Hey, does this kid look like he could actually be Dick Daring's son?
Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil is the latest in Walt Disney Television Animation's line of animated series, focusing on the eponoymous character, a seemingly fearless 12 year old with the looks of a cute mascot coupled with the six-packs-a-day vocals and personality similar to Wolverine, who aspires to become the world's greatest daredevil. His adventures are aided by his best friend/stunt coordinator/sidekick Gunther, and hindered by his older brother Brad, who despises his younger brother's antics with a vengeance. The show premiered on Disney XD on February 13, 2010.
This show features examples of the following tropes:
Actor Allusion: A police officer voiced by Tony Kornheiser is named Officer Irwin. Irwin is Kornheiser's middle name.
Characters as Device: "For the Love of Gunther" has Jackie's mom. Her only purpose was to appear for a minute and list several of Jackie's interests in a row to get the plot going.
The Cheerleader: The heartless variety appears in "Love Stinks". Apparently becoming a cheerleader at Mellowbrooke High requires seducing some poor, hapless loser and humiliating him in front of a large crowd in addition to breaking his heart as part of the initiation.
The same thing happens in "Runaway Recital" and "Clothes Call", except that Kick isn't actually trying to go cold turkey; He's just unable to take advantage of the ridiculously convenient offers that turn up in theses episodes.
Companion Cube: Harold and Honey Buttowski are both very fond of their cars. Honey calls hers "Antonio", while Harold calls his "Monique", and he is afraid that "Monique" will be jealous if "she" finds out that he's married to Honey.
Kick has this same trait. His skateboard is "Ol' Blue", his BMX bike is "Bonecrusher", and his sled is "Blue Lightning".
Continuity Nod: In "A Very Buttowski Mother's Day" Brad has the same pink bike helmet he stole from a little girl in the second episode.
Convenience Store Gift Shopping: "A Cousin Kyle Christmas" has Kick spending all of ten seconds drawing eyes on a stinky, old sock and sticking it in a bag for Cousin Kyle's gift. Kick cared only enough to actually make a puppet out of the sock. The trope is then subverted as Kick goes all-out to get Kyle not only a puppet but the nicest one in the store.
Cool Helmet: Apparently, Kick's helmet is a mass-produced toy helmet he got when he was a toddler. Nevertheless, he treats it like it's unique and completely irreplaceable, and never takes if off (except in the one episode where he lost it, and he still kept his hair covered up in the meantime).
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Gunther all the way. He once took down an enraged bull with his bare hands. When he gets really mad, he becomes a professional-level rapper.
The Danza: Henry Winkler as Henry, the principal of Kick's school.
In-universe, Teena Sometimes. Also Scarlett Rosetti as Scarlet Letter, sort of.
Disaster Dominoes: Kick knocks over all the bookcases in the Mellowbrook library battling the evil Librarian.
Dish Dash: Played with: Brad in "There Will Be Nachos" grabs a bunch of flyers for a party out of the air and stuffs them into his clothes before his parents can see them.
Kick does a genuine Dish Dash in "Stand and Delivery". Gunther drops a huge stack of dishes. Kick plucks them out of the air.
A Dog Ate My Homework: Kick uses this excuse every time he misses an assignment for the whole semester. The teacher does not believe him until she sees it with her own eyes, prompting an Ironic Echo from Kick of her smirky "mm-HMM" noise.
It is implied that that particular day is the first time Oscar actually eats Kick's homework.
Gunther: Hey Kick, what's all the racket? (guffaws) Get it? Racket! You're holding rackets.
Double Edged Answer: Honey Buttowski's reaction to Kick asking if the pink sequined jumpsuit with the H shaped belt buckle was hers.
Honey: No. Yes! No!
Drunk with Power: The Scary Librarian in "If Books Could Kill" who considers everything in the library her property, including people.
Mouth's big brother Pantsie when he's assistant manager at the movie theater in "Box Office Blitz".
Embarrassing Cover Up: In "Hand in Hand" Kick and Kendall each impose one on the other.
Everyone Calls Him Barkeep : Almost everyone calls Kick by his nickname. Only Kendall regularly calls him by his real name, the less than badass Clarence.
Same goes for Mouth (real name Christopher) and Emo Kid (No Name Given).
Even Kick's mother refers to him as Kick, only calling him Clarence when he's in trouble or she's doing something official with him. Likewise, Brianna calls him Kick unless she's upset with him for something.
Extracurricular Enthusiast: Kendall. In "Snowpocalypse!" she even had her dad make a call to keep the school open on a snow day.
Extreme Omnivore: In "Snowpocalypse!" all of the kids except for Kendall get so hungry while waiting for help they consider eating the bus seats. For most of the kids this is just desperation, but with Jackie it's a mix of desperation and her actually finding them tasty.
Eye Am Watching You: The librarian to Kick, on the subject of making sure he stays quiet.
Fake-Out Make-Out: Kick kisses Kendall to avoid getting thrown out of the movie theater by a local bully turned overzealous usher.
They wind up doing it again when their hands get stuck together.
Flanderization: In the span of three episodes about her, Wacky Jackie goes from rabid fangirl to FLAT OUT INSANE, though this may just be because she has no idea how to throw a party.
And, honestly, besides the rabid fangirl thing, she really didn't have much characterization for those three episodes.
Fat and Skinny: There are two sets of Those Two Guys: The two guys who run Skittzee's bike shop, and the two who run the puppet and hobby shop across the street from Skittzee's.
Follow in My Footsteps: Both Kick's mother and Kick's grandfather (though we're not sure if it's maternal or paternal grandfather) were both daredevils in their youth as well. And despite the parental grumping about being careful, they're both proud of Kick.
Kick seems to view a number of his antagonists as this, though it's usually more one-sided (the most obvious exceptions being his siblings, Mouth, and sometimes Kendall due to their Belligerent Sexual Tension). He'll compliment or even end up helping someone he was fighting against moments before.
Fun Hating Confiscating Adult: Ms. Chickarelli. Any toy she snatches goes into her trash (unless it's at school where she uses it as evidence for the kid's permanent record).
The librarian is also a confiscator. Anything that enters the library she considers hers for keeps.
Gasshole: Gunther. Also Brad sometimes. Surprisingly Kendall who rips one on a level equal to that of Gunther, and them implies that it happens often
Homage: In "Poll Position", Gunther does a full riff on Linus from Peanuts explaining Christmas to Charlie Brown; except he's explaining the way school elections work to Kick Buttowski.
A whole cartoon long one to the Tex Avery cartoon involving "not having to wake the sleeper with a loud noise".
Honey: You're going to your grandpa's! Kick: No! Not Grandpa's! Anything but Grandpa's! Honey: Oh, come on now. What's so bad about Grandpa? Kick: His voice is weird, he always wears the same thing, and his butt sticks out. Honey:You might have more in common with him than you think.
Identical Grandson: Kick looks exactly like his grandpa did when he was younger. Right down to not having a nose.
Isolation Despondency: "Abandon Friendship" has Kick and Gunther's parents starting a fight... not exactly because of Kick and Gunther's hanging out, though it initiated it, but through harmless insults (spoken in a joking manner between the adults). Kick's father Harold gets the worst insults thrown at him, but it's his insult toward Gunther's Viking father Magnus that breaks the camel's back. Needless to say the boys are banned from seeing each other.
Kendall Perkins. She may be an annoying girl on her first episodes, but after, we saw she is not that bad.
Jerk With A Heart Of Jerk: Kelly. Kick thinks she's having second thoughts about dumping Brad in front of the whole school, but she's really just thinking about how she can make it even more humiliating for him.
The Jimmy Hart Version: A guitar riff variation on Yackety Sax in "Shh" as Kick chases his psychopathic pet around the library.
Know Your Vines: Kick and Brad are lost in the woods. While Kick, who likes to rough it, sleeps in the bare ground, Brad brags about how Kick wishes he had a comfy blanket of natural foliage like him. Kick's Sarcasm Mode response? "You're right, Brad. I wish I had a blanket of poison ivy."
Lamarck Was Right: Honey and Brianna both share an appreciation for sparkles and glitter. Honey had a sequined suit when she was Honey Splash, and Brianna is a pageant girl whose performances usually involve glitter of some kind.
Laugh with Me: Gordon Gibble snaps his fingers every time he wants his henchmen to laugh at something he just said. Ronaldo demands the same thing from his pit crew in the episode "Mellowbrook Drift". At one point he says: "Laugh harder!" On another occasion, he stops them, stating "It wasn't that funny!"
Literal Junk Food: Kendall hides Kick in a garbage can in "Hand in Hand" so that a passer-by doesn't see them stuck together. Of course, instead he asks why she's elbow-deep in a garbage can, so Kick provides an excuse for her in the form of a mouldy sandwich which she is less than thrilled about having to eat.
The Mafia and The Irish Mob: Parodied in the form of Luigi Vendetta, on screen, and Paddy O'Payback (seen only as a calling card).
Magic Pants: Averted. In the first two episodes, Kick loses his clothes once in each (by flying through a rosebush and getting splashed with toxic waste, respectively). Fortunately, Censor Steam and the like does come up.
Magic Skirt: The limo driver in "Kickasaurus Wrecks".
Meganekko: Jackie and the limo driver in "Kickasaurus Wrecks".
Motivation on a Stick: Gunther's backside is used as the carrot on the stick to get the crazy little dog to chase him and thereby pull the sled to rescue the schoolbus full of kids from a snow-filled gully.
Nightmare Fetishist: In "Gift of Wacky", Kick has Brad make him a present for Jackie that will make her hate him forever. They never show what it is, but whatever it is it scared every other kid off and only made her love him even more.
Noodle Incident: In "Tattler's Tale" a bunch of kids and Mr. Vickle are ratted on by Ms. Chicarelli, but we only see what Kick, Brad and Gunther did to get punished.
Not Now, Kiddo: An odd kid-on-kid example in "You've Been Brad'd", wherein Kick refuses at first to listen to Gunther.
Parental Favoritism: Brianna is the favourite. Kick doesn't much care. Brad is second to Brianna (and his dad) and wants to move up, especially at Kick's expense.
Picture Perfect Presentation: In "A Very Buttowski Mother's Day" Kick looks at a billboard depicting a farm, and the shot dissolves into the real farm as Kick arrives.
Proud Warrior Race Guy: Implied and pretty much made fun of with Gunther. A few episodes mention his family are Vikings.
Ringer Ploy: Kick enlists the kids of Mellowbrook (and at least one adult) to dress up like him and be visible to foil the tattling Chicarelli.
The Rival: Gordon Gibble from West Mellowbrook is a softened version of this to Kick. But he mainly gets his fame from his rich father and cheating, whereas Kick's comes from genuine awesomeness and the pursuit of same.
Rule Of Cool: The Law of Awesome is the series' bread and butter. An entire episode is even devoted to it prevailing over the actual laws of physics.
Running Gag: Papercut always refers to Gunther as "Little Girl"
Sanity Slippage: The whole family appears prone to it; at hyperspeed.
Honey starts having a breakdown in the mall at the thought of not finding Kick a suit for Aunt Sally's Nth wedding.
Kick, in the same episode, begins having a similar breakdown because he's having trouble resisting all his normal awesome stunt-related activities.
The entire family begins losing their minds when Kick traps them in a cabin with an avalanche; they're there for maybe a matter of hours.
Serious Business: Pantsie took being an usher way too seriously.
Shipper on Deck: Gunther apparently liked seeing Kick kiss Kendall in "Box Office Blitz".
And Kick tried to help Gunther hook up with with Jackie - partly to get rid of her, but also because he wanted to help his friend.
At the end of "Dancing With the Enemy", Kick and Kendall are having a very affectionate moment, until someone in the crowd shouts "Kiss her!". This, of course, is their cue to go back to acting as if they hate each other.
Ship Tease: Kick and Kendall in "Dancing With the Enemy".
Snap Back / Negative Continuity: One episode had Gunther developing a crush on Jackie and trying to win her heart - and succeeding at the end. Two episodes later, Jackie's back to stalking Kick, but Gunther is STILL crushing on her.
It makes sense when you remember that she's only into daredevils and Gunther hasn't done a stunt since that episode.
As mentioned above Guther seemed to like seeing Kick kiss Kendall. However when he saw them together in "Hand in Hand" he got upset and ran away crying.
Stand-In Parents: Kick goes around the neighbourhood trying to find someone to act as his dad for "bring your father to school" day. His father finds out and is hurt that Kick asked Wade to pretend to be him. He then shows up and tries to be cool, with unfortunate results. They end up meeting each other halfway.
That Poor Cat: If a character throws something offscreen, some unfortunate cat is almost guaranteed to be in its path.
That Poor Plant: Kendall, revealing a rather unusual case of Hidden Depths, releases a flatulence that causes plants to blacken and wilt instantly in "Hand in Hand".
Thirty Minutes or It's Free: Ronaldo almost drove Battle Snax bankrupt by abusing this policy. When Kick found a way to outsmart Ronaldo and make a deliver on time, Ronaldo had to Work Off The Debt.
Trampled Underfoot: Brad steps on a mama doll's head as he tries to steal "the hangout" back from Kick and Gunther.
In "Truth or Daredevil", Kick's grandfather loses his goggles and the Nazi analogue badguys goose step on them.
Underdogs Never Lose: In "Mow Money", even though Kick is obviously slower and weaker than Gunther in addition to Gunther getting a head start, he still manages to tie.
Wall Jump: Part of Kick's dodgeball playing style.
We Want Our Jerk Back: Both averted and played straight in "Love Stinks". Kick enjoys it when his brothers mellows out, but Brad's buddies miss both him and his bossy jerkass attitude.
Conversely, pretty much the only times Kendall doesn't address Kick by his real name is when she's happy with him.
Kick's mother will introduce him to the world as Clarence, since that's his real name, but she knows he prefers to be called Kick, and calls him that most of the time.
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