Calvin brings a mysterious item in a paper bag to school, saying it contains something that might help him take a history exam. It turns out to be his Stupendous Man mask and cape, and Calvin's superhero alter ego takes Calvin's test for him.
Tropes
- Aborted Arc: When Susie pesters Calvin about what his paper bag contains, Calvin eventually says that it's a severed head that will act as an oracle to give him the answers on the exam. It's possible he was just lying and trying to gross Susie out so she'd leave him alone, but whatever's inside the bag is shown calling Susie a booger brain. So when Calvin goes to get the bag and pulls out his Stupendous Man costume, it feels like the severed head plan was ditched mid-arc.
- All for Nothing: Calvin gets into trouble at school and his with mom for his Stupendous Man stunt, this time having his costume taken away, and flunks the test, which was the only reason why he brought the Stupendous Man costume out in the first place.
- Call-Back: The entity inside Calvin's bag refers to Susie as a 'booger brain', which is the exact same insult Calvin threw at Susie in an arc from 1987, which genuinely hurt her feelings.
- Did Not Think This Through: Once again, Calvin's plan is dependent on people not knowing that Stupendous Man is just Calvin in a superhero costume. The costume is still nothing more than a domino mask and cape. No one falls for it, and Calvin gets in trouble.
- Doomed Moral Victor: After Calvin gets in trouble, Hobbes asks him if Stupendous Man has ever won a battle. Calvin claims they're all moral victories.
- Fun with Acronyms: When Calvin makes his grand entrance from his locker, he starts introducing himself by spelling out 'stupendous', and using each letter as the first letter of a phrase meant to describe himself. He doesn't know how to spell stupendous, so he never gets to the end.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: On top of getting in trouble with both the school and his mom, Calvin flunks the test, because he doesn't actually have stupendous knowledge, and him rapidly scribbling out random history terminology on the exam isn't going to produce correct answers.
