http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MsEmpowered.jpg

->''It is kinda skin-crawly to think that, right now, some guy with ''"specialized tastes"'' might be getting, um, turned on by images of me all bound 'n gagged 'n distressed... or even, ick, [[ADateWithRosiePalms you-know-what-ing]] to those images...!'' Brr...!

->'''[+++[[OhCrap !]]+++]'''

->''Y-You're not like that, right? R-RIGHT?! Tell me you're not... p-PLEASE!'' '''''You seem r-REALLY NICE, okay?'''''

Adam Warren's graphic novel series (five volumes as of this troping, with more on the way, and a one-shot comic in December 2009) starring a [[DistressedDamsel Damsel in Distress]]-prone heroine named "Empowered." Contains heavy {{deconstruction}} of the SuperHero genre, with healthy doses of [[BoundAndGagged bondage]], {{Fanservice}}, and comedy.

The plot revolves around Empowered, a D-List Superheroine who, although she's plucky, essentially sweet-natured and means well, is generally incompetent up against adversaries. No matter how much she prepares or trains, she is inevitably betrayed by her powers' fragile source: her [[{{Stripperiffic}} outrageously skin-tight]] super-costume (which she is less than happy about, as she also has numerous body-image issues). Although it gives her immense power, as it takes damage her powers drop precipitously - and as it's made from a material [[WeaksauceWeakness that tears easily]], and can't be worn with anything over ''or'' under it, this means that Empowered is (a) seldom in a position to benefit from it for long, and consequently spends most of her time [[BoundAndGagged being tied up by supervillains]], a fact which has made her something of a laughing stock in the superhero community, and (b) either naked or near-naked a lot of the time. Not surprisingly, her confidence gets shredded as frequently as her fragile super-suit. [[IronWoobie But she persists, doggone it]].


Character sheet can be found [[Characters/{{Empowered}} here]].

----
!!''Empowered'' provides examples of:

* AliensMadeThemDoIt: Parodied in a ShowWithinAShow SlashFic Empowered reads about her teammates.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Empowered
* {{Animesque}}: Lampshaded by Emp in one meta-text panel.
* TheAtoner: Sistah Spooky starts showing signs of this in volume 5; [[DealWithTheDevil she knows she's going to hell]] so she wants to accomplish some good before then.
* AuthorAppeal: Bondage, ultra-technology, gratuitous labeling, [[TheWoobie Woobies]], etc.
* BadassNormal: Ninjette, [=ThugBoy=]. Most likely Maidman.
* BareYourMidriff: Sistah Spooky; Ninjette. True for Emp too as soon as her costume gets damaged.
* {{BFG}}: [=ThugBoy=]'s 50-cal sniper rifle, although it gets destroyed during a fight.
* BilingualBonus: Quite a few un-subtitled Japanese words and phrases.
* BleachedUnderpants
* BlessedWithSuck: A form-fitting supersuit isn't exactly [[{{Understatement}} ideal]] for someone insecure about her body. The fact that it almost always fails when most needed is pretty sucky, too. Then note that the suit's effectiveness is based entirely on Empowered's self esteem and factor in the above.
* BottleFairy: Ninjette
* BoundAndGagged: Empowered, all the freaking ''time''. See also AuthorAppeal.
* BrandX: Lots of this: "[=YouToob=]," "Grant-a-Wish Foundation," you get the idea.
* BrokenBird: Empowered; Ninjette; ''and'' Sistah Spooky
* BuffySpeak: Mainly from Emp in the Meta breaks -- and occasionally in the main story as well.
* ButNotTooForeign: [=ThugBoy=] claimed German and Italian ancestry to "balance" his more obvious Japanese heritage. This fails to impress one {{Nazi}} employer. It is unknown if this was just him trying to fast talk the villain.
* CapuletCounterpart: [=ThugBoy=], before his HeelFaceTurn.
* CarFu: The superpowered version is deconstructed in Volume 1; the normal version proves [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/empowered-carfu.jpg more efficient in Volume 4]].
* CensorBox: Mostly shows up on dialogue; also used to [[PeekABoo cover naughty bits]] a couple of times.
* CerebusSyndrome: The first three volumes are mostly comedy, with occasional hints at more dramatic plot developments and backstories. Volume four goes all out, opening with Ninjette apparently dealing with PTSD. Five sees [[spoiler:Emp's Crowning Moment of Awesome from the previous book being not only papered over by her {{Jerkass}} teammates but outright turned against her and the death of one (maybe two) main characters plus a horde of C-listers.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: Emp started the series as a neurotic mess. By Volume 5 she's a... well, still a neurotic mess, but less of one.
* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Empowered
* ClothingDamage: Empowered -- see WeaksauceWeakness, below.
* ChekhovsGun: The suit -- [[spoiler:which is a lot more powerful than it appears, is sapient, and had a weird glowy... something... appearing over it when [=ThugBoy=] was cheering Emp up.]]
** Volume 1 has the alien bondage gear later used on Caged Demonwolf.
** Volume 5 has Chekhov's Duct Tape.
* ChekhovsSkill: Emp's embarrassing and apparently useless parlor trick of turning her suit invisible is demonstrated in a one-off story from the first volume (she is not affected, cannot wear anything over or under it, and was ''trying'' to affect only her mask instead of ''[[{{Fanservice}} everything but]]''). Turns out it had a use after all, as mentioned below.
** Then there's this gem from Volume 5: [[spoiler:What's that? Your suit can mimic a human's thought patterns? Golly gee, wonder if ''that'' is important to know. *Cue ColonyDrop*]]
* ClusterFBomb: Always bleeped out with {{Censor Box}}es, which arguably makes it funnier.
* CombatPragmatist: Empowered demonstrates this quality in the introductory chapter of Volume 4 by explaining that throwing a car at someone is not as effective as ramming someone with that car at seventy miles per hour, as she demonstrates the technique's effectiveness on a supervillain.
** And then, since this is [[ButtMonkey Emp]][[TheWoobie owered]], the resulting crash takes her out of the fight, encases her in seat belt bondage, AND gives her JerkAss teammates time to wake up and take all the credit.
* CompleteMonster: In a world of {{Card Carrying Villain}}s, Willy Pete stands out. A younger [[spoiler:[=ThugBoy=] ]] of all people also gets a minor version of this treatment at times in the later books, as he was part of [[spoiler:a [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman Human Supremacist]] movement that killed supers several years before meeting Emp.]]
** Add in Mind████'s brother. See High Octane Nightmare Fuel below.
* ContagiousPowers: Literally; several superheroes got their powers from ''alien [=STD=]s''.
* ContinuityCreep: It all started with a few "throwaway" comics which "grew".
* CornerOfWoe: Ninja videogames -- SeriousBusiness.
* {{Cosplay}}: Empowered's latest-known day-job was cosplaying as... Empowered.
* CostumeInertia: Emp's "[[HotLibrarian sexy librarian]]" disguise; inverted with [=ThugBoy=]'s "Spartan 3000" henchman's uniform.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: [[spoiler:Empowered -- or Empowered's suit -- of all people, at the end of Vol. 3, [[PowerGivesYouWings sprouting wings]] and atomizing a group of [[NightmareFuelUnleaded particularly vile]] assassins. One-handed. With a damaged suit.]]
** [[spoiler:If the above does not count for Emp, the [[CurbstompBattle beatdown]] she unleashed on a NotSoDifferent [[FaceHeelTurn Rogue]] [[WhosLaughingNow Cape]] at the end of book 4 certainly does.]]
** [[spoiler:Even earlier than both of those examples was her effortless rescue of [=ThugBoy=] in Vol. 1, which was pretty much foreshadowing the above incidents.]]
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: Many.
** The whole of [=ThugBoy=]'s little '[[JustForPun Ode to Joyful Booty]]'
--->'''[=ThugBoy=]:''' I will '''not''' stand idly by and allow a world-class derrière to remain uncommented-upon. That's just how I '''roll''', son.
** "Elephants, Cups and Canoes" in Vol. 4, which pushes {{unusual euphemism}}s to new, ''visual'' heights. [[spoiler:*trumpeting* "He's gone rogue!" "Aieee! Me canoe be swampin'!"]]. [[{{Filth}} It's very wrong]], but this editor fell about laughing.
**The doctor's nametag from the same volume.
** The bit where [=ThugBoy=] talks about working for a Nazi supervillain. "Yeah, sure I'm half-Japanese, but I'm also one-quarter Italian and one-quarter German! I'm All Axis Power, baby!"
** Then there's a 17-page sex scene... with narration ''and'' dialogue supplied by the [[LargeHam Caged Demonwolf]].
* CursedWithAwesome: One of the suit's side effects that Emp "worries" about is... it supercharges her orgasms and libido. Gee, what a burden.
* CuteLittleFangs: Whenever a character's feeling especially determined or cocky.
* DatingCatwoman: Empowered & [=ThugBoy=]
* DealWithTheDevil: Sistah Spooky's origin: she made a deal for "[[VainSorceress supernatural hotness]]" and accidentally gained mystic powers out of the deal.
* DeconstructiveParody
* DepravedBisexual: What Willy Pete does to [[strike:the Witless Minions]] [[AnythingThatMoves anyone he can get his hands on]] (although supers, being more durable, last longer) [[{{Understatement}} isn't pretty]].
* {{Determinator}}: [[spoiler:This is how Emp's friends see her, if you can believe it.]]
** [[spoiler:Hey, think for a second -- would ''you'' keep going in her position? Hell no. Anyone with any sanity and her issues would have incinerated the suit long ago and gone back to a superpower-free, clothing-undamaged lifestyle. What keeps her going (day after day, as opposed to during any one outing) is anyone's guess, but it CANNOT BE STOPPED.]]
** Another case is where [[spoiler:[=ThugBoy=] had to shred her suit to keep her from donning it when she was very ill.]]
** As of Volume 4, I concur. DAMN.
--->[[spoiler:'''Empowered:''' I do this '''stupid job''' because I'm ████ing '''Driven''' to do it!\\
'''Empowered:''' Unlike '''You''', ████, I do this stupid, '''Stupid''' job because--\\
'''Empowered: Because... [[PunctuatedPounding This... Is... What... I... AM]]!!!''']]
* DisabilitySuperpower: [[spoiler: Mind████'s brother tried to invoke this intentionally, when he did things described in the NightmareFuel entry below]].
* DistressedDamsel: Empowered, despite her best efforts.
** [[spoiler:Ninjette also plays this trope bone-chillingly straight in Volume 3 vs the Ninja assassin squad sent to cut her limbs off and take her back home so she can be a brood mare. Although she did manage to [[{{Badass}} kill or mortally wound]] [[ActionGirl most of the attackers]] before the last two blindsided her.]]
* DownerEnding: Volume 5. Lampshaded in the meta-interlude summing things up.
* DrunkenMaster: Ninjette
* {{Ecchi}}: It's manga-styled and [[strike:hugely suggestive]] alright, skirts the decency line as closely as it dares.
** [[{{Understatement}} Suggestive?]]
*** I suppose, in the way that you can consider lots of heavy breathing and moaning and shouting "'''We're having sex!'''" while you show them having sex with all the good parts covered up is suggestive of people having sex.
* EldritchAbomination: The Caged Demonwolf, violator of worlds.
* EmpathicWeapon: [[spoiler:Emp's hypermembrane is apparently a sapient being.]] Also, it's been suggested that her body issues are what keep the suit so fragile, which produces gratuitous nudity and augments her body issues, which obviously doesn't lead anywhere good.
* EverybodyRemembersTheStripper
* [=~Everything's Better with Princesses~=]: So, so subverted with [[spoiler:Ninjette. Her family wants her back to have kids and seem perfectly fine with making her [[AndIMustScream an armless, legless, brood mare]] for the rest of her life in order to keep her at home.]]
* ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl: Empowered?
* {{Eyescream}}: The [[strike:rather {{squick}}ish threats]] grotesque murders preferred by Willy Pete.
** Ninjette's fight at the end of Vol. 3 also deserves special mention. The fact that her assailants were wearing masks did not prevent this troper from severely squicking out.
** [[spoiler:Mind████'s brother removed her eyes so she would have to use her powers to see.]]
* FallingInLoveMontage: For Mind████ and Sistah Spooky. Followed shortly by [[spoiler: a breaking up montage.]]
* FanDisservice: Sex scene? Cool. Sex scene where the pillow talk is her begging him to ''lie to her'' by telling her she is not a "super-loser"? Urm. And don't even get me started on the Ninjette bondage at the end of Volume 3... Let's just say that the FetishFuel is pretty effectively killed by the fact that she's in very real danger. We like Ninjette. [[spoiler:We want her to keep her limbs.]]
* {{Fanservice}}: Just let it be known that, in a comic that is all about the Fanservice, [[ImagineSpot "Schrodinger's Catgirl"]] ''still'' manages to stand out.
* FauxActionGirl: Empowered, although she [[LetsGetDangerous does have her moments.]]
* FetishFuel: For bondage obviously. Often lampshaded by the meta comments of Emp at the beginning of each chapter.
** Also several in-universe examples -- see CostumeInertia for examples that turn on both Emp and [=ThugBoy=].
* FetishRetardant: Getting tied up in serious situations makes bondage a SERIOUS turn-off for Emp and [=ThugBoy=].
* FinaglesLaw
* FoeYay: Parodied in another ShowWithinAShow SlashFic, this one about Empowered and Sistah Spooky.
* FootFocus: Almost all women either wear open-toed shoes (and usually either plateaus or heels), or go barefoot. Emp's suit fits so tight, her toes are fully visible. This is used to full effect whenever she gets hogtied; she'll usually be shown from multiple angles across several frames, with her feet featuring prominently. Definitely part of the FetishFuel.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In a dream sequence, Thugboy [[spoiler:remembers Spooky prophesying that he and Emp would be "separated by death"]].
* FreudianExcuse: Sistah Spooky has serious issues with blonde girls like Emp.
** Also inverted with [[spoiler: Mindf███, who mindf███ed herself to be more kind and caring so she wouldn't be anything like her brother.]]
* FunWithAcronyms: See below.
* GodivaHair: ''Something'' has to cover the naughty bits when the suit gets wrecked...
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex (Emp and [=ThugBoy=], ''a lot'')
* GratuitousJapanese: Complete with Kanji.
** For that matter, Ninjette's very name counts; she was born and raised in New Jersey and is as white as the driven snow, but her parents named her "Kozue Kaburagi" to try and make up for three Americanized generations back in Japan.
* HadakaApron: Is a sign things are going well for Emp and [=ThugBoy=].
* HandsomeLech: Major Havoc
* HartmanHips: Bootylicious Emp has curves above ''and'' below.
** Ninjette, who just has them below.
* HeelFaceTurn: [=ThugBoy=]; Ninjette
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Two at the end of Vol 5, right after another. Sistah Spooky snaps upon being just a few seconds too late to save Mind████, something her powers warned her about but she didn't recognize the significance of at the time. Immediately afterwards, Emp breaks down as well, explaining to a murderous Sistah Spooky that if she had only been [[TearJerker just a little bit more confident]], maybe Mind████ would have let her try using her powers to survive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Mind████]]
* HighlyVisibleNinja: Ninjette
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: Willy Pete, a man-turned-fire elemental, whose entire gig so far is [[spoiler:forcing people to give him [[strike:oral]] optical sex -- reminder: his entire body is made of ''supernaturally hot fire''. ("Willy Pete" is military slang for white phosphorus.) In Vol. 4 it turns out he likes to ''[[ImAHumanitarian eat superheroes and supervillains]]'', because normal human flesh incinerates the second it gets close to his mouth.]] Gah.
** [[spoiler:What is optical sex you ask? Being literally ''[[{{Squick}} skullfucked to death]] via the eye socket''.]] [=BY A MAN ON FIRE=].
** Oh, and by the way, he doesn't need to [[spoiler:eat]], he's just ''[[CompleteMonster that sick]]''.
** Mind████'s background. [[spoiler:She was [[PeoplePuppets telepathically forced]] by her insane brother to use rusty kitchen shears to cut off her tongue. ''Then'' he made her gouge out her eyes. He would have given her nose and ears a trim too, if she hadn't been restrained.]] The worst part is that he thought he was ''helping''. *shiver*
** This is toyed with during the DownerEnding of vol. 5. [[spoiler:No matter the circumstance, seeing someone telepathically [[PeoplePuppets forced to walk into a hole in the floor]], despite being fully conscious and begging the telepath doing so to stop is viscerally terrifying. The fact that the "hole" in question was a single-use escape portal on a space station about to burn up on reentry (and the aforementioned telepath well aware she would be trapped) ''did not help''.]]
* HollywoodPudgy: Somewhat subverted, considering Emp is drawn like most comic superheroines boob and booty wise, yet she still considers herself chubby as all get out.
* HowDoIShotWeb: Guess who.
* HoYay: Ninjette towards Empowered. And Three-Drink Bisexual Emp towards Ninjette, or Maternal Instinct Emp towards Ninjette. Also, Sistah Spooky and Mind████, though those two actually HAD been together.
** Most blatant example yet is when Emp is kidnapped by a brother/sister team. The sister strips her, though that's par for the course there. When she gawks at her [[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=paipan paipan]], [[SkinshipGrope gropes her boobs]], slaps Emp on the arse, ''climbs into the trunk with her'' (to make sure she doesn't get out. Suuure), ''then'' starts caressing her and says that she's her favourite, we're heading straight past LesYay and on to Les Could It Be Any More Obvious.
*** Worth remembering, though, that Emp was essentially being kidnapped and forced into that situation pretty much from the very start. While it's pretty obvious what was on her kidnapper's mind, Emp herself never expresses her feelings on the matter, making it difficult to draw any conclusions.
**** One-sided, unwritten-rules-breaking LesYay counts. *cough*Noncon*cough*
* HotLibrarian: One of Emp's outfits.
* HumiliationConga: And the dance goes on, and on...
** [[spoiler:But partly averted in Volume 4... [[EvenEvilHasStandards by Sistah Spooky of all people]].]]
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: This happens to Emp ''all the time''. {{Lampshaded}} with the "unwritten rules" that keep villains from going "too far".
* TheImp: The Caged Demonwolf [[SealedEvilInACan post-sealing]].
* {{Jerkass}}: Most of her team, and indeed, most of superheroes. Maidman, Cyndablock, and Mind████ are notable exceptions.
* IronWoobie: Despite everything, Emp keeps on going.
* JerkJock: Major Havoc... just Major Havoc.
* JiveTurkey: Major Havoc, dawg.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Emp
* KnightOfCerebus: Willy Pete
* LargeHam: [[DarkSoldier This troper]] thinks the Caged Demonwolf would sound exactly like [[RedVsBlue O'Malley]].
** The role would also fit NorioWakamoto to a T.
* [=~Let's Get Dangerous~=]: Once or twice a volume, Empowered ''will'' take down impressive threats single-handedly.
* TheLibby: Sistah Spooky
** Spooky's BackStory (and consequent FreudianExcuse) also has her being cruelly tormented by blonde, voluptuous Libbies whilst herself a child, hence the chip on her shoulder regarding Emp.
*LineOfSightName: The author got the name for a future villain from the front cover of an old magazine.
* LittlestCancerPatient: He always wanted to be a supervillain... and guess who gets sent to him by the local "Make a Wish" analog?
** {{Dr McNinja}}?
* LoveTriangle: Starting to develop between the PowerTrio. Specifically, a [[TriangRelations type 4]], or a type 6 if you have your yuri goggles on.
* MadeOfPlasticine: The super-suit is more like Made of Soap Bubbles and Spiderwebs.
* {{McNinja}}: Ninjette and her clan of ninja from New Jersey.
* MetaGuy: Empowered regularly [[NoFourthWall breaks the fourth wall]] when she appears in the title pages of stories; Ninjette and [=ThugBoy=] lampshade this when they appear and have no idea who she's talking to.
** The Caged Demonwolf breaks the wall at the end of Volume 1, filling us in on the story's aftermath.
** [=ThugBoy=] gets in on the act later on when he gives us a "tour" of Empowered's sleeping habits.
*** {{Lampshaded}} when we find out [=ThugBoy=] is talking to his average mook friend. Also lampshaded in a later story, when what seems to be the Caged Demonwolf going meta is actually him talking to Emp's powersuit.
**** Later still, he goes meta anyway by referencing plotlines that haven't ''happened'' yet when he's talking to Emp's suit.
* {{Moe}}: Empowered
* {{Mooks}}: [=ThugBoy=]'s old gang, the "Witless Minions", who stole from the villains they worked for.
* MostCommonSuperpower: Averted with Ninjette, ''very'' present on Empowered and Sistah Spooky. Ninjette even lampshades this, saying that she cannot join a hero team because she doesn't have a "nice, big rack".
* MsFanservice: Emp is arguably a Deconstruction; Ocelotina is an in-universe example.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Emp hasn't quite figured out how her suit works. Outright lampshaded towards the end of Vol. 4 -- Emp discovers her suit can let her [[spoiler:[[WallCrawl cling to things]]]] and she's as shocked as the people watching.
* {{Ninja}}: Ninjette, obviously.
* NippleAndDimed
* NoodleIncident: Several storylines were (presumably temporarily) cut from the books, moved between books, etc. These are brought up during the meta-pages, with the characters warning each other not to talk about that stuff yet cause it wasn't in this book. Notable examples are [=ThugBoy=] cosplaying (particularly bad because the author didn't have time to remove reference to it from the back of one of the books), [=ThugBoy=] wearing Empowered's suit, etc., etc. There's also the question as to why Emp's extremely skintight suit doesn't show any camel toe, this was lampshade hung in Vol. 3 and by the end of Vol. [[strike: Four]] 5 still hasn't been explained (and is lamented as possibly never will be).
* [[NoRespectGuy No Respect]] [[strike: [[NoRespectGuy Girl]]]] '''''[[NoRespectGuy QUEEN]]''''': One would think Empowered saving her teammates' hides more than once would earn her a ''little'' less outright abuse.
** Mind you, often they simply don't notice -- for example, she [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome rams a villain]] [[CarFu with a Humvee going 70 MPH]], [[LampshadeHanging pointing out that this works much better than just throwing it at the villain]], only to have the resulting wreck immobilize her and letting her "team" wander off assuming the other heroes and the villain knocked each other out.
** To be fair, a few of them ''do'' respect her... sometimes.
* NotSoHarmless: Empowered. Beneath the low self-esteem and WeaksauceWeakness, Emp went to college and is frightfully intelligent (and almost GenreSavvy). For example, knowing that if you drive an armored car into a villain at 70 MPH instead of throwing it at him at around 5 MPH (at best), it does a LOT more damage. A more specific example occurs in book 4, where [[spoiler:Emp turns her suit invisible, making the BigBad think she's naked and helpless, just to get close enough to him to confirm his identity and curb stomp him.]]
** An in-world example: [[spoiler: the Superhomies think Willy Pete is just some D-list nobody. Turns out that's only because he likes to keep a low profile and go after mooks and D-list villains. The 10-man team sent to get him (for a PR boost) finds this out at the hard way, as he wipes them all out with ease in a matter of seconds by using a blast of flames so powerful it's like hitting them with ''a nuke'']].
* NotSoDifferent: Empowered and [[spoiler: [=dWARf!=]/Fleshmaster]].
* OnlySaneMan: The Caged Demonwolf, Molester of Worlds. That an EldritchAbomination that habitually describes himself thus gets to be the Only Sane Man in the cast tells you everything about this comic you needed to know in one sentence.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: In her civilian guise, Emp affects a patently false Southern drawl.
* {{OT3}}: The series keeps dancing on the edge of making the three main characters (Emp, [=ThugBoy=], and Ninjette) into an outright threesome. Emp is a three-drink bisexual who hits on Ninjette when drunk, Ninjette is barely able to hide her attraction to [=ThugBoy=] ("Aieee! Me canoe be swampin"!). Not sure if Ninjette has ever shown any attraction to Emp or [=ThugBoy=] to Ninjette, but it wouldn't take much prompting. Anyone's guess if this ends up as a love triangle or a ménage à trois... but the Demonwolf definitely has an [[YuriFanboy opinion]] on how it [[LargeHam SHOULD BE.]]
** And for additional rampant speculation fuel, witness Volume 5 in which Ninjette encounters a fellow (female) ninja disguised as [=ThugBoy=], who proceeds to passionately kiss her until detected. Ninjette then claims the disguise was obvious because the ninja "kisses like a girl". A) This is yet more evidence that Ninjette has some interest in [=ThugBoy=] and B) Saying someone kisses like a girl implies the speaker actually knows what it's like to kiss a girl! So... yeah.
*** Ninjette's done more than kiss a girl: a little earlier in that Vol. 5 story, [[spoiler:we learn that Ninjette consummated a woman's marriage disguised as her new husband.]]
** Oh, [=ThugBoy=]'s attracted to Ninjette: seeing her drop her panties or having her cuddle up against him gets his elephant trumpeting.
* PeekABoo: Flat out '''abused'''.
* PeoplePuppets: A standard psychic power in this 'verse.
* {{Pettanko}}: Ninjette
* {{Pirate}}: '''A'''dvanced '''R'''estraint '''R'''esearch.
* PlotDrivenBreakdown: It is easier to list the times when Emp's [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Hypermembrane]] ''does'' work correctly.
* PowerGivesYouWings
* PowerIncontinence: Poor Mind████ can't speak outside of telepathy (which has the side effect of leaking brutal honesty with every sentence), and has to avoid crowds as all the excess thoughts cause headaches.
* PowerPerversionPotential: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when Emp even admits she uses her suit for this.
** Also used extensively by Mind████. In fact, [[spoiler: she's terrible at sex when not using her powers.]]
* PrehensileHair: Weirdbeard
* PunctuatedPounding
* RagingStiffie: A problem for [=ThugBoy=] when sharing a bed with Ninjette.
* RealMenWearPink: [[spoiler:He may wear a dress and high stiletto heels, but everyone's heard of the goddamn Maidman.]]
* RebelliousPrincess: Ninjette
* ReverseGrip: Ninja like to hold their blades this way.
*RuleOfFunny: The blocked-out swearwords? Edging closer to the line between titillation and pr0n than previously thought possible? All for giggles. [[http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21727 Really]].
* SamusIsAGirl: [[spoiler:Mind████]]
* SayItWithHearts
* SaveTheVillain: A couple times.
* SealedEvilInACan: The Caged Demonwolf
* SelfMadeMan: A heroic variant: [[spoiler:Mind████, who used her psychic powers on her own brain to surgically remove her non-heroic impulses. The way she explains it, she was a villain in all but name before she did so.]]
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: With made-up words, no less, leading to...
* ShlubbAndKlumpEnglish: Yes, Imperial Pimpotron Alpha could give [[OneOverZero Marcus]] a run for his money.
* SickSadWorld
* ShipperOnDeck: Demonwolf ships Emp/Thugboy/Ninjette.
* ShipTease: Ninjette & [[spoiler:the Maidman]]; Ninjette & [=ThugBoy=]
* {{Shout Out}}s: Plenty...
** ''[[DungeonsAndDragons Dungeons & Dragons]]'' -- with shirts sporting "INT. 19 (supra-genius)" or "STR. 18(00)";
** ''MaisonIkkoku'': Emp's "Piyo Piyo" [[HadakaApron apron]];
** [[MST3K Dr. Big]] [[SpaceMutiny McLargeHuge]];
** And when Ninjette tells Emp how her suit sprouted wings (which Emp can't remember), Emp pictures herself as a devil. Her mental picture looks quite a bit like she's cosplaying as [[{{Disgaea}} Etna]].
** Thugboy wears a t-shirt with [[KatamariDamacy the King of All Cosmos]] on it at one point.
* SlashFic: In-canon, even. Emp reads slash about two of her male teammates. [[spoiler:They're delighted.]]
* SmugSuper: Most of the other superheroes we meet are little more than overpowered and overgrown [[TheLibby high school]] [[JerkJock bullies]] deeply in love with their own superpowers.
* {{Soaperizing}}
* SomethingElseAlsoRises: Male and Female versions used at once: one chapter is called ''[[MeaningfulName Elephants, Cups and Canoes]]''.
* [[SophisticatedAsHell Sophisticated]] ClusterFBomb: An ally/enemy of Ninjette speaks formally without contractions, but also uses swears like other people use commas.
* SpringtimeForHitler: [[spoiler:Emp tries to give the sexist males in the Superhomeys a taste of their own objectification by introducing them to [[BoysLove yaoi]] {{doujinshi}} of themselves. When they find out it's written by girls, it's taken as a ''compliment''.]]
** Oh, and then [[spoiler:she finds out one of the guys is gay, and immediately [[YaoiFangirl turns perverted]] [[NotSoDifferent as well]].]]
* SpyCatsuit: Empowered, for the short time it actually stays on her.
* StepfordSmiler: Subverted [[spoiler:with Mind████: she's essentially reprogrammed her mind so that she is genuinely warm and compassionate. Although how "genuine" that can be is debatable.]]
* StevenUlyssesPerhero: [[spoiler:'''E'''lissa '''M'''egan '''Power'''s]]
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Emp describes her own costume as "Painted-on Slutwear", and it was voted most "Sluttastic and Do-Me-Riffic". Consequently, she is not happy about it in the least.
** Ninjette and Sistah Spooky aren't overdressed either.
* SweatDrop
* TalkingYourWayOut: Emp manages this on a few occasions.
* TearJerker: The end of Volume 5.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Emp starts out a blatantly neurotic mess, and the more the supporting cast is developed the clearer it is that she is not alone.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck
* TrainingFromHell: Well, more of a Workout Session From Hell, but still...
* TroubledButCute: [=ThugBoy=], and ''how''.
* {{UST}}: [[spoiler:Between Ninjette and [=ThugBoy=] for certain, and it is difficult to rule out the thing between Ninjette and Empowered as something wholly in the [[TheImp Caged Demonwolf's]] perverted mind.]]
* VainSorceress: Sistah Spooky
* {{Vaporwear}}: Nothing can be worn over or under the suit. Including Pubic Hair. The fact that it [[AnimeAnatomy doesn't show off]] her nipples or "camel toe" is a RunningGag NoodleIncident in the series.
* VillainsOutShopping: Subverted when we see a group of ninja hacking a body into pieces (per the client's request) whilst one ninja is monitoring and idly browsing the web in the next room.
-->"85." -hack- "86." -slice-\\
"I'm telling you, Opera is the ideal choice for a ninja's web browser."\\
"87." -schinck- "88." -gchonk-
* VirginPower: Variant -- the "Seiseiryoku-henkan-sentou no jutsu" transforms sexual frustration into fighting power.
* VisualInnuendo: More common for males, curiously enough, with [=ThugBoy=] as the primary target. Notice his gun on the cover of the first volume.
* WallJump: Ninjette -- 'cause, you know, {{Ninja}}.
** [[spoiler:And Emp later on, much to Ninjette's chagrin.]]
* WeaksauceWeakness: Empowered's supersuit gives her powers -- unless it's [[ClothingDamage ripped or damaged]]. Which ''always'' happens. [[GoodThingYouCanHeal Good thing it can regenerate]].
* WhedonThyndrome: King Tyrant Lizard.
* WhipItGood: Rum, Sodomy and the Lash.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Maidman. Notable for being among the few heroes, save for Emp herself, who isn't a complete {{Jerkass}}.
* TheWoobie: Empowered
* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: During her CrowningMomentOfAwesome -- see "Crouching Moron Hidden Badass" above.
** Earlier on, Cyndablock gets one when he explains that his power causes nothing ''but'' collateral damage (he has elemental command of masonry and stonework). Being one of the few decent heroes, he's extremely reluctant to use his ability unless the villain's already wrecked everything around him.
* WriterRevolt: ''Empowered'' evolved from a series of bondage art commissions Warren was doing; he subverted the job by developing the characters he was using, and things snowballed.
* XRayVision: Another one of the suit's cool-but-useless-in-a-fight powers.
* XtremeKoolLetterz: dWARf! -- and yes, the exclamation point is part of his name.
* YaoiFangirl: Empowered
* YuriFanboy: Demonwolf

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