http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AgathaGirlGenius.jpg
[[caption-width:230:[-Our Heroine. [[PerverseSexualLust Our sexy,]] [[WrenchWench sexy heroine.]]-] ]]

''Mad Scientists rule the world. Badly.''

A WebComic (originally a print series) by [[PhilFoglio Phil]] and Kaja [[PhilFoglio Foglio]], which has become one of the classics of the [[strike:SteamPunk]] [[InsistentTerminology Gaslamp Fantasy]] genre.

The titular character of the story is Miss Agatha Heterodyne, who begins as a young apprentice to a type of MadScientist known to the world as a "Spark".

Can be found at the Studio Foglio website, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ accessible through this elegant and finely-crafted link]].

''Girl Genius'' ''[[ScheduleSlip WILL]] [[AvertedTrope ALWAYS]]'' update every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, usually around midnight.

Given a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Graphic_Story Hugo Award]] in August 2009.

Talk about the comic in [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=0000000000000000000002oy&page=1 our discussion forum for ''Girl Genius'']]. A character sheet can be found [[Characters/GirlGenius here]].

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!!''Girl Genius'' provides examples of:

* AirborneAircraftCarrier: ''Castle Wulfenbach''
* {{AI Is a Crap Shoot}}: Castle Heterodyne. Well, actually, the guy who built it was an evil maniac, so it's probably working as designed.
* {{All Part of the Show}}: Twice, [[spoiler: a circus of Sparks pretending to pretend to be Sparks, and a Jäger hiding among people who pretend to be Jägers.]]
* {{All There in the Manual}}: the Secret Blueprints and the expanded chapter-by-chapter Cast pages.
* AlmostKiss: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090511 Argh!]]
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090831 Now an actual kiss. Yay!]]
* AlternateHistory: Perhaps better called [[InSpiteOfANail parallel history]], because the Sparks have been around for long enough that even geography has been changed by their influence, and yet the world and its history are not completely dissimilar to ours: there were still Mongol Hordes on cue, German is still spoken as a European lingua-franca, R(embrandt) Van Rijn was still a famous genius and Casanova a famous skirt-chaser, the [Weather] King was still a towering historical figure, and there is still a powerful church(es) with [[strike:a pope(s)]] seven popes, according to [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080307 this]] page.
** The page itself is not entirely clear or definitive as to whether there are seven popes at once, or whether there have been 7 popes since it was written. This is entirely possible, as at one point (before the creation of the holy roman empire aka the guy who rules what we call Germany, most popes only lasted from a few months to maybe 2 years... considering this is an alternate history, that life expectancy rate may have survived into the 19th century.
*** Or indeed there may be seven popes at once, given a comic exaggeration of the Great Schism when there were two simultaneous Popes in Rome and Avignon (a joke also used in ''{{Blackadder}}'', when at one point a bull is signed by "both Popes", and later in the episode by "all three Popes").
*** [[TruthInTelevision There were once three popes at the same time]]. Schisms could be pretty bad in the Middle Ages.
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Jaegermonsters, and anyone infected with Hogfarb's Resplendent Immolation.
* {{Anguished Declaration of Love}}: Gil gets one regarding Agatha. Not ''to'' her, admittedly, but he was still pretty anguished thanks to Zeetha [[DopeSlap hitting him]].
* AntiClimax: The [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090626 final "battle"]] of ''Revenge of the Weasel Queen''.
* ArchiveBinge: Probably one of the most notable in webcomic history. Originally a print comic, when ''Girl Genius'' first became a webcomic it had two archives; one consisting of pages from the print comics, one consisting of the new pages produced after the website went online. When the version for people who started reading it online caught up with the version for people who'd read the print comics an awful lot of people read the newer half of the combined archive, the equivalent of four and a half books worth of pages, in one sitting. The website server went down for a long time.
* ArcWords: "I can work with that."
** Also, "I hate this place" & variations.
** And "You have no idea."
* {{Arson Murder and Jaywalking}}: the list of Heterodyne names in the crypt includes [[TheCaligula Caligula]], the Red Heterodyne, the Black Heterodyne, and Bob.
** Inverted: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090619 Flopsy, Mopsy, and Nietzche]].
* AsideGlance: "At least ''she'' was color coordinated."
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Klaus, his son (when thrust into authority, Gil's asskicking genes more than rise to the challenge), and the Jäger-Generals.
** AsskickingEqualsAuthority: More generally, in a semi-feudal world ruled over by extremely intelligent nutjobs, it's the one at the top of the castle you want to watch out for. They're in that spot for a reason.
*** Because someone's tied them to a weathervane?
* AuthorAppeal: You think it's an ''accident'' Agatha wears such lacy underthings? And more to the point, has spent quite a bit of time in them?
** Phil Foglio is well-known (unabashedly so) for drawing his female characters with rather large "assets". But it's his ''wife'' (and co-author) who loves to get Agatha into the "lacy underthings." She's a big fan of Victorian-era undergarments.
** Not to mention [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080114 paper dolls]].
* AuthorAvatar: The creators, Phil and Kaja, are both apparently natives of the story's world who, it would seem, will eventually meet, marry, publish a... controversial account of Agatha's deeds, and flee into our world with it to continue it safe from Agatha as a supposedly fictional comic.
* ArtEvolution: It started in -black and white-.
* AxeCrazy: Oh so many... Most notibly is probably Bangladesh DuPree, who also happens to be a CompleteMonster.
** Also of note is '''EVERY HETERODYNE''' in the family prior to Agatha's parents' generation.
* {{Back to Back Badasses}}: Gil and Tarvek, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090114 on the cover of Volume 9]].
* {{Badass}}: Too many to count. Baron Wulfenbach, especially, clawed his way to being ruler of Europe atop God knows how many others and it ''shows''.
* BadassBoast: Several; [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060306 this]] is the most effective example.
* {{Bald of Evil}}: Veilchen
* BarBrawl: Apparently there's one every evening in Mamma Gkika's. Except on Thursdays; then it's poetry slam night. Emphasis on ''slam''.
* BattleButler: Ardsley Wooster
* {{Betty and Veronica}}: Gil & Tarvek
** Echoed in the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091002 "dingbots" created by Agatha herself]].
* {{Beware the Nice Ones}}
* BigScrewedUpFamily: House Sturmvoraus. ''So much''.
* BilingualBonus: Many names of people, races, places etc make more sense if one knows a little German.
* {{BFG}}: "Clenk Gon", Agatha's Death Rays.
* {{Bifauxnen}}: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090123 Grantz]], Baron Wulfenbach's monster hunter.
** Even Gil apparantly gets this one wrong, as Gil [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060215 refers to Grants as a "he" early on]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Gil, once again demonstrating why you [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090522 shouldn't shoot him]]. [[BlazingSaddles You'll just]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome make him mad]].
* BigNo: Right after [[spoiler:Agatha breaks Merlot's mind with the enormity of his mistakes.]]
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030704 Here]], too.
* BleachedUnderpants: Prior to GirlGenius, Phil Foglio was best known for his [[{{XXXenophile}} pornographic comics]], and unlike many artists with a similar background makes no attempt to hide it - they're quite good, OrSoIHeard.
** They are, but I don't think this counts. He did ''What's New'' and ''BuckGodot'' long before he did ''{{XXXenophile}}''.
*** Not to mention the classic Con Reports.
**** Or a pair of excellent, funny updates of old '60s humor comics for [[TheDCU DC Comics]] at about the same time as ''{{XXXenophile}}''.
* {{Blessed Are the Cheesemakers}}
* {{Blessed with Suck}}: Most sparks, and Agatha in particular, have to deal with being shunned, used, or attacked by most everyone they meet. And that's if they don't get killed by one of their own creations.
* BottledHeroicResolve
* CaffeineBulletTime: Agatha's first experience with coffee.
* CargoCult: The Other is believed to be a deity by the Geisterdamen.
* ChandlersLaw
* {{Character Name and the Noun Phrase}}: Both in and out of setting.
* CharmPerson: Sparks are ''very'' charismatic...
* ChasteHero: Barry Heterodyne, as far as we know. The folks who write the fairy tales about the Heterodynes try to avoid mentioning this.
** Didn't he have a liaison of some sort with a High Priestess?
*** He always ends up with the High Priestess in the stories and plays. What happened in RealLife is more unsure...
**** "The High Priestess" wasn't a single person -- an older version of the cast page explained that this was the catch-all term for whatever lost priestess, distressed damsel, or mad scientist's beautiful but misguided assistant (other than Lucrezia) happened to figure in any given Heterodyne play. Basically, an in-world trope.
*** We have met one High Priestess. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060116 Her name was Vrin]]. However, there's no evidence whatsoever that she was involved with Barry at any point.
* ChekhovsGun: Gilgamesh's [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040213 lightning generator]]
** ChekhovsBoomerang: Which was used again almost ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071126 four years later]]''
** The Torchmen. Seen before activation ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070427 here]]'', although we didn't know what they did at the time.
** Also Gil's [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080811 invisibility device]] mentioned offhand by [=DuMedd=] quite a bit earlier.
*** And seen in action [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040517 even earlier]], although at the time Gil didn't realize what it was and used it as a simple power source.
** Even [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050418 PIES]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070119 end up as]] [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Guns]] in this comic. Possibly also qualifies as a BrickJoke.
** ChekhovsSkill: Agatha's training under Zeetha. Mind you, it's not like it was ever a secret it would be useful.
* CheshireCatGrin: The Heterodynes frequently sport these, as do many other Sparks when in the Madness Place, sometimes reaching the level of SlasherSmile.
** The Jägerkin sport those every time they're about to fight, so it also overlaps with the SlasherSmile.
* CoolAirship: ''Castle Wulfenbach'', of course. Zola's ship might have qualified if she hadn't colored it pink.
* {{Crazy Enough to Work}}: While you get the impression this happens a lot, perhaps the most hilarious one would be curing [[spoiler:Tarvek]] of a terrifying disease by [[spoiler:killing him and then bringing him back to life.]]
** After all, it is a series about [[IncrediblyLamePun mad]] [[MadScientist scientists]].
* CrazyAwesome: Jeagers are a ''race'' of CrazyAwesome individuals.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: Dupree
* {{Crowning Moment of Awesome}}: These seem to happen with alarming regularity, with each one topping the last.
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091111 This comic]] shows us that a CMOA doesn't have to be huge or flashy or dramatic. It can be as simple as one word.
--->'''Agatha:''' Are you two fighting again?\\
'''Gil/Tarvek:''' No.
* {{Crowning Moment of Funny}}: Mechanicsburg, basically. The final panel of [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081110 this strip]], in particular.
* {{Crowning Moment of Heartwarming}}: "Please... please be real..." "Shhh. I am."
** A mix of [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Awesome]], [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Heartwarming,]] and TearJerker in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070209 this strip.]]
* CyanidePill: One is offered to Moloch, but he obviously has yet to use it.
* DeathGlare: Gil gives one to [[CharlesAtlasSuperPower Zeetha]] along with a brief {{World of Cardboard Speech}}.
* {{Death of the Hypotenuse}}: [[spoiler:Lars]], anyone?
* DeathRay: Just about every spark has made one or something like one -- though no-one but Agatha redesigns the architecture with them during sleep.
* DidntSeeThatComing
* DoAnythingRobot: Dingbots!
* [=~Does This Remind You of Anything?~=]: Gil and Agatha's rapid-fire exchange of ideas on how to cure Tarvek gradually get more breathless and excited as they go on, culminating in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090828 this strip]]. Mad science as foreplay, full-on [[{{IfYouKnowWhatIMean}} experimentation]] for the sex. Oh, and did I mention [[{{ShirtlessScene}} Gil was shirtless the whole time?]]
** And then a ''threesome''.
** Also a trope that appears in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050318 plays within the comic]].
* DopeSlap: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090327 Zeetha gives one to Gil here.]] It's also common for Maxim and Dimo to slap Oggie around whenever he's saying somthing stupid, but since they're Jägermonsters it tends to be very solid punches.
* DoubleEntendre: The Castle teasing Agatha about her attraction to Gil: "All the Wulfenbach Sparks are known for their over-sized machinery..." Also figures in about half the references to {{Death Ray}}s. And almost every reference to toolbelts.
* DrillTank: The Deep 6 Model; also something of a PunnyName.
* DysfunctionJunction: The Sturmvoraus family. Dear ''God'', the Sturmvoraus family. These people make TheSopranos look like TheBradyBunch.
** Their name, when translated out of German, means "Storm ahead" (in the sense of a weather forecast) so that's no surprise.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[FanNickname Da Boyz]], the jaegermonster trio, but also the freaking ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090729 nyar spider]]'', of all things.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Mostly played straight, in that anyone who meets either Gil or Agatha and merely hears them ''talk'' about the other knows they're madly in love, but they know it too -- they just refuse to admit it (though Zeetha finally got a confession out of Gil).
* EvilAlbino: The Geisterdamen, an order of ghostly-white priestesses who are in the service of the Other.
* EvilHand: May be a side effect of the Spark, as Agatha [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090701 demonstrates]].
* EvilLaugh: or sometimes, not so much an evil laugh as an insane one; basically every Spark at some point while they're in the Madness Place.
* EvillyAffable: Dupree, big time.
* {{Exactly What It Says on the Tin}}: It happens in the not-quite-canon story ''The Heterodyne Boys and the Dragon from Mars'' but nonetheless, ocean in a bottle anyone? "Truth in Packaging" indeed...
* {{Faking the Dead}}
* FaceFault: The reactions to Gil "admitting" to Zola that he's really a pirate.
* {{Famed in Story}}: The Heterodyne Boys. And how!
* {{Fanservice}}: So very, very much gratuitous Agatha-in-her-underwear. Also [[MostCommonSuperpower impressive bosoms]] on basically every female character. On the other hand, it is only [[OfCorsetsSexy ''Victorian'' underwear]]... [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030512 Not that that especially matters]]
** And let's not forget the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080407 rather lengthy section]] of Volume 8 where Gil was entirely naked save for a strategically placed bedsheet. I know I haven't.
*** And Gil is currently [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090803 wandering around shirtless]]. Nom.
*** Like son, like father. There are many who are very grateful for [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20041206 That Naughty Flashback Scene]].
** Also Tinka's metal but curvy body in a semi-transparent nightie.
** And, of course, Tarvek's recent appearance wearing one shoe, a toga and very little else.
*** And even recently, ''a lot less.'' Rowr.
** And who could forget Zeetha and the Wacky Weave Destabilizer?
--->"What are you thinking, using Bunbury's trash? He's why every smart actress from here to Paris wears special underwear! Why do you even ''have'' one of those?"
** And now, we have "Revenge of the Weasel Queen", in which Agatha and Zeetha end up wearing BUNNY outfits.
*** Although these "bunny outfits" are [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090605 not quite]] what one might assume.
* FanNickname: Dingbot Prime among others.
* FeedMe: It's bursting at the seams with {{mad scientist}}s who are compelled, by their very [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder nature]], to go off on emphatic rants on how the fools [[TheyCalledMeMad DID NOT UNDERSTAAAND]]!!
* FillerStrip: Radio Theatre Breaks, Heterodyne Boys stories, Fairy Tale Theatre: Cinderella, and "The Storm King Opera" synopsis.
* FlashbackEffects: Sepia tones.
* {{Foregone Conclusion}}
* ''ForScience!'': Girl Genius would not ''exist'' without this trope.
* {{Friend or Foe}}
* GadgeteerGenius: Pretty much all Sparks.
* GeekyTurnOn: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090828 And how.]]
* GenerationXerox
-->'''Klaus:''' Ah, I see history repeats itself.
* GenreSavvy: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060410 "What? They're in all the stories."]]
* GentleGiant: Punch, apparently, though most people who didn't know him assume he's just DumbMuscle. Also possibly a GeniusBruiser, though the evidence for that comes from the Jägers who are... not the best at determining who's "schmott".
* GiantSpider: One of the many creepy albino monsters the Geisterdamen use for transportation.
** Also one more recently in Castle Heterodyne. Not quite as big, but...
* GonnaNeedMoreTrope: "[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070122 I don't think I've got one big enough.]]"
* GoodIsNotNice: Gil; Agatha; Master Payne...
* GratuitousGerman: Jägermonster = hunter-monster, Geisterdamen = ghost ladies, Sturmvoraus = storm ahead, Wulfenbach = "Wolf's stream" (not strictly correct, but German is dialectual and it's a place/family name)
** Of course, since this story is apparently set in a 19th century Central Europe not totally unlike our own, this is more of a TranslationConvention, since German actually would be the ''lingua franca'' of the setting.
*** There is one straight-up bit of gratuitous German when a Jäger uses "Jägermonstern" as a pseudo-German plural for his own kind. The German plural is in fact "Jägermonster", which of course sounds rather odd in English.
*** Note also the writing in the last panel of [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050905 this page]].
**** In the third panel of [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080331 this page]] the warning sign is cropped on the right to read "Nein", presumably the first half of "Nein Eingang" -- which although it literally means "No Entry" would be incorrect -- the correct term is "Kein Eingang"
***** Or it could just be saying "NO!"
** Holzfäller, the fake surname Gil used in Paris, translates as "lumberjack".
** I realized that Sturmhalten, the home of the Sturmvoraus familiy (see above), literally means "to keep storm", a.k.a. Storm Keep. This matches with Mechanicsburg, burg being old germanic for "castle". Wulfenbach started as a smaller house, so their fortress is just ''Castle Wulfenbach''.
* HellishHorse: The aptly named [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050404 Monster Horse Beastie]].
* HeroicSociopath: Castle Heterodyne (and to a lesser degree the Jägers) for Agatha. Bangladesh Dupree for the Baron.
* HiddenElfVillage: the Lost Kingdom of Skifander, where Zeetha comes from.
* HomicideMachines: Virtually every piece of advanced technology can be used as a dangerous weapon no matter what it was meant for originally.
-->'''Gil:''' What about this one? It looks like a toaster.\\
'''Agatha:''' Well, it is a toaster. Sort of.\\
'''Gil:''' Sort of?\\
'''Agatha:''' Oh, yes. It could toast the whole town.
* HostageSituation: Gil volunteers for one. Agatha doesn't want it.
* HoYay / FoeYay: Gil and Tarvek, in recent comics. Semi-naked, snarky, and walking arm-around-arm? ''Oh yes.''
* HyperspaceMallet: Not actually a mallet, but just about every other gadget that a well-equipped Mad Scientist might require.
** Lampshaded on a [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080114 paper doll]] page.
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091002 A real mallet!]]
* IAmWho
* ICanFight
* {{I Just Want to Be Normal}}: Said by Agatha, in the beginning. Othar thinks the entire idea is hilarious.
* IndyPloy
* {{In the Name of the Moon}}:
-->"'''Schtop!''' Hyu horrible monster-y ting of '''Evil!'''"
** Although that was an intentional delivery of a LargeHam as well...
* TheIgor: Basically the entire populace of Mechanicsburg.
* InfernalRetaliation: "[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081027 Here.]]
-->"Great. Now the crowd is trapped by the stalagmites while the flaming monster advances."
* {{Instrument of Murder}}: Sleipnir O'Hara's "Hot Pipes".
* IronicEcho: Agatha [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030514 quoting]] Moloch Von Zinzer back at himself [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080312 here]] demonstrating that the tables have indeed turned.
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090406 Zola]] echoing [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090311 Agatha's]] sarcastic party plans virtually word-for-word (albeit in a very different tone) as ObfuscatingStupidity.
** And Agatha describing [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090724 Tarvek to Gil]] with the last three words being the same she used describing [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080929 Gil to Tarvek]].
* [=~Is That What They're Calling It Now?~=]
* {{It Makes Sense in Context}}:
-->'''Gil:''' I've changed my mind! Let's just '''kill him!'''\\
'''Agatha:''' Stop it. We're going to kill him '''properly'''.
* {{It Was a Gift}}: Agatha's ring.
* JigsawPuzzlePlot: And how! Chekov's guns that were put on the mantle in books 1, 2, and three are being taken off and fired years later. Gil and Tarvek also indulge in some LampshadeHanging when they discuss a bunch of [[NoodleIncident convoluted noodle incidents]].
* KidWithTheLeash: Agatha, for Castle Heterodyne.
* {{Kill It with Fire}}: the Torchmen, Sleipnir's pipes... guess [[IncrediblyLamePun you can't start a fire without a Spark]].
* {{Leave Behind a Pistol}}
* LesYay: Zeetha and Agatha during certain moments of training.
* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: The entire comic is postulated as a course on the life of Agatha Heterodyne, as taught by the Professors Foglio at Transylvania Polygnostic University ("Know enough to be afraid.") They stick mostly to the truth -- though this very admittance means that it's possible that, in the "real" universe where this story takes place, not every woman has the MostCommonSuperPower.
* LivingMotionDetector: The clank in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080908 this]] comic.
* LoveTriangle: Agatha, Gil, and Tarvek.
* MadArtist: The tailor clank in the "Revenge of the Weasel Queen" fillers.
* MakeMyIndexLive: This mythos is a major part of the premise.
** EmperorScientist: The entire world is ''run'' by these. Baron Wulfenbach is an especially fine specimen.
** MadScientist: "Sparks", whose erratic genius has literally reshaped the world. Practically half the cast are mad scientists of one sort or another, though the ones that come closest to the classic villain type are probably Prince Wilhelm Aaronev and the late Lucrezia Mongfish.
*** There's even a mad ''social'' scientist, who complains that the mad "hard" scientists get all of the funding and attention.
---->"I told the baron, give me a thousand orphans, a hedge maze and enough cheese and I can--"
** MadScientistLaboratory: Several, most notably those belonging to Baron Wulfenbach and Prince Aaronev. And all of the ones in Castle Heterodyne.
** [=~Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter~=]: Lucrezia Mongfish is officially referred to as "The Villain's Beautiful Daughter" in the stories told about Agatha's parents. Agatha herself is arguably one, and she's already run into at least two Mad Scientist's ''Handsome Sons''.
*** Othar Tryggvassen ([[GentlemanAdventurer Gentleman]] [[TvTropesWikiDrinkingGame Adventurer!]]) [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal actually asks Agatha]] if she's one of these.
*** The current storyline is hinting ''broadly'' that [[spoiler: Zola is Lucrezia's daughter as well]], or at least a member of the Mongfish family tree.
*** And most offspring of mad scientists are mad scientists themselves.
** ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder: The Spark condition. Though even non-Spark scientists and engineers are a bit off-kilter, probably because that's how everyone expects them to act.
** WeirdScience: All over the place.
* MagneticHero: Any and all Sparks; their manic vision pulls normal people into their service.
* MalevolentArchitecture: Castle Heterodyne.
* MaliciousSlander
* MamaBear: Von Pinn, ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040903 and how]].''
* MauveShirt: Sergeant Scorp of the Baron's Vespiary Squad. Also an unquestionably CoolOldGuy, right down to the superb facial hair.
* MarySue: Maria Antonia Fantasia Philomel, and her mother, Raven Moonsdaughter. As you have probably guessed, a parody.
* MaximumFunChamber: Also Castle Heterodyne.
* {{McNinja}}: Introduced with the followers of the Way of Smoke. May not be as good as they think they are.
** Then again, Violetta readily admits she sucks at her job, and Veilchen seems quite competent, so there's likely a pretty wide range of skill level.
* {{Memento MacGuffin}}: Agatha's ring.
* MentalTimeTravel: Othar, in his Twitter.
* MidairRepair: Gilgamesh and Agatha while testing Gil's flying, or rather ''falling'', machine.
* MiniMecha: Agatha's Dingbots, particularly DingbotPrime.
* MinionMaracas: Agatha demonstrates the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090311 proper technique]].
* MinionShipping: There's been strong fan support for Violetta/von Zinzer, [[strike:minions]] retainer/NOT-minion of Tarvek and Agatha, respectively. Shipping a [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] {{McNinja}} who hates her job with a world-weary ex-soldier just ''works''.
** Lately, canon [[ShipTease seems to agree]].
** Also, Zeetha and Higgs.
* MobileMaze: Castle Heterodyne. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090304 "We're doomed! The door we came through -- it never led HERE before!"]]
* MomentKiller: Damn you, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090511 Merlot!]]
* MonochromaticEyes: The geisterdamen have all-white eyes.
* MoreHeroThanThou
* MoreThanMindControl: Sparks' "command voice" makes them almost irresistibly charismatic.
** Has anyone other than Lucrezia and Agatha been seen to have one, though?
*** All Sparks have the capacity to be intensely charismatic, but only Lucrezia and Agatha have the "command voice".
* MostCommonSuperpower: Every single female character, notably Agatha, Zeetha, the white spider women, and Mama Gkika.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Specifically Aaronev Sturmvoraus and his dying daughter, though certainly said by others in this world.
** Basically the FatalFlaw of every Spark in the world. Entering "The Madness Place" grants them incredibly powerful focus, but it makes them entirely oblivious to the potentially disastrous results of their creations.
* MythArc: One of the best webcomic examples. The foreshadowing starts with the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021111 fourth strip]] of the first chapter, with hints about the phenomenon scattered over many, many volumes -- and a full explanation has still not been given.
* {{Names to Run Away from Really Fast}}: Practically half the cast: Klaus and Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, Lucrezia, Master Payne, Von Pinn, and probably several more. Possibly subverted with Moloch.
* {{Necromantic}}
* {{Never Found the Body}}: A plot point has significant individuals from the past killed by a machine made from "farm machinery and pork products" which turns them into a string of sausages. Hard to confirm that.
* NiceHat: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080514 Case in point.]]
** Only a man whose bowler has granted fantasy adventurers super-powers could create a culture like the Jägers, whose attitude to this trope is close to a religion.
*** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070209 You mean it isn't their religion?]]
* NoodleImplements: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050523 One wonders what part a tea cozy has to play...]]
* NormaBates: [[spoiler: Anevka]] to a degree.
* TheNoseKnows: Jägermonsters
* {{Not a Game}}
* [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Not My Boyfriend]]: A consequence of it seen here with [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091021 Violetta]].
* NotSoHarmless: [[spoiler:Zola]]
* TheNudifier: The Wacky Weave Destabiliser.
* NumberOneDime: a.k.a. said Nice Hats
* ObfuscatingStupidity: A ''lot'' of people. Some of the Jaegerkin are considerably smarter than they appear, the circus pretends to be simple performers when in truth they're [[spoiler: all Sparks]], and most especially [[spoiler: Zola.]]
-->"What? No! That was that '''idiot''' from the island of th... She '''is''' good."
* OddlyVisibleEyebrows
* OddShapedPanel
* OfCorsetsSexy: Usually on Agatha.
* OffhandBackhand: Used by both Wulfenbachs and Wooster.
* OhCrap: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080305 "This must be how my father feels -- ALL THE TIME!"]]
* OmnicidalManiac: Castle Heterodyne. Or rather, it would like to be, if only Agatha would let it.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Omnidisciplinary ''Mad'' Scientists. Some seem to specialize, but it appears that most of the big "sparks" can stitch a living being out of spare body parts as easily as they can build a mechanical [=AI=]... or design an electric death ray or a giant airship.
* OnlySaneMan: Von Zinzer. Good news is, he has a ''lot'' of experience dealing with Sparks, which also gives him lots of GenreSavvy, though he's also somewhat fatalistic -- he's resigned to the fact that having to work for Sparks means he could be blown up, eaten, ripped apart or otherwise brutally killed at any time.
* OrphansPlotTrinket: Agatha's locket.
* {{OT3}}: This has been [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090311 suggested]] as a potential outcome of the LoveTriangle by some of the [[ShipperOnDeck Shippers On Deck]]. Given how the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081121 Cinderella digression]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090109 turned out]], the Foglios may actually be planning this.
* OurHeroIsDead: and buried, complete with digging up the body and ''cloning a replica'' to make sure it's really her. [[spoiler:The corpse was doctored to make it look like Agatha, but the cloning gave the deception away, as the cloned body was not hers.]]
* PeopleJars: Dr. Beetle in Beetleburg put criminals into giant glass jars to perish.
* PlayboyBunny: During the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090605 Weasel Queen]] {{omake}}, Zeetha and Agatha evoke this trope with their "rabbit costumes".
* PolitenessJudo: Getting Moloch to help in the kitchen.
* PoorCommunicationKills: Subverted. [[spoiler:Agatha's possession by the Other]] is set up as a big secret that could cause all sorts of problems; but Zeetha goes out of her way to mention it to Gil at the very first opportunity.
** Played straight as far as the Baron goes, though, at least so far.
*** For ''very good reason''. Gil is trustworthy because [[EveryoneCanSeeIt everyone knows he's in love with Agatha (except him and Agatha)]], Klaus Wulfenbach would [[NecessarilyEvil kill his own mother if she were the Other.]]
* PowerPerversionPotential: I'm just sayin', Sparks gotta have some interesting bedroom toys, given their tendencies when building anything else.
** "D'Omas' taste in women was, well... Let's just say it was lucky for him he could build his own."
** Castle Heterodyne is full of restraints.
** "[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081203 Look, I'm a girl with needs .... They have tool belts?]]" (From the Mad Scientist version of ''Cinderella''.)
* PsychoElectro: Anevka. She's more sadistic than psychotic, but if the trope fits...
* {{Psycho for Hire}}: Former pirate queen Bangladesh Dupree, the cheerfully murderous [[TheDragon Dragon]] of Baron Wulfenbach.
* PsychoSerum: The waters of the River Dyne.
* RebusBubble: Bang, when her jaw is broken. "Gil = nut?"
* {{Religion of Evil}}: The Geisterdamen worship the Other.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Anevka
* RestrainingBolt: Agatha's locket.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Agatha's little clanks she builds as assistants, practically the unofficial mascot of the comic.
* RightHandVersusLeftHand
* {{Right in Front of Me}}
* {{Rodents of Unusual Size}}: The Sturmhalten guides' description of "normal" sewer rats.
** Possibly inverted with the mimmoths (mouse-sized wooly mammoths), which are viewed as little other than annoying pests.
*** Also the giant bunnies.
* ScienceHero: Damn near everyone.
* ScrewGunSafety: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040213 Panel 4]].
* SeenItAll
* [[ShipperOnDeck Shippers on Deck]]: Moloch (and practically everyone else) ships Agatha/Gil, Violetta ships Agatha/Tarvek, and Castle Heterodyne appears to ship 'em both.
** Really, Castle Heterodyne ships Agatha/Anything with [[IWantGrandkids a viable set of male reproductive organs]].
* {{Shoulders of Doom}}: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080512 Zeetha approves.]]
* ShoutOut: Loads of them.
** The wiki has a [[http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/Shoutouts_to_other_webcomics whole list]] of the ones to other {{webcomics}}.
** One early Vol. IX strip has a mole tank commander identify himself as Major [[AnimalCrossing Resetti]].
** Moxana is a shout out to both [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxon%27s_Master Moxon's Master]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turk The Turk]].
** Castle Heterodyne is equipped with [[{{SaturdayNightLive}} Happy Fun Balls.]]
** Don't forget [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070112 this strip,]] where several soldiers are attacked by a toothed trunk on legs with the words [[{{Discworld}} "The Amazing Pratchett"]] written on it.
** [[{{Blackadder}} "Don't drink the wine!"]]
** A fairly unsubtle reference to Gil rescuing Zola from [[PhantomOfTheOpera "some overly dramatic maniac who lived in the Paris Opera House."]]
** A skeleton of a giant spiky beast inside Castle Heterodyne was apparently a pet named [[{{Mario}} Bowser.]]
** I can't believe nobody's mentioned yet that The Unstoppable Higgs' cap indicates he's a crewman on the ship ''RozenMaiden''.
* ShuttingUpNow: Two-part example involving Agatha and Moloch, in[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091116 this strip]].
* SigilSpam: The Wulfenbach family signs ''everything.''
** And the trilobite symbol of the Heterodynes is pretty much ubiquitous in Mechanisburg.
* {{Signed Up for the Dental}}: The lapinohemoths in the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090622 Weasel Queen filler]].
* SkewedPriorities: Locking children in vats and letting them out only for Christmas is a terrible thing, but only if you [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090706 let the control group out]].
* SlasherSmile: The Jägermonsters' mouths open literally from ear to ear and are full of very big fangs.
* {{Smooch of Victory}}: [[spoiler:Agatha's idea of a fine way to celebrate exploding a giant writhing slug. In any case, [[PostKissCatatonia Gil approved]].]]
* TheSpeechless: Punch ("Adam"). An early construct of the Heterodyne Brothers, he was unable to speak. [[spoiler: Until Gil extensively repaired both Punch and Judy, granting Punch speech.]]
* SteamPunk: Everywhere. The authors prefer to call it "gaslamp fantasy", because of the presence of Frankenstein-esque constructs as well as clanks.
* StopHelpingMe: Gil, as seen in the fourth panel [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081112 here]], almost word-for-word.
** "'''THANK YOU'''. For your '''HELP'''." "I-I'll just..." "Shut up..?" "Yes..."
* {{Strapped to an Operating Table}}: Othar, by Klaus (and various other incidents here and there -- this is a world run by mad scientists, after all).
** [[spoiler: Tarvek and Gil]] have to be strapped to a table in this [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090828 recent strip.]]
* StuffBlowingUp: ''Sooo'' much shrapnelly goodness...
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050722 "Death Ray go BOOM!"]]
* SuperSoldier: The Jägermonsters, who were created by the old "bad" Heterodynes as shock troops but then had to obey the "good" Heterodynes due to [[strike: a loyalty imperative that was built into them]] the oath of loyalty they take ''very'' seriously (though are still capable of breaking; look at Captain Vole).
** And don't forget Von Pinn.
*** Or ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081119 else.]]''
**** [[spoiler:Interestingly, the Jägers aren't artificial, they are humans mutated by exposure to the Dyne river, jager-draught, and other unspecified stuff. The first Jäger was also a Heterodyne. It is strongly implied that Gil and the Baron have at least some Jäger properties.]]
* {{Synchronization}}: Gil and Tarvek, thanks to the Si Vales Valeo procedure.
* {{Take a Third Option}}: Try an incredibly risky procedure with only stuff made for killing someone or take him to another hospital, which may or may not have the requisite stuff anyway? [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090814 Alternatively...]]
* {{Take Over the World}}: Baron Wulfenbach has already taken over the world -- or at least the bulk of Europe, where the story is set -- by the time the story starts, and ''he never wanted to''.
* {{Talking Is a Free Action}}: Gil takes a panel to rant about not being taken seriously -- [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080305 in the middle of his fight with Vole.]]
* TearJerker: Barry giving Agatha the locket.
** And [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070209 this Jägermoment]] as well.
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050124 Gil's face in panel 4]] could make every MemeticBadass named on this wiki, Klaus included, cry. Even ''without'' context.
** "A Heterodyne girl. Heh. An ordinary guy like me... never had a chance..."
* TemptingFate: Many instances here and there, but recently (April 2009):
** "It's just one little clank."
** "Somebody's coming out! To surrender, I imagine."
* TenchiSolution: Now that not just Gil and Tarvek but Agatha also is getting hot, this is the only possibility. [[spoiler:Sadly, I'm talking about "hot" as in "caught an illness that will incinerate her".]]
* ThirtyXanatosPileup: Agatha's arrival in Sturmhalten causes everyone to set off their [[XanatosGambit master plan]] at once.
* ThisIsSPARTA: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20051005 "What. Do. You. WANT."]]
* TooMuchInformation: Tea cozy... [[NoodleImplements only one spoon]]...
* TranslationConvention: {{Word of God}} and incidental writing in the background says that everything is actually in German and Romanian, translated for the benefit of the audience.
* TVTropesWikiDrinkingGame: Today's (November 2th) [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091102 issue]] features {{Egregious}} Heterodyne. No, really.
** He is famous for deciding to enlarge a holy spring until it becomes a river. Quite appropriate for the name.
*** A river whose waters have the ability to create [[ToothyBird Toothy Birds]], such as the duck in the last panel.
* UnsoundEffect: '''YOINK!'''
* {{UST}}: Jeez, Agatha, just make out with Gil already...
* VictoriasSecretCompartment: The Other does this, as fits her personality (but not Agatha's, providing a minor bit of hilarity).
* VillainousBreakdown: Dr Merlot wasn't exactly the most sane individual in Volume 1. His [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090518 little story]] in Volume 9 seems to indicate that he might be [[{{Understatement}} having some difficulties]].
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090527 Not anymore, thanks to the castle]].
* VisibleSilence: Appears often, but then four times in a row [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090803 here]].
* VisualPun: Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you... [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071225 Santa Klaus]].
* VitriolicBestBuds: Gil and Tarvek. At each other's throats one minute, talking shop on espionage the next.
* VolleyingInsults: Gil and Tarvek in the Cinderella story.
* WebcomicTime: Agatha has been trying to get into, or trying to repair Castle Heterodyne for at least two years now.
* {{What Are You in For}}?: When our heroes [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060726 come across Mr. Foglio in the dungeons of Prince Aaronev]]:
-->'''Maxim:''' Vot hyu in for?\\
'''Foglio:''' Bad storytelling.\\
'''Maxim:''' Ho! How hyu do ''dot''?\\
'''Foglio:''' You put the ''Prince'' in the story.
* {{What Does She See in Him}}?
* [=~What Do You Mean, It's Not Awesome?~=]: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070625 Volume Seven, Page 52]]. That must be good coffee.
** If coffee worked like that in RealLife, we wouldn't have so many heroin addicts. Just saying.
* [=~What the Hell, Hero?~=]: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090715 TRULY YOU ARE YOUR MOTHER'S CHILD!]]
** Considering the one calling Agatha out [[spoiler:murdered her parental figures in cold blood,]] can you really blame her?
* WhoDares: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030820 The Dragon of Mars]]
* {{Why Did It Have to Be Snakes}}?: Gil and Agatha take turns saving Zola from dozens of incredibly deadly traps that she keeps falling into in Castle Heterodyne. That is, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090729 until they encounter a slightly-larger-than-average spider.]]
* [=~Will They or Won't They~=]: Gil and Agatha, most frequently impeded by [[PoorCommunicationKills terrible miscommunication]] and Gil's bad luck.
** And Castle Heterodyne.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The Sparks, [[strike:almost]] by definition; Baron Wulfenbach fights this off by pure force of will... ''usually''. Every ''successful'' spark has at least one very level-headed keeper.
** The Heterodyne familly in particular. Apparently their unearthly strength and stamina comes from drinking from a spring famed for causing ''Insanity and Death''.
** It's implied that the reason the Storm King was regarded as the greatest king of all time was because he was able to keep enough self-control to rule effectively. This may have been at least partially due to the influence of the Muses.
* {{World of Badass}}: Show us a character who's ''not'' {{Badass}}, and within a couple of strips they'll turn out to be one of the more dangerous characters seen yet.
* XDaysSince: There's one sign [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090304 counting the days since the last hideous death.]] Considering the castle's nature, this may be a way of keeping score.
* [[YouExclamation You!]]: Klaus' [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061129 reaction]] to Zeetha.
* YouKilledMyFather: The reason why Agatha is ''not'' too keen on accepting [[spoiler:Von Pinn's]] help.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: "[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090501 Delightfully done my lady. Your enemy is thoroughly crushed. You are a true Heterodyne.]]"
** Like Zola didn't deserve worse...
* YourFavorite: Wooster knows how Gil likes his tea.
* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld

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