'''''Shadowboy''''' is a 2014 Superhero novel narrated by Travis Colfax, the titular Shadowboy at the end of his term as a sidekick. As the only non-powered member of a family of Heroes, Travis doubts his ability to continue as a solo member of the Hero Community. Thanks largely to a literal {{Hero Insurance}} requirement for people with a strong connection to active Heroes, he can't afford to walk away.

While the bulk of the community's attention is on an alien threat, Travis tracks down a handful of missing gang members only to stumble onto a carefully hidden plot by the amoral {{Omnidisciplinary Scientist}} Doctor Omicron. Though soundly beaten, Travis agrees to remain active until Omicron can be tracked down and his plans foiled.

It has a sequel {{Literature/Shadowdemon}}

The Author's home page is at http://evcombine.net

----
!!''Shadowboy'' provides examples of the following tropes:

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Icerazor's sword is among the few things reliably able to carve through force fields and psychic constructs, making steel (galvanized pipe, Omicron bots) mundane in comparison.
* ActionGirl: Pam, though her first outing ended poorly.
* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: (Lampshaded) - Travis admits to using overly showy moves when he has an audience, despite the act coming back to bite him immediately.
* BadassCape: Jack wears one, though the wind doesn't always cooperate.
* BadassLongcoat: Doctor Omicron's heavy black labcoat acts as one.
* TheBigGuy: Or Girl -- Pam after gaining her powers.
* BirthdayBeginning: Both Shadowboy and Shadowdemon start near Travis' birthday.
* BodyHorror: Implied off-screen for Pam's transformation, and [[spoiler:Jasmine Greeler]]'s death.
* DarkAgeOfSupernames: Razordemon, also notable that the character picked up the name during the dark age.
* EldritchAbomination: Masquerade partly summons one during his final battle.
* ElectronicEyes: [[spoiler:Travis']] replacement after his run-in with Uth-sk.
* EvilGenius: Doctor Omicron
* EvilPaysBetter: Working at the Community Fund gives little in the way of disposable income, especially after paying for Hero Insurance.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Travis']] encounter with Uth-sk.
-->'''Uth-sk:''' Fine, we'll move on. It's time for an examination of the primitive human eye.
* EyepatchOfPower: [[spoiler:Travis]] gets one for his civilian identity because he shouldn't be able to afford the electronic replacement.
* FlyingBrick: Jack
%%* FragileSpeedster: Nora
* HalfHumanHybrid: Xiv, the result of attempting to reverse engineer a male dragon from fragmentary female DNA.
* HeroInsurance: Literal Hero Insurance issued by the government with premiums adjusted for the licencee's destructive potential.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: The backstory for Miss Pain and her motivation for joining the team.
* HormoneAddledTeenager: Visible mostly in Travis' narration, which leads to occurrences of Male Gaze
* IdleRich: Jack keeps up this persona for his Secret Identity.
* KilledOffForReal: Both Cupric and Agent Six suffer this fate.
* TheLancer: Miss Pain
* TheLeader: Travis
* LeaderWannabe: Miss Pain at first
* MagicPants: (Averted) The Shapeshifting bestowed by Project Thirteen devastates clothing. Pam's outfit had to be specially made to allow partial transformation without taking damage.
* MaleGaze: The Narrator being an aforementioned Hormone Addled Teenager.
* ManInTheMachine: Doctor Omicron, after what the Nazis did to him, he could only survive in a life support suit, which he has built up into powered armor.
* MechaMooks: Omicron Bots, being cheap, easily replaced robots Doctor Omicron regards as disposable.
* TheMedic: Stephanie
* MissingMom: Mrs. Colfax was dead before the events of the story, as is the previous Ixahau.
* {{Mooks}}: A plethora, including Omicron Bots, Final Star Cultists, Ygnaza soldiers and Morlock Society members.
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Doctor Omicron
* NoSell: By Several Characters, most notably, Xiao shrugs off everything Travis and Xiv throw at him until the very end of the fight.
* NumberTwo: Stephanie as the only other member with a leadership endorsement, and takes over the role of team lead when Travis is out of commission.
* OhCrap: Valeria's appearance for Travis, followed soon thereafter with one for Doctor Omicron when Travis notes that the only thing separating them is a thin polycarbonate window. Comes back in the Sequel when Donny speaks the phrase verbatim as he realizes he's the target of a cluster bomb.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Doctor Omicron
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Doctor Omicron only aids the Final Star Cultists for the paycheck, and even offers his services to the heroes against the Ygnaza for the right price.
* PartialTransformation: Pam and the survivors of Project Thirteen can opt to only partially switch between forms.
* PowersDoTheFighting: Miss Pain works this way as she fights using psychic constructs.
* PsychicPowers: Miss Pain, more in the sequel with Serar and Irvin Keyes.
* TheReliableOne: Travis sees himself as this and strives towards that goal. Got him elected leader of the team.
* RetiredBadass: Neutrino and an informed trait of the entire Fund Board.
* SecretIdentity: Everyone has one because criminals started targeting family.
* ShootingSuperman: Averted -- the Greelers realize in short order that their bullets do nothing to Jack.
* TheSneakyGuy: Travis, lacking powers, relies more on stealth to survive.
* SquishyWizard: Stephanie has to build up power before an attack, and has few defenses beyond her magic.
* StandardSuperheroSetting: Fully embraced short of Death is Cheap.
* TheStoic: Stephanie, because Magic requires a great deal of mental discipline.
* SuperpowerfulGenetics: Virtually everyone with a powered parent inherited the potential.
* SwallowedWhole: Travis suffers this fate at the hands of Valeria, but manages to escape.
* TalkativeLoon: Masquerade talks to everyone, even himself. He doesn't wait for a response most of the time.
* TheTeamBenefactor: The Community Fund as embodied by Neutrino.
* TeamPet: Xiv, arguably
* TeamPrimaDonna: Miss Pain started this way, but got better.
* TerrorHero: Razordemon treats his reputation as a weapon all its own.
* TrophyRoom: Albeit one that is mostly empty
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Pam and the survivors of Project Thirteen gained the ability to change between human and demi-dragon forms.
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Other than being slightly east of the great plains, the location of New Port Arthur is never given.
* YeOldeNuclearSilo: The team moves into a renovated Gruefield 18 Nuclear Missile facility.
----