World's Greatest Animals
is an original fictional story written by gelefant.
The story deals with the origins and exploits of a superheroic team of animals called the Menagerie.
World's Greatest Animals contains examples of:
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Tropes A to F
- Absurdly Sharp Claws: At the end of "Reluctant Dragon," Varanus uses his sharp claws to rip the zoologists' special hazmat suits to shreds.
- Acid Attack: Varanus can spew acid from his mouth.
- American Eagle: Ace is a bald eagle who was born on the Fourth of July and later gains a white star on his chest, red-and-white-striped tail feathers, and blue/red/white talons as a side effect of the super vitamin that gave him his powers.
- Animal Superheroes: The Menagerie.
- Arch-Enemy: Ivor is this for the Menagerie, as he's obsessed with hunting them down and adding them to his collection.
- Bank Robbery: After gaining his powers, one of the things Ace does is foil bank robberies.
- Bewitched Amphibians: At the end of "Frog Man," Ferdinand is turned into a frog by one of his teachers as punishment for his behavior.
- Blow You Away: Ace gains wind powers after ingesting the super vitamin.
- Breath Weapon: Varanus can breathe fire. He can also emit acid, draconic energy, and venom from his mouth.
- Bully Hunter:
- At the end of "The Noble Ace," Ace protects a girl from two big schoolboys who were picking on her.
- Nerissa always tries to drive off Razor's tormentors.
- Casanova Wannabe: Ferdinand openly catcalls and objectifies women he finds attractive and wants to be with.
- Casting a Shadow: Shani has some level of control over dark energy. She fires orbs of dark energy at the rogue lions' pride when they attack Kibwana's pride.
- Cat Up a Tree: After gaining his powers, one of the things Ace does is rescuing cats and kittens stuck up in trees.
- Chained Heat: The Menagerie spend most of "The Grand Hunt" chained together by Ivor as part of his hunting game for them.
- Chest Insignia: Ace gains a white star in the center of his chest as a side effect of his powers.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Sirena always pretends to be friends with others only to betray them later.
- Cruel Elephant: A rogue elephant matriarch named Nima once stampeded through Kibwana's territory and threatened his pride.
- The Cynic: Varanus hates humans because of all the environmental damage they cause. The zoologists who continuously pester him likely only further his anti-human attitude.
- Deadpan Snarker: Varanus can dish out biting sarcasm, both literally and metaphorically.
- Determinator: The zoologists who come across Varanus in "Reluctant Dragon" refuse to leave him in peace despite him repeatedly making them turn tail and run because of his powers. They eventually do give up at the end after he bites each one of them.
- Egomaniac Hunter: Ivor considers himself the best hunter in the world, only hunts for the glory and thrill of it, and prefers his prey to be dangerous and exotic (as well as endangered and/or protected).
- Evil Poacher: Ivor occasionally sells his catches, or what's left of them, on the black market.
- Fighting Back Is Wrong: After Razor gains powers from toxic waste, he absolutely refuses to use them for self-defense because he thinks he'll become a bully himself.
- Friendly, Playful Dolphin: Nerissa.
Tropes H to J
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Varanus has a short temper, which is shown off well each time he attacks the zoologists who refuse to leave him alone.
- Hates Being Touched: Ferdinand is very particular about people entering his personal bubble or trying to pal up with him. However, he's perfectly fine with women touching him, even if it's accidental.
- Healing Factor: Ace gains one after ingesting the super vitamin.
- Heinous Hyena: Averted with Shani, who's a good hyena that cares about her pack. She even becomes friends with Kibwana.
- Heroic Fire Rescue: After Ace gains his powers, one of the things he does is save animals and people from fires.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: At the end of "The Grand Hunt," Ivor accidentally triggers one of his own traps, which leaves him temporarily paralyzed by a dart.
- Hollywood Acid: The acid that Varanus spews at the zoologists in "Reluctant Dragon" is strong enough to dissolve their fireproof equipment.
- Immune to Bullets: Ace becomes bulletproof after ingesting the super vitamin. He puts this to good use by stopping shootings before they start.
- Invisibility: Varanus can become invisible.
- Jerkass: Ferdinand is described as always full of himself, never sharing anything, and expecting pampering/praise from everybody.
Tropes M to P
- Magic Potion: In "Frog Man," one of Ferdinand's teachers whips one up that turns him into a frog.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: After defeating two rogue lions, Kibwana gains a mystical, ultrasonic roar as a gift from the African gods.
- Mighty Roar: Kibwana lets two out after he defeats two rogue lions. The second roar soon turns into a mystical, ultrasonic one.
- Mind-Control Music: Sirena gains hypnotic song powers after exposure to toxic waste and uses them to harass Razor.
- Monstrous Seal: Sirena, a sea lion who looks down on everybody else and pretends to be friends with others only to betray them later.
- Nemean Skinning: Ivor likes to drape himself in animal skins.
- Noble Bird of Prey: Ace, in spades. After he gets his powers, he foils bank robberies, cleans up parks, rescues cats stuck in trees, stops shootings, and volunteers animal rescues/shelters.
- Origins Episode: For the Menagerie.
- Playing with Fire: Varanus can breathe fire.
- Poisonous Person: Like Real Life Komodo dragons, Varanus can generate deadly venom.
- Psychic Powers: Nerissa gains a wide variety of these after exposure to toxic waste.
Tropes S to W
- Sadist:
- It goes without saying that Razor's bullies enjoy bullying him.
- Sirena actually enjoys pretending to be friends with others only to betray them later.
- Shock and Awe: Zuberi has electrical abilities. He cloaks himself in electricity and pushes his way through the rogue lions' pride and later attacks said pride with bolts of electricity from his body when they attack Kibwana's pride.
- Shout-Out:
- The title is a reference to Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes.
- "King of Beasts" is one big Shout-Out to The Lion King.
- There are a few to Pokémon.
- Shani being a hyena with Casting a Shadow powers is a reference to Poochyena and Mightyena.
- Zuberi being a zebra with Shock and Awe powers is a reference to Blitzle and Zebstrika.
- Ace gaining an appearance based by the American flag and growing to be 4'11" as a result of the super vitamin that gave him his powers is a reference to Braviary.
- Varanus having an energy based Breath Weapon in the shape of a dragon is a reference to the anime's rendition of the attack Dragon Pulse.
- Ace gaining an appearance based by the American flag as a result of the super vitamin that gave him his powers basically makes him Captain America in eagle form.
- Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Ivor likes to wear the bones of his prey on his person.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Words just can't describe how perfectly Ferdinand fits this to a T.
- Stalker without a Crush: Ivor is this for the Menagerie. He's obsessed with hunting them down and adding them to his collection.
- Super-Speed: Ace gains the ability to fly at super-high speeds after ingesting the super vitamin.
- Super-Strength: Ace gains superhuman strength after ingesting the super vitamin.
- Tail Slap: In "Reluctant Dragon," Varanus uses his strong tail to smack around the zoologists who keep pestering him. He later does the same to Ivor in "The Grand Hunt."
- Threatening Shark: Averted with Razor, who's affectionate, easily frightened, and shy. Played straight with the sharks who bully him.
- Toxic Waste Can Do Anything: Nerissa, Razor, and Sirena gain superpowers from toxic waste dumped into the ocean.
- Trophy Room: Ivor has a trophy room filled with mounted and/or stuffed animals.
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: As a side effect of the super vitamin that gave him his powers, Ace gains a white star on his chest, red-and-white-striped tail feathers, and blue/red/white talons.
- Wind from Beneath My Wings: Ace can generate strong gusts of wind by flapping his wings.
- Wolf Whistle: Ferdinand does this to any woman he finds attractive both in his head and out loud.
