BRZRKR is a 12-issue limited series written by Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt focusing on the immortal warrior known only as Berzerker as he fights his way through the ages while trying to find out how to undo his immortality.
BRZRKR provides examples for the following tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Downplayed with Berzerker's dad. While he never laid a finger on his son nor did he verbally abuse him, it still doesn't excuse the fact that he saw only his son as a weapon and kept pushing him into battle even when he didn't want to. He even threw away the one thing that could have made him normal.
- The Ageless: After the initial Rapid Aging during his childhood, Berzerker stopped aging entirely.
- Animated Adaptation: Netflix announced a two-season anime produced by Production I.G to follow their movie.
- Armor-Piercing Question: A young Berzerker asks his mother one of these after questioning her about his purpose:Berzerker: What did you pray for, mother? Did you pray for a son? Or did you pray for 'unute'?
- Ascended Meme: In the first page of issue 1, we see Berzerker sitting on a bench in the rain looking depressed, a nod to the 'Sad Keanu' meme.
- Asshole Victim: Since he only saw his son as a weapon and threw away the one thing that could have reversed his immortality, it's safe to say Berzerker's father had his violent death coming.
- Author Avatar: It's no coincidence that Berzerker looks a lot like Keanu Reeves himself, especially since there is a live-action film and anime in the works where Keanu will play him.
- Been There, Shaped History: Because Berzerker has been around since the Stone Age, it was inevitable that he would have some part in human history. He even participated in the Battle of Babylonia, which resulted in a cult using a hand he lost in the battle as a lucky charm.
- The Berserker: In case the name didn't give it away, Berzerker is one of these. Justified since his mother performed a ritual with the express purpose of birthing a weapon to protect her tribe.
- The Film of the Book: Netflix announced a movie in 2021 with Reeves playing the main character.
- Healing Factor:Thanks to the ritual his mother performed before birthing him, Berzerker was born with one of these. However, it takes a while for it to actually kick in.
- Living Weapon: The reason for Berzerker's conception was because his tribe wanted a weapon to protect them from invading marauders. It gets to a point where the other members of his tribe call him an "unute", which means weapon.
- Messianic Archetype: Berzerker is a very violent version of this. He was birthed as a result of his mother's prayers to the gods, has extraordinary powers, and managed to keep his tribe safe from their enemies through sheer brutality.
- One-Man Army: Berzerker's entire purpose in life is to be a weapon. In the first issue alone, he slaughtered an entire militia with barely any help from his comrades.
- Rapid Aging: Within two seasons, Berzerker aged from a boy to a man. After that, he just became The Ageless.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Berzerker used to be one of these, asking his father if he did well after a battle. After his mother's death, he left his father to be butchered by marauders.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: Berzerker doesn't want to die. He just wants to be able to die. And given the things he's been through, including outlining many romantic partners, who could blame him?
