernova, why it is that Superman is [[ItsAllAboutMe toying with Luthor by pretending to be someone else]]. Clark, {{laughing mad}}ly, informs Lex that he does not know who is under the Supernova mask, but he is absolutely certain of one thing: [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments it is not Superman]]. Creator commentary in the trade paperbacks points out that this scene, and perhaps the entire future path of DC comics, could have gone very differently if Luthor had simply known to ask ''the right question''.
* TwoferTokenMinority: Renee Montoya, a Hispanic lesbian, and her on-again/off-again girlfriend, Kate Kane, a Jewish lesbian.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:U-Z]]
* UnderestimatingBadassery: It seems like everybody, everywhere, does not give the ComicBook/ElongatedMan the respect he deserves. His stretching abilities give him a respectable degree of combat capability, and his analytical and inquisitive mind that sets him far and away above many of those who would challenge him. [[Characters/GreenLanternHalJordan Hal Jordan]] himself has stated that Ralph, moreso than even {{Characters/Batman|TheCharacter}} or [[Characters/TheFlashBarryAllen Barry Allen]], has always been the most rational person he had ever met.
--> '''Ralph Dibny:''' "That's where people always get me confused with ComicBook/PlasticMan. He's the clown. Elongated Man is the ''detective''."
* UnreliableNarrator: Creator/GregRucka refers to John Henry Irons as an UnreliableNarrator during his hallucinatory delusions, where not even the reader is aware of what exactly is going on.
* UnreliableVoiceover: When Renee tries to shoot the Question in Day Three of Week Two, she wonders how he managed to get away since "I ''know'' I hit him ''dead center''." However, in the actual panel her "dead center" shots are clearly ripping two holes in his jacket ''next'' to his body. She missed.
* UnresolvedSexualTension:
** Between Renee and Kate (some fans believe she held feelings for Vic too, although the reverse is more likely, [[IncompatibleOrientation considering]]...)
** ComicBook/AnimalMan and Starfire became close and she even lived with in his house for a while. During ''Countdown to Adventure'', Buddy is even asked if he has feelings for her and does not reply. The problem with this is that Buddy is married with two kids...
* UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler:Black Adam]] during ''World War III''.
* ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer: [[spoiler: Isis' last words.]] It is later implied that this is the reason that [[spoiler: Isis decided to turn evil after coming back to life in "Justice Society of America."]] She had lost all faith in humanity and thus intended to destroy all of humanity who could do such evil.
* VisualPun:
** When Sobek first appears, he is crying. A crocodile's tears.
** When Luthor first gets his superpowers at the end of one issue, his shirt is torn in the shape of Superman's hexagonal logo. According to [[invoked]]WordOfGod, it began as an accident, but went with the StealthPun.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Beast Boy of the ComicBook/TeenTitans becomes a supporting character once Luthor's metagene project begins to become widespread, and Hannibal, code-named Everyman, gains shapeshifting powers from the project. [[SuperheroSpeciation Beast Boy eventually remarks that there is only room for one shapeshifter here]].
* WebcomicTime: Trying to balance narrative pacing with the core concept of each issue representing a full week in real time worked fairly well overall, but created some very strange moments, such as Animal Man apparently sitting motionless on the edge of a rock staring at [[spoiler: the two aliens who had just brought him back to life]] for ''three full months'' before reacting. Or maybe time passes in Space-B differently than normal. Who knows?
* WeddingRingRemoval: Ralph Dibney at one point sacrifices his wedding ring as part of his efforts to bring his beloved wife Sue back from the dead.
* WhamLine:
** When Renee discovers the truth about The Question's aversion to her smoking:
---> '''Renee:''' When'd you quit?
---> '''Question:''' Not soon enough.
** Ralph Dibney at the climax of his story.
---> '''Ralph:''' [[spoiler: It's not booze, Faust. ''Gingold.'']]
* WhamShot: [[spoiler: Osiris being chowed down on by what the Black Adam Family thought was a Talky Tawny {{Expy}}, but actually one of the Four Horsemen of Apokolips]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Along with AbortedArc above, Grant Morrison indicated that there was originally supposed to be a resolution for Super-Chief, who literally fell through the clouds in the afterlife in his last appearance, but it had to be cut, though they intended to bring him back eventually. This never happened - he was last seen as a Black Lantern in ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', and a new Super-Chief eventually showed up much later during the "Grounded" arc in the ''Superman'' book.
* [[FelonyMisdemeanor What Do You Mean, It's Not Heinous?]]
--> '''Skeets:''' "It could have been worse, Daniel Carter. You could have ended up a ''museum janitor''."
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Subverted. Renee is ready to kill one of the mutating human/animal cultists used by Intergang when Batwoman, [[ThouShaltNotKill like her]] [[Characters/BatmanTheCharacter namesake]], knocks her down rather than let her get in a killing shot, even against one of these nonhuman animals.
* WhatTheHellHero: Bea is rather disgusted that Booster Gold seems to have forgotten the sacrifice of the ComicBook/BlueBeetle and gone back to his glory-seeking ways, and Ralph feels personally betrayed that Booster did not warn him on his wife's death. This is all magnified when it comes out that Booster has actually staged some of his heroic acts with paid actors.
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: When facing a crazed being with near PhysicalGod power levels after their most powerful weapon has been stolen before it could even be used, what advice does John give Natasha? "Grab your hammer."
* WizardNeedsFoodBadly:
-->'''The Question:''' "Elf needs food badly."
* WorldWarIII: The 50th week in the book, ''World War III'' is a week long war which boils down to [[spoiler: Black Adam vs. Everyone on Earth]]. Eventually, a spinoff comic was written detailing it better (reviews were mixed, though).
* WouldHurtAChild: Intergang has absolutely ''no'' problems with sending out children as [[SuicideAttack suicide bombers]].
* WouldntHurtAChild: When trying to stop the attack on Black Adam's and Isis's wedding, Renee is horrified to discover that the Inergang [[SuicideAttack suicide bomber]] is a little girl, only a child. This makes Renee's [[ShootTheDog subsequent actions]] even harder.
--> '''Renee Montoya:''' "...Just a kid..."\\
'''The Question:''' "Renee, you didn't have a choice."\\
'''Renee Montoya:''' "Tell ''her'' that."
* WrongAssumption: Lex Luthor is absolutely convinced Supernova is Superman. Since Clark Kent is depowered during the run, it obviously isn't.
* WrongGenreSavvy:
** Renee Montoya. Her years on the Gotham City Police Department have taught her much about surveillance and the seedy underbelly of Gotham, and she is not even that surprised to fall down a hidden trap door after she enters the building... [[GenreShift and then she discovers the nightmarish alien monster and crates full of laser weaponry]].
* YankTheDogsChain: Poor, poor [[spoiler: Black Adam]]. He just cannot have a happy ending...
* YellowPeril: The Great Ten. While most of them are merely patriotic to China, [[spoiler: Chang Tzu]] is one of the {{Big Bad}}s of the story and August-General-In-Iron is pretty xenophobic about anyone who isn't Chinese.
* YouDidEverythingYouCould: The Question tries to console Renee after she [[ShootTheDog was forced to kill a child to prevent a suicide bombing]] by pointing out that she did not have a choice, that it was pull the trigger or watch hundreds, possibly ''thousands'', of people die.
--> "Tell ''her'' that."
[[/folder]]
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