%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
%% Trope names in the main list shouldn't be hidden by spoiler tags

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fake_news_rumble.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: [[HopeBringer There is hope beyond despair]]. [[note]]Clockwise: [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Dick]] [[BigBad Cheney]], [[EvilTwin Yona]][[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds than]], [[Franchise/StarWars Eric]], [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Paul]], [[AnIcePerson Samantha Bee]], [[DistressedDude Stephen Colbert]], [[Series/DoctorWho John]] [[JustForFun/TimeLord Oliver]], [[DamnedByFaintPraise Tek]] [[AlienAmongUs Jansen]], [[ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire Steph]][[CardCarryingVillain anos]]. In the center: [[TheHero Jon]] [[ShockAndAwe Stewart]].[[/note]]]]

->''"You'd think they'd never seen a gigantic ship erupt from the ground and open a monster-spewing tear in the fabric of space and time before."''
-->-- '''Stephanos''', ''Chapter 1''

->'''Jon Stewart:''' ''You can ... teleport?! AND you have telekinetic powers?''
->'''Anderson Cooper:''' ''Err ... yes?''
->'''Jon Stewart:''' ''I'm still having trouble wrapping my brain around the whole 'everyone I've ever known has superpowers' thing.''
->'''Cooper:''' ''Oh please, Jon. It's not as if I've been hiding it!''
-->-- '''Jon Stewart and Anderson Cooper''', ''Chapter 5''

An unofficial fan webcomic by Page Branson wherein Creator/StephenColbert, [[Series/TheDailyShow Jon Stewart]], and many other 'fake news' corespondents [[SuperpowerLottery receive superpowers]], receive a magical MacGuffin, or just happened to have had superpowers all along and they've just come in handy today, because today's the day that UsefulNotes/DickCheney reveals himself as an [[EvilOverlord Evil Alien Overlord]] bent on destroying our planet, stealing Stephen's magical MacGuffin, and drinking the blood of pandas. Our heroes fight their way through monsters, possessed comrades, {{Evil Twin}}s and mountains of tropes on various {{Fetch Quest}}s and rescue missions.

The old site is now defunct, but the author e-mails the comic to readers on [[http://pagebranson.tumblr.com/ request]].

See also: ''Series/TheColbertReport'' and ''Series/TheDailyShow''.

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!!Provides Examples of:

* AlternateUniverse: All the villains so far came from one, as well did Tek Jensen. To make things better, each universe contains some version of of Stephen and Jon. [[spoiler:One of them was Tek's master, who died.]]
%%* AnIcePerson: Samantha Bee.
* AnimalMotifs: Stephen has a bird motif, more specific a phoenix, as he is frequently confronted with bird-related remarks.
** Stephanos' usage of a web to entangle enemies and such a pattern appearing [[spoiler:on Jason's neck when he is being controlled by movement]], his looks and in particular his mark are all very evocative of a [[ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire spider]]. This might be because he frequently was/is [[GeniusBonus the person who likes to be and was in control]]. It also befits his true cruel and manipulative nature. As a bonus, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aptostichus_stephencolberti there is a trapdoor spider called after Stephen]].
** As such, Yonathan's [[ScarfOfAssKicking long scarf]] which extends to the ground, shapeshifting and main usage of claws and of course his mark heavily reference a wolf. This is reflective of his brash and savage nature. The wolf also [[GeniusBonus represents loyalty]], which is fitting to the fact that [[spoiler:he only is being evil because his best friend is]].
* ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_7_19.html Stephanos]], both there and on a later [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_10_14.html occasion]]. A purple spider-like creature attacking in a way that [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_7_20.html limits movement]]? Sounds [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} familiar]].
%%* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Tek Jansen.
%%* ArtEvolution: The waiting periods between updates provides time for this.
* BadassNormal: Anyone on the cast who didn't get superpowers makes the most with whatever's lying around.
%%* BadassLongcoat: [[http://star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/john_profile.html John Oliver has one.]]
%%* BattleAura: [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience Color coded]], too.
* BearsAreBadNews:
--> '''Stephen''': ''[[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_1_22.html "A bear. Of course it's a bear. Why would I have thought it would be anything other than a bear."]]''
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Dick Cheney - [[EvilOverlord Evil Alien Overlord]].
* BerserkButton: Riggle’s appears to be people harming [[HoYay John]] [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_11_8.html Oliver]].
** Olbermann does not like it when people trash-talk [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} America's Pastime]].
* TheBerserker: Lewis Black fights monsters with a chair and rage.
* TheBigGuy: Rob Riggle, listed on his profile page as "Comedian/Last Action Hero."
* CallingYourAttacks:
%%** '''"RIGGLE PUNCH!!!"''', '''"RIGGLE CHOP!!!"''', and of course, '''"SHO-ROB-KEN!!!"'''
** Tek gets in on it with the '''[[Franchise/StreetFighter "Spinning Tek Kick!!!"]]'''
%%* CarFu: Anderson.
* CelebrityPower: What the comic runs on. Everyone in conjunction with Series/TheDailyShow or Series/TheColbertReport has superpowers, or something that gives them superpowers.
* ChekhovsGun: Just tell me this line isn't going to be relevant later:
-->'''Yonatan:''' ''I can smell something hidden... Something even greater than the blood of a [[Series/DoctorWho time lord.]] Something monstrous...'''
* ChromaticArrangement: Played with, since Stephen is red, Jon is blue and Steve is green, even though Jon seems to be [[TheHero the main protagonist]], Steve acts like TheSmartGuy and Stephen... Well, Colbert seems to be TheLancer [[StealthPun if anything]]. He wishes he was TheHero, though.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Almost everyone, [[TechnicolorMagic especially the bad guys]].
** Each character is color coded with an [[BattleAura aura]] and the color of their [[TechnicolorEyes eyes]] that shows a bunch of stuff such as the color purple to denote anything//anyone on the side of evil, or if it's a protagonist, their [[TechnicolorEyes eyes]] and [[BattleAura auras]] represent their powers. See the entry for TechnicolorEyes.
** [[spoiler: When Stephanos and Yonatan are released from Cheney’s hold on them, [[GoodColorsEvilColors the purple in their outfits and eyes drains away]], to be replaced with [[HotBlooded red]] and blue respectively. Lampshaded [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_11_33.html here]]]].
* CompellingVoice: Brian Williams. It's called "gravitas."
* CoolVersusAwesome: Current event and politics comedians use magical melee weapons to fight an evil vice president from a parallel universe.
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Jon Stewart and other Fake News comedians were saying that Dick Cheney was evil for years. Too bad nobody believed them until it was too late.
%%* DamnedByFaintPraise: All of Tek Jansen's compliments of Jon are like this.
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler: Yonatan in the arms of Stephanos. [[OnlyMostlyDead Maybe]]?]]
* DistractedByTheSexy: Actually helps Jason Jones [[spoiler: to break free of Stephanos’s mind control]].
--> '''Jason Jones''': You, like many before you, have once again underestimated [[RagingStiffie the power of the boner!]]
* EldritchAbomination: Cheney and his ... ''things''.
%%* EvilAlienConquerors: Dick Cheney.
* {{Evil Twin}}s: Stephanos and Yonathan to Stephen and Jon, obviously.
* FastballSpecial: Rachel Maddow is positively gleeful about being able to [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_12_1.html try it]].
* FlashStep: Stephanos and Anderson Cooper can both do this, and John Oliver can as well when he can get his time travelling screwdriver to work.
%%* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Anyone possessed by Cheney.
* {{Hammerspace}}: Steve Carell uses much more money than would naturally fit in the sack on his back to make ropes, columns, and particularly the origami bird.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: A long-awaited one for Yonatan, dragging Stephanos along with him.]]
* HeroicBSOD: John Oliver suffers one of these once he [[spoiler:remembers what he forgot about the time war]].
* IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHim: A [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_11_35.html frankly scary one]] from Jon to [[spoiler: Stephanos and Yonatan]] regarding Stephen’s trust to ensure that [[spoiler: their HeelFaceTurn ''stays'' turned]].
* IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight: [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_7_8.html Jon says this almost verbatim to]] [[spoiler: Stephen.]]
** [[spoiler: Later on, Riggle gives John Oliver a speech [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_11_17.html in the same vein]]]].
* InsultBackfire: Stephanos ''enjoys'' being evil.
--> '''Jason Jones''': You *cough* bastard!
--> '''Stephanos''': Oh, flattery won’t save you now!
* KickTheDog: "[[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_9_6.html Or did you mistakenly believe yourself to be something more?]]"
** A bit literally here since Yonathan has a wolf motif.
* LampshadeHanging: [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_9_19.html Stephen tells Jon that]] Jon's EvilTwin is [[HoYay in love with Stephen's]] EvilTwin.
-->Jon: Great! Jesus, start the [[SlashFic fan fiction]] now, [[YaoiFangirl ladies!]]
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Played with, since John Olliver can't remember what happened to the rest of the [[Series/DoctorWho time lords,]] but he has pretty good memories otherwise. It's just why he's on Earth and how he got here that's been giving him trouble.
* LetsGetDangerous: The end of [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_6_32.html chapter six:]]
-->'''Jon:''' ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Get ... your hands ... OFF OF HIM!!!]]''
-->'''Stephanos:''' ''Oh, so the fangs come out. I've had to hear about ''you'' all night. It's about time I found out what all the fuss is about.''
-->*focus on Jon's {{Determinator}} expression*
-->'''Stephanos:''' ''Let's get started.''
* LetsYouAndHimFight: In Chapter 2, Jon gets into a violent disagreement with Samantha Bee and Jason Jones before the later two finally realize what's [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt going on]].
** Later on, it happens with [[spoiler: a possessed Stephen]] and Jon.
* LoveMartyr: The cries of "Oh, ''Yonathan''." are beginning to wipe out the normal fandom cry of "Oh, ''Stephen''." because of this trope.
* MadeOfIron: For how often it is mentioned how fragile humans are, all human characters are remarkably resilient.
%%* MagicAndPowers: And how!
* MindControlEyes: [[spoiler: Stephen, after he gets possessed.]] Bonus for still following the [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience color scheme]] with purple = evil.
%%* MindRape: Cheney to [[spoiler: Stephen]].
* MinionShipping: Stephenos and Yonathan have all-but declared this to be canon.
* MrExposition: John Oliver. Also other characters, from time to time.
%%Zero-context and what trope is this?* Hello, MyNameIsInigoMontoya YouKilledMyFather PrepareToDie: Tek Jansen [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_15_17.html Chapter 15, Page 17]].
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Yonathan has this attitude towards Stephanos. He doesn't like the dark one, or what they do, but he'll do everything to be with Stephanos.
--> '''Yonathan:''' ''Don't you remember when it was just the two of us? How great it was? Think about it. We could leave, start over. Find a remote planet for you to dominate...
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Stephen checks to see if there are any guarding the lance under the studio.
--> '''Stephen''': ''No curses, no zombie pirate ninjas?!''
%%* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] to a hysterical level.
* NoOSHACompliance: On Cheney's Lair:
--> '''Stephen''': Jesus, can this place get more ominous?
--> '''Jon''': Needs more spikes. And glowy shit.
* OhCrap: '[[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_2_23.html Mistakes have been made]].'
** Jon during his fight with [[spoiler: a possessed Colbert.]] Seen [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_7_7.html here]].
** Done by [[EvilTwin Yonatan]] [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_7_11.html here]] right before he gets a tree dropped on him, also doubling as a CurseCutShort.
** [[spoiler:Cheney himself]] has one [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_14_26.html later on]].
* OneWingedAngel: [[EvilTwin Stephanos]] gives the speech almost verbatim [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_7_19.html here]]
* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: Bush is a classic President Buffoon as shown at the begining of the story.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: [[spoiler: Turns out that John Oliver was turned into one of these in order to win the [[Series/DoctorWho Time War]].]]
* PietaPlagiarism: [[spoiler: Stephanos holds Yonatan this way after the latter’s HeroicSacrifice.]]
* PleaseIWillDoAnything: [[spoiler: Stephanos’s bargain with Jon Stewart if he saves Yonatan’s life.]]
* PowerGivesYouWings: Kinda-sorta [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_1_26.html here]] when Stephen gets his spear.
%%* ThePowerOfFriendship: Both played straight and subverted, depending on the occasion.
%%* PresidentEvil: Dick Cheney and ''how''.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Stephen has red eyes, and [[SubvertedTrope he's one of the protagonists]] [[spoiler:[[MindRape as]] [[DemonicPossession long]] [[FaceMonsterTurn as his]] [[BrainwashedAndCrazy eyes]] [[GlowingEyesofDoom stay]] [[MindControlEyes red]]]], that is.
** It's more along the lines of 'Purple Eyes, Take Warning'.
* SandInMyEyes: “And for the record, there’s dust in my eyes. Manly dust.” ([[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_11_31.html Spoilers]])
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Both John Oliver and Yonatan sport one.
** The latter's one is meant to invoke the image of a wolf's tail.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Steve seems to have enough money to do this to the laws of physics, ''via'' some sort of wealth-related magic and positive chi.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers: [[spoiler: Part of Bad Wolf’s skill set]].
--> [[spoiler: '''Riggle:''' I mean, who needs all those silly rules about time and paradoxes when apparently you can simply choose to ignore them?]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Colbert:''' That is a frighteningly good point.]]
* ShipperOnDeck: Stephen appears to be gleefully and actively playing [[TheMatchmaker matchmaker]] for [[EvilTwin Stephanos]] [[MinionShipping and]] [[HoYay Yonathan]].
--> '''Stephen''': [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_11_36.html He meant he ''loves'' you! L-O-V-E! Love! He wants to jump your man bones! He wants cuddles! Damn! He really is thick, isn't he?!]]
* ShoutOut: Loads and loads of them. The main ones are to ''Series/TheDailyShow'' and ''Series/TheColbertReport'', but shout-outs and references to ''Series/DoctorWho'', ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' and ''Franchise/StarWars'' are very prevalent.
** Jon later references [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_River_and_Through_the_Wood this Thanksgiving rhyme]] [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_10_6.html here]].
** Stephen fights with a spear and has a red motive like Kyoko Sakura from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''.
** [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} You are trapped in a]] [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_7_21.html strange purple web]]!
** Rob Riggle's wearing [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ryu's]] costume, and Samantha Bee and Jason Jones are clearly based off of [[Franchise/SailorMoon Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask]], with possibly some [[Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena Utena]] influence in Samantha's epaulets and piping.
** Aasif Mandvi has [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros gloves and a flower]] which grant him {{flight}} and [[PlayingWithFire fire powers.]]
** Wyatt Cenac [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog has a pair of familiar-looking shoes that give him superspeed.]] He later sings [[WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM the theme song to SatAM]] and does a Spin Dash.
** Larry has a deck of [[ComicBook/XMen exploding playing-cards]].
** Larry, Wyatt, and Aasif bought their power-ups from a [[Film/TheViewAskewniverse familiar pair of dealers]] who initially offer to sell them [[WesternAnimation/ClerksTheAnimatedSeries fireworks]].
** Silverman and the correspondents are also dressed like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII the Turks]].
** Steve's bag of money looks like [[Manga/{{Naruto}} a giant gourd strapped to his back]].
*** And his style of using his powers, as well as the poses he strikes while doing so, essentially makes him a [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Moneybender]].
** Contrary to popular belief, it is Paul Dinello who is the current owner of [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Cap's shield]] after he grabbed it off of Stephen's mantelpiece during the fight with the [[BearsAreBadNews hellbear]].
*** Eric got his [[Franchise/StarWars lightsaber]] from the same mantelpiece, during the same fight.
** Keith Olbermann is basically [[ComicBook/XMen Colossus]], even teaming up with Maddow for a FastballSpecial. He also says that Bad Wolf's "bampf'ed" away, which is probably a reference to [[ComicBook/XMen Nightcrawler]]'s teleportation.
** [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_2_9.html The monster in the sewer]] is a giant [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles mutant ninja turtle.]]
** [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_2_7.html The thing behind the gate]] [[spoiler: a.k.a. Steve Carell]] looks like the prison for the [[Manga/{{Naruto}} nine-tailed fox]].
** Riggle's "One punch, ah ah ahh!" is probably a reference to [[Series/SesameStreet the Count]].
** Tek's master was a fan of [[Franchise/MassEffect fine Asari wine]].
** There's a couple of ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'' references in there, too.
* SpeakOfTheDevil: [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_11_25.html Tek Jansen really should have known better.]]
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: [[spoiler: [[Series/DoctorWho Bad]] [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_11_12.html Wolf.]]]]
* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:Yonatan does this for Stephanos, although it's [[{{Dissimile}} less of a bullet and more tentacle-claw things]]]].
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Even in the middle of the most heated fights, there is enough time for many one-liners and snarky comments.
* TechnicolorEyes: Everyone. No, seriously, just about everyone with any sort of super powers has this in order to showcase their powers and alignments due to the [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience color coding]] that will match their similarly colored [[BattleAura battle auras]]. The only exceptions are the characters who get their powers from items, and even then some of said characters still have it.
** Anything evil will have purple eyes.
*** Including [[MindControlEyes the possessed]].
** Jon's are blue for his [[ShockAndAwe lightning]] [[BatterUp bat]].
** Colbert's are red for [[PlayingWithFire his fiery spear]].
** Steve Carell's are green for his affinity for money-magic.
** Anderson Cooper has light blue eyes for [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]] and [[FlashStep teleportation]].
** Samantha Bee has ice blue eyes since she's AnIcePerson.
** John Oliver has yellow eyes to denote his [[TimeTravel time travel theme]]. Or because he's a [[Series/DoctorWho time lord]].
** Allison Silverman has silver eyes, though that's most likely more of a play on her name than the fact that she can clone herself, since she hasn't really displayed much of an [[BattleAura aura]] yet.
* ThiefBag: He didn't steal any of it, but the giant sacks of money Steve Carell wears on his back certainly count in appearance at the very least.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: More than once, usually from Jon or Yonatan.
* TrueCompanions: Everyone involved with Series/TheDailyShow and Series/TheColbertReport, really. Inspirational speeches and all.
* TryNotToDie: [[spoiler: Yonatan’s]] advice in preparation for the final battle.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: [[EvilTwin Yonatan]], [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_7_13.html here]], and [[http://www.star-crossedcomic.com/fnr/fnr_12_20.html later]] with a [[spoiler:purified]] version.
** Note also that he says 'Understood' instead of 'Yes Sir'. Where he normally would say 'Yes Sir'; he now says 'Understood' because he feels no longer [[spoiler:subservient]].
%%* WorldOfSnark: To be expected if half of the cast are comedians.
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