"The definition [for Deus Ex Machina] is: A person or event that provides a sudden and unexpected solution to a difficulty."
A Halo 3 Capepunk Machinima by Jon Graham.
Recent graduate John Brent and Michael Jacobs have grown tired of seeing their graduating class dying. The year is 2552, the last surviving city on Earth is Salvation City, a city plagued with crime and augmentation drugs. There are no cops as the UNSC needs every soldier up in space to guard against Covenant attack, so thus they equipped everybody with Mark VI powered armor, and let the city police itself.
Does this sound like a really, really bad idea? Well, that's because it is, the city has gone to hell, and it's so dangerous that everybody has to carry around tasers (plasma pistols). The backstory may sound silly, but the whole thing is to Hand Wave the required character models that Halo 3 provides, given that it is a machinima.
Moving on, the aforementioned Michael Jacobs modifies John Brent's suit to have super human strength, temporary invulnerability, invisibility, and thermal/night vision. John decides he must have a nickname, so after hearing the page's quote at the top, decides on Deus Ex Machina.
Surprisingly good cinematography for a machinima series, the camera angles and lighting effects make for a very theatrical experience. Sadly, the writing isn't quite so good. John hardly ever uses his suit's abilities when they would actually be helpful. See Idiot Ball for details.
The series has since been discontinued by its creator. It ran from 2007 to 2008.
A four-part remake was produced by Retro Digital
in 2014, with a different version of the story, but nonetheless retains its major beats. This series has since been put on private on YouTube.
Tropes used in Deus Ex Machina:
- As You Know: After defeating Plague, Michael lists off him and all of his known accomplices and their fates to John. Meta-wise, this is to recap what's gone down in the series so far but In-Universe, even John tells Michael that he already knows all of this and that he wants to know about those who are still at large.
- Author Tract: John goes on a noticeable lengthy rant about Christmas and its commercialism.
- Avenging the Villain: Derick's son Patrick takes over as the Big Bad in the finale.
- Big Damn Heroes: Michael on occasion has to go out into the field to rescue John.
- Body Horror: The parasite is described as burrowing into the back of its victim's skull, injecting them with neurotoxins that fill them with euphoria to prevent them from removing it while it drains them of life. The blood-red armor its hosts receive is also explained to be expelled through the body's pores.
- Bring It: John attempts to face the Decapitator... only to flee as soon as the monster charges him.
- Buried Alive: John is buried alive by Owen and his men so as to force Michael to build a suit with the Deus ex Machina armor's temporary invulnerability.
- Capepunk: A superhero machinima about a vigilante who is put through hell by Malicious Slander, horrible mistakes, and systemic attacks on his mental well-being. By the series' last episode, you're likely to forget that this began as an attempt at a superhero show.
- Chekhov's Gun: The most prominent one is the pheromones used to control the Decapitators, which John uses to prevent himself from being killed by them and get free of his predicament.
- Christmas Episode: Subverted. Episode 3 takes place during Christmas, but the story has little to do with the holiday itself.
- Couldn't Find a Pen: Leonard Phillips draws Deus Ex Machina to his island by scribing a taunting message using the blood of one of the Decapitator's victims.
- Crapsack World: The series takes place in Salvation City, the last remaining city on Earth which John describes as the "asshole of the world". The police force is nonexistent due to the UNSC needing all the soldiers they could recruit, leaving citizens to fend for themselves with standard issue plasma pistols and MJOLNIR armor (the latter is to explain why the hell everybody is wearing armor).
- Darkest Hour: Happens about twice in the entirety of the series.
- Darker and Edgier: Not as whacky or comedic as Arby 'n' the Chief.
- Deus ex Machina: Naturally, if a sudden resolution to a crisis isn't a Chekhov's Gun.
- Differently Powered Individual: According to John Brent: "I guess you could call me a superhero, but that makes it sound kinda retarded".
- Disney Villain Death: Plague seemingly falls to his death.
- Distressed Dude: Michael is regularly kidnapped or held hostage by the villains to torment John. Surprisingly enough, he also regularly goes out on his own to save John himself.
- The Dragon: The Behemoth is this to Plague.
- Double Take: John takes a moment to realize that he just walked past a guy carrying a sniper rifle.
- Dying as Yourself: If Michael's description of what the parasite does to its victims is accurate, then its previous host before John must've come to his senses as it completely finished draining him of his life.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: John's armor in the opening scene has an orange secondary color which disappears for the rest of the series.
- Flash Step: Plague is able to run right up next to Deus in a less than a second.
- Hand Wave: All Salvation City citizens were given mandatory MJOLNIR armor and stun guns due to the high crime rate, even the homeless people. Now stop asking about why everyone is wearing armor and holding a gun.
- Happy Ending Override: The Plague arc ends with John and Michael overwhelmed with hope at finally saving the city from crime. The next arc, beginning with the parasite, completely dashes those hopes as John accidentally kills a kid, loses any and all good will during his rampage under the parasite's influence, and has to deal with the reappearance of Patrick Owen as he helps lead an alien invasion.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: After bonding with a symbiote in a homage to Spider-Man, though he was already the victim of slander by television personality Phil O'Malley beforehand.
- Heroic BSoD: After accidentally killing a youth, John goes through one of these, making him vulnerable to being taken over by the parasite.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Leonard Phillips is killed by his own creation after attempting to kill John with it.
- Idiot Ball: John Brent seems to carry and collect them. Mainly not using his temporary invulnerability outside of one instance.
- I Lied: Upon learning of how John could conceivably escape from his prison, Derick orders his coffin be filled with wet concrete, casually breaking his promise to spare John if Michael does what he's told a few minutes ago.
- Ironic Echo: Plague co-opts Deus's "'Beep.' [x] isn't here right now" Pre Ass Kicking One Liner.
- Knight of Cerebus: Despite being arguably only the second "supervillain" that John faces, Derick Owen aka Plague irreversibly damages John to his core, having physically injured him, buried him alive, and almost killed Michael. Even after his death, the effect he has on John is very noticeable, leading the more aggressive and reckless Deus to accidentally kill a child. Overall, Nothing Is the Same Anymore after he appeared.
- Malicious Slander: John suffers from this by television personality Phil O'Malley under orders from Derick Owen.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Phil O'Malley sounds very similar to Bill O'Reilly. Both are television personalities with controversial news reportings.
- No-Sell: John eventually figures out how to be unaffected by Phil's EMP augmentation, allowing him to overpower and drown him.
- Not Wearing Tights: Not that the game engine would allow tights, but...
- Off with His Head!:
- The Decapitator.
- Michael. Slowly.
- Oh, Crap!: John when he realizes that Patrick had trapped him with a whole herd of Decapitators.
- Orphaned Series: Jon has no plans to finish it. Or even acknowledge it.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Peter calls Michael a faggot and insinuates that he and John are gay.
- Powered Armor: Due to the low quality of the standard armor everyone is fitted with, John explained that it wasn't hard to apply modifications to them and give yourself whatever superpower you desire. As a result the Deus Ex Machina suit has the power of temporary invulnerability (though John doesn't use it as much as he should).
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: John to Plague: "Thank you for flying Air Deus! Enjoy your flight!"
- Red Herring: The assistant seen at the end of the first arc turns out to be a minor character who dies in the same episode he has involvement in.
- Red Is Violent: When John is infected with the parasite, his armor is turned red, as is anybody else that gets infected.
- Shout-Out:
- There's a lot of homages to Spider-Man, right down to an alien symbiotic parasite taking over the hero and increasing his aggressive emotions.
- The Jitter Cam and aggressive panting and grunting of some of the fight scenes seem to be inspired by The Bourne Series.
- The Speechless: The Behemoth is a mute. John's attack on him reveals that he genuinely might not be able to talk at all.
- Spiteful Spit: Phil insultingly spits on John's face when he demands to know where Michael is. And yes, he's still wearing his helmet.
- Starter Villain: Leonard Phillips.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: John disappears from sight before the citizen in the opening scene can thank him. Michael teases him for being cliche.
- Storming the Castle: Deus pulls this when he escapes from being Buried Alive. It didn't last.
- Voice of the Legion: Derick Owen speaks in this in his Plague persona with a small robotic touch.
- Villain Ball: It turns out that neither Peter nor Phil bothered to confiscate any equipment or weaponry that John might be able to use to escape from being Buried Alive like say, a grenade that he can use to explode his way out and protecting himself with his temporary invulnerability.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Derick Owen.
- We Can Rule Together: Derick twice offers John the chance to rule Salvation City by his side, with John refusing both times.
- We Will Wear Armor in the Future: Exaggerated and justified at the same time. Due to the lack of police in Salvation City, citizens were given standard-issue but low-grade MJOLNIR Mark VI armor to protect themselves.
- What You Are in the Dark: John casually gives a homeless man some cash, cash that he forgot he was going to use to pay for equipment that Michael needed to work on the Deus Ex Machina suit.
- Whole-Plot Reference: The Parasite arc is basically a Machinima version of Spider-Man 3, right down to having Christopher Young's score as the soundtrack.
