"Shock To The System" is the 45th Episode in
DC Universe Online that focuses on heroes and villains associated with Dakota City, including Static, Ebon, and Rocket, that has you try to solve a mystery involving the disappearance of many metahumans.
Summary
Dakota City’s just built different. Ebon’s powers cast a long shadow, but it’s the Apokoliptian Parademons and strange disappearances that have Static shocked enough to contact you. Will you be able to shed some light on the shadowy threat?
Tropes
- Enemy Mine: Static and Ebon work together initially to break into the Meta-Therapy Clinic. Subverted in that it only lasts until Cyborg helps break Ebon's gang out of the clinic, upon which he and the rest of his gang leave. In a more straight example, Grail is one of the taskmasters for the daily missions, entrusting you to take on the Parademons.
- Enemy Summoner: Desaad is somewhat unimpressive when fighting on his own, so he makes his fight more difficult by crafting enemies out of nightmares, and summoning Parademons in between and during the final phase of his fight.
- For Science!: Desaad's reasoning for having the Bang Babies kidnapped. He wants to see how their powers work.
- Hero of Another Story: Icon is busy dealing with another issue elsewhere, so he isn't actively involved in solving the mystery of the Bang Baby disappearance. However, he is a taskmaster, albeit through hologram, for the mission to take on all Fearsome Five villains at once.
- Human Alien: Icon is this.
- Humans Are Bastards: Icon implies this in an Investigation when he calls out humanity for allowing this to happen as a result of the people they voted in power. He straight up tells them to "do better."
- Infinity +1 Sword: The Omnipotence piece for this episode is the Dilusteel Armorweave Chest armor. It's inspired by Major Force's metallic shell.
- Master of Illusion: Desaad weaponizes nightmare versions of monsters and even giant versions of Static and Rocket against the player's party in his raid fight.
- Monochrome Casting: With the exception of Grail, Desaad, and Major Force, all major characters being focused on in this Episode are black superheroes. This includes Static, Cyborg, and Black Lightning, and introduces Rocket and Icon, characters previously associated with the Milestone Universe before it became integrated into the DC Universe.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Desaad lives by this trope. His research in the Bang Babies and their physiology is just so he can see what kind of horrors and nightmares he can create from the results.
- Only in It for the Money: Ebon's sole motivation. He saw a chance for a payday and he took it.
- Really 700 Years Old: Icon has been on Earth for several centuries prior to meeting Rocket.
- Refusal of the Call: Icon didn't want to be a superhero when Rocket first met him due to his jaded perspective on humanity as a whole. He changed his mind after feeling inspired by Rocket's willingness to do good even after all the things she's been through.
- Side Kick: Rocket is this to Icon.
- The Sociopath: Major Force only helped Desaad because he wanted to torture the Bang Babies and make them suffer.
- Superhuman Trafficking: This is why the Bang Babies were disappearing. Desaad was working with Ebon's gang and the Fearsome Five to capture them and experiment on them.
- Teen Pregnancy: Rocket mentions this in a briefing when she mentions balancing her new motherhood with heroism. From one of Static's Investigation audios, he mentions that she's still a student too.
- Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World: Static still worries about maintaining his GPA in addition to keeping up with his heroic duties, and wishes he could just tell people who he really is.
