[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/comic_jumper_001_8880.jpg]]

An Platform/XboxLiveArcade game by Creator/TwistedPixel.

Meet Captain Smiley. With his super powers, dual laser guns, winning personality, and wisecracking ChestInsignia Star, he's sure to be the next comic book sensation... or he would be, if anyone liked his comic. Once his comic is cancelled, the fine folks at Twisted Pixel offer Captain Smiley a way to revive his series: make guest appearances in various other comics until he's popular enough to get his own back.

Gameplay consists mainly of traditonal side scrolling whilst shooting anything that moves with the usual platforming and some melee thrown in. The standard action is broken up with on-rail third person shooting and quick time events. The game is very much a nod to the old school shooters of the 16-bit era and their [[NintendoHard harsher]] difficulty. There are no power-ups to restore health in-between checkpoints but this is offset somewhat by infinite lives.
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!!This work contains examples of:

* TheAhnold: The title character of ''[[SdrawkcabName Nanoc]] [[Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982 the Obliviator]]''. It wouldn't be a ''Conan'' shout-out without this trope.
* AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles: Spoofed during Vol. 11 of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids''; the high school's football team is the "[[{{Hentai}} Hent High]] [[MarsNeedsWomen Fighting Tentacles]]".
* AnimatedActors: Every single character is very cognizant of the fact that they're comic book characters and aren't afraid to break the fourth wall into pieces. About the only characters that don't appear to have any awareness of this are Coco and Nana, the lead characters of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids''.
* {{Animesque}}: ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'', being a '''very''' ShallowParody of shoujo manga.
* AntiHero: Smiley is only concerned with looking good and making money, and shows no genuinely heroic compulsions whatsoever. However his work is ostensibly akin to an acting career rather than an actual life of superheroics, but this doesn't stop him from being a petulant, shallow prima donna.
* AntiVillain: Brad. Star really likes him at least.
* ArtShift: More or less the main gimmick, as each comic has Captain Smiley and Star change their outfit to fit in with the comic.
* AsideGlance: During the fight Mistress Ropes and [[VideoGame/SplosionMan a returning Meatenstein]], she gives a very frustrated look towards the audience whenever it starts eating itself.
* {{BFS}}: To go along with his [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII very Cloud Strife-esque appearance]], Smiley's melee weapon in ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'' is pretty much a buster sword with a giant heart at the end of it.
* BishieSparkle and PetalPower: Not seen on-screen, but Brad complains about sparkles and rose petals appearing around him when he's trapped in ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids''.
* BookEnds: The game starts with Smiley trying to foil a bank robbery by Doctor Winklemeyer and getting into a fight with Brad and his army of Bradbots, leading to Smiley getting into a fight with Star and punching him repeatedly, with a cut to several real life people destroying his comic book in disgust, and ending with the Creator/TwistedPixel dev team looking at the comic and getting an idea. [[spoiler:It ends with Smiley foiling the bank robbery again, this time killing Winklemeyer before going on a rampage, killing the rest of his rogue's gallery while fighting through an army of Bradbots, leading to Smiley getting into a fight with Star and punching him repeatedly, with a cut to the same real life people now loving Smiley's comic, ending with the Creator/TwistedPixel dev team looking at the comic and nodding in approval while they stand in the middle of a giant pile of money.]]
* BuffySpeak: Oh so much.
* ButtMonkey: Captain Smiley. At one point [[{{Squick}} it becomes literal.]]
* CainAndAbel: Within the world of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'', Lolo is the Cain to the Abel of her two sisters (and protagonists of the manga) Nana and Coco. Captain Smiley fights her in the first stage but in the last stage, it's ''Lolo'' who helps Smiley by fighting her sisters so he can finish off Hehe.
* CallingYourAttacks: ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'' is chock full of it, naturally.
-->"Big Cartoony Heart!"
* ColorFailure: Smiley briefly loses his color when he's damaged, and when his health starts to dip too low, it starts to stay that way.
* ContinuityNod: The events of Twisted Pixel's previous games are mentioned in universe. There's reference to a series of underground [[VideoGame/SplosionMan 'splosions]] believed to be coming from research labs and astronomers discover that several solar systems have disappeared, with only a strange [[VideoGame/TheMaw purple]] substance left behind.
* MediaNotes/TheComicsCode: Mocked during ''Improbable Paper Pals'', when Star's cursing is constantly being censored, and you get slapped with a fine whenever you attack a museum guard being controlled by Mistress Ropes. The hypocrisy of the code allowing a deeply racist main character but no swearing is also lampshaded.
* CrapsaccharineWorld: ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'' is this to the extreme, to the point where Brad is nearly DrivenToSuicide by it.
* DamselInDistress: Mocked in Smiley's own comic, when Gerda is tied up in the background and Smiley makes absolutely no attempt to rescue her (which she lampshades). The building explodes just after you leave.
* [[DefeatMeansFriendship Defeat Means Roommates]]: After you beat a boss, they are forced to move in with Captain Smiley until they get back on their feet. Neither party likes this arrangement.
* DeadpanSnarker: He isn't deadpan, but Star has quite the razor wit.
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The world of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'' is done in screen tones, like a real manga.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: "Improbable Paper Pals," being a parody of Silver Age comics, doesn't shy away from lampooning the racism and sexism of the era's work. Of particular note are Origami Kid, a sidekick who's an offensive stereotype of East Asians, and StrawFeminist villainess Mistress Ropes, whose goals of empowering women are portrayed as evil in and of themselves rather than a corruption of an otherwise decent cause.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Smiley learns that his comic should be more about violence, action and some minor nudity, successfully [[ContinuityReboot reboots]] his comic and wins the approval of the comic reading public, but the developers at Twisted Pixel [[TakeThatUs swindle him out of the profits by contract]], his sidekick Gerda resigns in disgust, and his co-workers hate him more than ever.]]
* EpicFail: A particularly gutbusting example is the reason for Smiley's comic readership dropping off.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Star is a total jerk, but even he's offended at the casual racism and misogyny throughout the events of ''[[MediaNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Improbable Paper Pals]]''.
* EverythingIsTryingToKillYou: Pretty much. Paper planes, puppets, and other improbable things are all trying to kill you. It can feel as though the ''developers'' are trying to kill you much of the time.
* {{Expy}}: Brad is a villainous VideoGame/DukeNukem.
* FanDumb: In universe, when Smiley reads letters from fans at the end of ''Improbable Paper Pals'' #77.
* FakeDifficulty: Many have pointed out that the game seems to be missing health pickups, although infinite lives offset this problem.
** The RPG mechanic only exists to provide stat upgrades and never adds additional abilities. Later stages are practically impossible without these upgrades, thereby forcing the player to [[LevelGrinding grind]] the optional missions in order to proceed.
** The world of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'' is rendered entirely in grayscale. This makes several incoming attacks ''extremely'' difficult to see.
* FatBastard: [[spoiler:Nanoc ''really'' let himself go after Puttmaster kicked him out of his kingdom]]
* FemmeFatalons: Mistress Ropes' updated costume sports these, though she never actually gets to use them.
* FriendsRentControl: {{Justified|Trope}}, because Twisted Pixel (the game's developers) paid for the base. Somehow.
* GameplayRoulette: It swaps between a few gameplay styles, including scrolling BeatEmUp, scrolling ShootEmUp and mostly-on-rails ThirdPersonShooter.
* GeniusBruiser: Brad gives every appearance of being a shallow, egotistical JerkJock, but apparently he has constructed his own robotic harem of shallow blondes to service him, a high tech battle helicopter and even produced his own theme music. Insipid he might be, but he's certainly not without talents.
* GenkiGirl: Just about every single schoolgirl in ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids''.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Benny in ''Improbable Paper Pals'' #79, which is even lampshaded by Smiley himself. The giant head that serves as the boss of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'' Vol. 10 also counts.
* GodGuise: There's one based around mini-golf in ''Nanoc the Obliviator'', of which one of Smiley's old foes, the Puttmaster, takes advantage.
* GunsAkimbo: Whether they're his usual submachine guns, rapid-fire dart guns, Silver Age rayguns or guns that shoot love bullets, Smiley is almost never seen without his trusty guns.
* HealingBoss: In the final chapter of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'', the titular cupids of the comic will restore the boss to full health after Captain Smiley gets it low twice.
-->'''Captain Smiley:''' "Wait a second. Did that little girl just heal him? That is totally cheating!"
* [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: Mistress Ropes in the final stage.
* HotterAndSexier: Mistress Ropes becomes this when she transitions to the modern era.
* HulkSpeak: Dr. Winklemeyer.
* HypocriticalHumor: At the start of the game Smilely shows his disgust at Brad glorifying himself with a theme song stating "they were above that sorta thing". Come the final level however, he showcases his ''own'' theme song.
* IKnowMaddenKombat: The Puttmaster, whose entire skillset is based around golf, naturally.
* InsaneTrollLogic: The Captain, right at the beginning in a wonderfully narmy EstablishingCharacterMoment with Gerda at the receiving end.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Captain Smiley. Though at the end of the game, he finally learns that it's not all about him. [[spoiler:It's also about explosions. Explosions and trite, poorly timed catch phrases blatantly robbed from films. And bathroom humor. And maybe some exposed female flesh, too. But definitely explosions.]]
* JerkAss: Every character to a certain degree, but Star is a particularly standout example. His entire life is apparently spent annoying and undermining Smiley while providing no help at all. He even takes giddy delight when [[spoiler:Smiley accidentally murders an innocent old man near the beginning of ''Nanoc the Obliviator'' #285.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: ZigzaggingTrope. During the whole game, Smiley appears as a pure and unadulterated {{Jerkass}}, only caring about his image and money. But he's also shown feeling awful about killing [[spoiler:an innocent old man and crashing his funeral]]. He then honest-to-God tries to understand [[StrawFeminist Mistress Ropes]] and calm her down instead of engaging in combat with her (even if his efforts are ultimately for naught). Finally, there's his relationship with Gerda. It's obvious he doesn't respect her at all, laughing at her when she's about to get blown to smithereens in the bank...but she never tried to earn his respect, mocking and insulting him repeatedly during his missions. Strangely, he genuinely cares about Star when he feigns sickness after beating Brad, even if the guy had zero compunctions relaying loud and clear to Smiley about how much he ''hates'' him.
* LoveBubbles: Smiley's gun fires them throughout the first two issues of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'', [[spoiler:until Brad gives Smiley real bullets.]]
* MadScientist: Dr. Winklemeyer, who seems to be less "scientist" and more "[[CloudCuckoolander mad]]".
* MagicalGirl: ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'' utilizes MagicalGirl tropes pretty heavily, including the main characters' mascot animal and Smiley spending most of the stage fighting dark shadowy beings with ThePowerOfLove.
* MartialArtsAndCrafts: Paper Lad and Origami Kid are implied to have these abilities, but we never actually get to see them in action.
* MechaMooks: Brad builds his own ValleyGirl henchmen/groupies, called the Bradbots. Star approves.
** "You can make them do anything you want! Heh heh!"
* MoneyDearBoy: {{Invoked|Trope}}. The entire plot is so Smiley can get his comic back in circulation. [[spoiler:Parodied by Creator/TwistedPixel during the live action montage in the end.]]
* MoreDakka: Smiley's gun fighting method has much more to do with saturation than finesse. [[spoiler:In the final stage his default pistols are upgraded into an even more potent form with a three foot long muzzle flare.]]
* MySuitIsAlsoSuper: And it comes with a wisecracking face called Star.
* NoFourthWall: Most characters know they're in comic books. They often mention 'panels', 'writers' and such. [[WrongGenreSavvy They don't know they're in a game, though]] Smiley and Star can [[WhoWritesThisCrap talk to the developers]]. You can even call on the developers of Twisted Pixel to help you out in combat, literally BreakingTheFourthWall in the process.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Apparently Origami Kid was missing this whole time because he was off having wacky time travel-related adventures.
* OneHitPointWonder: Captain Smiley becomes one in the extra Challenge missions.
* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]]: Gerda and Nordya.
* ThePowerOfLove: Smiley's guns shoot hearts and bubbles during the first two volumes of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids''. [[spoiler:Once Brad hands him some real ammunition, Smiley gets down to brass tacks and gets to killing everything.]]
* PrecisionFStrike: In contrast to Star spouting off obscenities left and right during the entirety of ''Improbable Paper Pals'', Smiley only swears ''once'', and it's at the very end of Issue 77 as a reasonable response to a particularly long-winded, tiring and obnoxiously in-depth piece of fan mail.
-->'''Smiley:''' Oh my god... Okay, okay, you know what, Eugene? You're a [[SymbolSwearing @$%#]] nerd!
* PropRecycling: [[spoiler:Mistress Ropes conjures the final boss of ''VideoGame/SplosionMan'' [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} out of Captain Smiley's thoughts]]. As he had recently beaten the game shortly before the events of the story, he just couldn't help but think of Meatenstein and how he managed to beat him on his second try.]]
* PunchClockHero: Smiley pays lips service to the cause of heroism, but his first concern is promoting his image and keeping his comic profitable. On the flip side:
* PunchClockVillain: When Smiley's enemies aren't committing crimes, they apparently crash at his secret lair. Smiley's not happy about it, but he treats it more like dealing with an annoying coworker than anything.
* PurelyAestheticEra: More like "Purely Aesthetic Comic Book Genre". The gameplay is varied, but what comic genre you're in doesn't seem to make a difference; Smiley still shoots his guns, destroys homing missiles, has projectiles shot/thrown at him, and so on.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobot: The Bradbots. Well, they're about as "human" as anyone else in the game, anyway.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:After facing some pretty humiliating fates during ''The New Adventures of Captain Smiley'', Gerda and Smiley's RoguesGallery decides that they've finally had enough of their co-actor's showboating and resign from playing in his comic any further.]]
* SirSwearsALot: Normally, Star doesn't adhere to this trope, swearing maybe only a couple of times throughout the game. This trope most certainly applies during ''Improbable Paper Pals'', where Star almost never bothers to tone down his language, leading to the Comics Obscenity Commission to hit the duo with fine after fine (though all of the violence they helped create in ''Improbable Paper Pals'' #77 probably did the comic no favors).
* SmugSuper: Smiley himself.
* SdrawkcabName: Nanoc's name is a none-too-subtle lawyer-friendly reversal of "Conan".
* {{Sexbot}}: Implied to be part of the Bradbots' function.
* ShoutOut: It's pretty well established by now that the folks down at Twisted Pixel are ''huge'' pop-culture nerds.
** The "comic jumper" machine is pretty much the time travel device used in ''Film/{{Timecop}}''. An unlocked piece of concept art had it being even closer in look.
** ''{{VideoGame/Gauntlet}}'': "[[WizardNeedsFoodBadly Captain needs food badly!]]"
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'': '''Winklemeyer''' (in a gruff voice): "What're ya buying?"
** ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' (1990): Benny. Just...Benny. [[BlatantLies He's got five kids!]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Smiley's design in the Manga world is clearly based on Cloud Strife.
** According to the interviews on the website, ''Anime/BottleFairy'' was one of the big influences on the "Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids" stage, with its over-the-top cuteness and [[SugarBowl cheerfulness]].
*** Later the sub-bosses divide their health in segments, [[Franchise/TouhouProject each one getting a different, individually named pattern.]]
** The developers [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] all these shout outs by having Smiley sometimes say, "Pop culture reference goes here!"
** Several references to ''Franchise/JurassicPark''.
--->'''Star:''' ''This is all John Hammond's fault!''
** You die like Megaman, while Smiley mocks you for dying 3/4 the time.
** At the halfway point of ''The New Adventures of Captain Smiley'' #00, Smiley chooses a destructor much like [[Film/Ghostbusters1984 Ray Stanz]] did.
** There is a very big one to an independent comic called The Maniacal Smile. Besides the fact that the entire first issue is included in the game, the main character from it actually shows up in the base for a short time after the first manga mission. If you talk to him then him and Captain Smiley will argue about their smiler costumes.
** Smiley refers to the "speed of time travel", 88 mph, from ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture''. Winklemeyer's helmet also seems to be intended to resemble the one Doc Brown is seen wearing.
** Brad looks rather like a beefed-up Sketch Turner from ''VideoGame/ComixZone''.
** Don't say you played the unicorn segments of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'' and didn't think [[VideoGame/RobotUnicornAttack "Always, I wanna be with you, and make believe with you, and live in harmony harmony OH LOVE"]]
** Manga!Star looks very similar to [[VideoGame/TheLegendaryStarfy Starfy.]]
* StrawFeminist: Mistress Ropes, though her role is pretty clearly PlayedForLaughs. When you defeat her, she gets HotterAndSexier.
* TakeThatUs:
** Star complains that ''VideoGame/TheMaw'' was ripping people off, with DLC that should have been in the game to begin with. Guess who made that game.
** The real joke there is that Comic Jumper has three hidden, unlockable levels... for ''VideoGame/SplosionMan''!
** There's also an announcement made to all Twisted Pixel staff to stop using pop culture references, as nobody thinks they're funny. Plus they can't afford the lawsuits.
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: Brad's Theme is one he recorded himself and you can see the speaker's he's playing it on to psyche himself up for his fight with Smiley.
* TheUnfought: Of all of the villains involved, Dr. Winklemeyer is the one villain in the whole game that Smiley never directly engages in a fight.
* TookALevelInJerkass: [[spoiler:Not that Smiley was much of a paragon of virtue to begin with, but he really ratchets up the smugness and self-aggrandizement to new levels during ''The New Adventures of Captain Smiley''. This is ultimately what convinces Gerda and the villains to finally pack their things and leave Smiley to fend for himself in any further endeavors.]]
* UngratefulBastard: Brad practically pissing himself during the Cutie Cutie Cupids levels, begging Smiley to get him out of there, which Star is more willing to take advantage of being a major fan of his. However once you rescue him and speak to him at the hub he just as much a jerkass then ever.
* ValleyGirl: The Bradbots.
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Brad, after the game is completed, shows clear signs of having dipped into one of these, though it's a lower-key example than most. When Smiley goes to talk to him, he's lost all his witty and cocky attitude and has sunk into a deep depression, starting to write his own diary. Understandably so, considering the man not only was trapped in a shoujo manga and forced to act as a high school teacher, would have been forced to date a RobotGirl, have her children and go on a world-spanning adventure he likely didn't want had Smiley and Star not arrived (and had Brad not planned to kill himself before it got that far), but also got utterly shown up by and completely trashed by Smiley in his new series and has lost the attention and adoration of his previously-faithful Bradbots. [[HumiliationConga Talk about pride before a fall.]]]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: Captain Smiley and Star. Emphasis on "vitriolic".
* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: Paper Lad, who's basically a sentient wad of paper than can turn into other types of paper.
** Smiley and Brad agree with this trope when they reach the Manga section.
* WhatTheHellHero: The final stage, ''The New Adventures of Captain Smiley'', is a crash course lesson in Smiley learning that treating everyone you know like shit is...not exactly a good way of keeping them attached to your brand. [[spoiler:As such, they leave not long after his first relaunched issue ends.]]
* WhereItAllBegan: ''The New Adventures of Captain Smiley'' is a repeat of the very first stage, but made far more difficult, adding the Puttmaster and Mistress Ropes to certain parts of the stage, a new music track, a beefed-up end encounter with Brad, and generally just being a shining monument to Smiley's raging ego.
* {{Yandere}}: Nana and Coco of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids'' '''don't''' take kindly to Captain Smiley and Star attempting to rescue Brad from their world.
* YaoiFangirl: Lolo, the goth looking cupid (and ostensible main antagonist) of ''Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids''. After thanking Smiley for defeating her two sisters, she proclaims she's going to write a super sexy yaoi starring Smiley and Star as a show of gratitude for beating up Nana, Coco and Hehe. They have no idea what she means by that.
* YourMom: According to one of the punch sound effects during ''The New Adventures of Captain Smiley'', she "loves Captain Smiley."

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