History ComicBook / ElfQuest

* YaoiGuys: Many. Dart is the trope's poster boy for the series, having had three male lifemates and only one female one (who he Recognized and shared with her male lifemate). Cutter and Skywise are also sexually involved.

** Mender basically spends all his time between healing injuries as a gigolo. The Pinis actually listed one of his jobs as "sexual initiator."

* FilkSong:
** Filk ''CD''.
** According to [[http://www.knauer.org/mike/elfquest/eqfilk.php this site]] there are some scattered around in other places too.

* OneNightStandPregnancy: Skywise slept with a number of female Go-Backs on the night before the Palace War began. It turns out much later that he got one pregnant, and she gave birth to his daughter Yun. He doesn't meet her until many years later.

* TheFettered: Venka. Calm to a fault, extremely dedicated to her task of cleansing the world of harmful magic, and always with grace and HeroicResolve. Her dream sequence even depicts her holding a knight's shield. When the Go-Backs see her for the first time, they ''instantly'' ask her to become chief (justified--she's their old chief's daughter). And still, she never once becomes a MarySue.

* OppositesAttract: {{Discussed}} by Tyldak and Kahvi in regards to her past relationship with Rayek. He thinks their differences in background (she's "ice", he's "fire") were the problem. Kahvi disagrees though, saying differences make good sparks. It was his arrogance which she hated.

** One-Eye's left lying in a coma for years after he's struck on the head by a human, before finally dying, leaving his son Scouter behind.

!!Provides Examples Of:

** A milder example, often mentioned by the characters themselves, is Nightfall and Redlance, which also counts as WifeHusbandry. The prose novel "Journey to Sorrow's End" mentions Redlance is approximately three times older then Nightfall.

* OldMaster: Ekuar.
* OneMillionBC: This comic starts out as a fantasy version of this trope.

* PsychicPowers: Telepathy is something all elves can do (though the Go-Backs mostly speak instead) including one Wolfrider character (Strongbow) who rarely if ever talks, relying on it for most of his communication. Healing/flesh shaping, telekinisis and other forms of shaping matter (rocks or trees) is far more, but does pip up among multiple elf characters. A few powers (such as Venka's blocking others' power) are unique however.

* WifeHusbandry: Most prominently Rayek and Leetah. Redlance and Nightfall also count, as do Scouter and Tyleet. Justified as elves can live for thousands of years and become sexually active as soon as they hit puberty.

* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Timmorn (half elf/half ''[[VoluntaryShaopeshifting wolf]]'') and Two-Edge. (half elf/half troll).

* NonhumansLackAttributes: Preservers.

* MindlinkMates: This is common for Recognized lifemates. Elves can naturally use telepathy, but due to their Recognition bond gain a deeper mental link.

** Kahvi dies off page, as related by her lover Tyldak, though she hadn't seen her daughter Venka for some time already, being constantly off on adventures.

* OurElvesAreDifferent: As a whole, elves are the descendants of a race of space-faring, incredibly powerful psionic aliens who were accidentally stranded in the world's Stone Age by the actions of some of their pets/slaves, the ancestors of the modern trolls. Elves resemble humans with fine features, four-fingered hands and long, pointy ears, which results in subtly different skull shapes. All elves have at least some potential for PsychicPowers, or "magic" as they call it, which most prominently manifests as a racial gift of {{telepathy}}, which the elves refer to as "Sending". Other psionic powers are less common and mostly revolve around psychokinetic manipulation of a specific material -- a category of powers referred to as "Shaping". Elves capable of psionic {{biomanipulation}}, referred to as "Healers", are perhaps the most common of these gifted individuals. Other forms of magic tend to be uniquely specialized forms of Sending, Shaping or Healing, such as shapeshifting, levitation, and inflicting pain, paralysios or hypnotic commands. Elves live for extremely long periods, if they aren't fully immune to the effects of aging. They are extremely slow breeding; elven gestation takes two years, and elven women generally do not ovulate unless triggered by the spark of "Recognition", a biokinetic and telepathic trigger that activates when two elves with the potential to make a strong genetic mix encounter each other and their environment is receptive to rearing children -- pregnancy can happen without Recognition, but it's called out as generally being ''very'' rare. Despite this, the elves have managed to survive in a hostile environment. The common fantasy element of distinctive elfin subraces manifests in ''[=ElfQuest=]'' as the "Tribes":

* MindlinkMates

* NationalGeographicNudity: Most prominently in ''the Final Quest''. Ruffel is shown topless, but her nipples are obscured, and later, Moonshade is shown ''stark naked'' after a night of passion with Strongbow, but partly obscured in the same way.

* {{Matriarchy}}: In the future stories, of the Patriarchy Flip variety.

* MonsterMaker: Winnowill creates many horrible creatures over the years, to prey on other elves or humans.

* HealingHands: Healers in this series have the lay-on-hands ability to heal. With amplification, they don't even need to touch their patients, and they can heal multiple patients at once. The power has been expanded to include [[{{Shapeshifting}} flesh-shaping]] (a painful process at times), DNA-altering, pain-inducing, inducement of child conception, and some other applications.

* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Timmorn and Two-Edge.

** Ember and Teir. She's not that interested in becoming a mother, and when they recognize in the middle of a pitched battle, it seriously complicates things at the worst possible moment. They end up having the magic-users suppress their recognition until they're ready for it some time down the line.

* BabiesEverAfter: Practically every story arc ends with one elf pregnant: Rainsong has recently given birth in the very first issue, Leetah is pregnant at the end of the first arc, Dewshine ''and'' Kahvi at the end of the first Palace war, Nightfall after the elves move to the new continent, Tyleet (Nightfall's daughter) at the end of the arc before the second Palace war, Krim at the end of the second Palace war, Behtia after the ''little'' Palace war, Dodia after the Forevergreen quest, Moonshade after The Searcher And The Sword, and Brill after Discovery.

** Also somewhat subverted with Pike, being the child of Rain and Rain's first lifemate. As a wolfrider, he ''should'' technically have been born as a result of Recognition, it being the only way for wolfriders to have children within the tribe. However, Rain was a healer, and managed to use his powers to force conception, resulting in Pike. All sides agree that the experiment should be considered "tampering with nature too much", and although it's never really revealed whether or not Pike has anything wrong with him, Leetah expresses (carefully worded) concern over his ability to ever Recognize someone himself [[note]]Recognition is a successful test for genetic compatibility and Wolfriders only breed when that compatibility is perfect; Leetah's fear is that being born outside of Recognition makes Pike genetically unfit to breed[[/note]]. However, the process is repeated by Leetah on purpose when she helps Nightfall and Redlance conceive, using the Palace's magic amplification to complete the experiment and to force both conception ''and'' Recognition. Apparently that worked much better, since Tyleet ends up with a soul name and ability to Recognize.

* GrandFinale : After 40 years,the main series ended with the four volume series the final quest by wrapping up loose threads in the series long run.

** In a later story (though speaking to an earlier time) Leetah is shown to have the ability to "encourage" Recognition in others and has sessions as an "Initiator" that involve lots of group sex or petting sessions. Rayek asks her to show him something she's never shown another and a later panel shows him having his mind fairly well blown. In later times, Cutter implies Rayek is not the only one to experience special "gifts" from Leetah's powers. Skywise states he has heard rumor Leetah can (whisperwhisper) and Cutter replies "I'd be nutmash if she did that all the time. Couldn't walk straight, let alone be chief." It seems Mender has this ability from his healing gifts in some measure as well. When Mender joins the Wolfriders and he and Leetah are hanging out at the swimming hole with the tribe, it is noted yet again how Leetah and Mender's combined healer's auras are making everyone incredibly horny and as pages previous there were complaints of no recent Recognitions or pregnancies, it appears to be another example of "Initiation" to raise and encourage fertility.

* PsychicPowers: Including one character (Strongbow) who rarely if ever talks, relying on telepathy instead.

** During the first story arc with Cutter and Leetah dealing with recognition, there is some discussion where some of the more conservative Wolfriders note that, as far as satisfying Recognition's biological demands are concerned, consent is irrelevant. Their culture at that point is hard-coded that Recognition something you give into, period. However, Cutter is far too much of a gentleman to ''ever'' considering taking that option, preferring to reason with her with more patience than his father would have ever displayed. Leetah realizes that choice on his part, despite the great discomfort the urge imposes on anyone resisting the urge, says a lot about how much a considerate and civilized man he is.

** Oh, ''Skywise''. Has at least a few girls from every tribe: his three Sunfolk girls (Ruffel, Vurdah and Maleen), his Glider lovemate (Aroree), his main wolfrider squeeze (Foxfur at the beginning, at least one fling with Newstar when she was older and he revisited the Sun Village) and his [[WordOfGay confirmed]] occasional lovemate Cutter. Oh, and Yun's mom, whoever she is. It is implied he will someday mate with ''Timmain'' - the series' equivalent of a goddess.

* SuddenlyEthnicity: Kahvi. (Yun, too, but her Wolfrider heritage is not the main focus in her story.)

* CensorShadow[=/=]SceneryCensor: Used quite a bit, thanks to the elves' lack of modesty. Shadows, clothes, scenery, and conveniently positioned arms and legs have all made appearances as censor bars. A notable example comes in "Hidden Years Part 1", where we get a full-frontal shot of Strongbow, with the (in)appropriate bits obscured by a shadow.

* BattleOfWits: {{Subverted}} in the very first story arc. Cutter and Rayek are supposed to have one of these when they're tasked with finding and retrieving their weapons from a crevice. Rayek [[[MacGyvering MacGyveres]] together a grasping tool from the beads he's wearing to skillfully retrive his dagger, while Cutter... lucks out with the magnetic lodestone Skywise gave him, which is attracted to his sword. Rayek is understandibly furious about this.

* TheBaroness: Winnowill.

* BattleOfWits: {{Subverted}}.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Averted with elves, Winnowill is a stunner and about as malignant as you can get, whereas bent old Ekuar is probably the most selfless elf ever. But played pretty straight with humans -- you can generally gauge how much of a threat a particular human is going to be by the ugly-factor.

* AndIMustScream: Deconstructed. The nature of Elven magic ("think-do") allows an elf to suspend their physical life in order to enshrine themselves in flow-state, trancelike attention to a magical task, [[spoiler: and that's how much of their SufficientlyAdvancedTechnology is meant to work]]. The different tribes tend to view the practice differently depending on how far they've deviated from the firstcomers' culture and what method is used to sustain the body; the Wolfriders naturally find the rejection of the physical world as horrible as the trope suggests but recognize the survival uses of Wrapstuff, while the Gliders seem to view it as ascetic devotion to one's own arts for the good of all and treat the practice with reverence.

** Also somewhat subverted with Pike, being the child of Rain and Rain's first lifemate. As a wolfrider, he ''should'' technically have been born as a result of Recognition, it being the only way for wolfriders to have children within the tribe. However, Rain was a healer, and managed to use his powers to force conception, resulting in Pike. All sides agree that the experiment should be considered "tampering with nature too much", and although it's never really revealed whether or not Pike has anything wrong with him, Leetah expresses (carefully worded) concern over his ability to ever Recognize someone himself. However, the process is repeated by Leetah on purpose when she helps Nightfall and Redlance conceive, using the Palace's magic amplification to complete the experiment and to force both conception ''and'' Recognition. Apparently that worked much better, since Tyleet ends up with a soul name and ability to Recognize.

* AndIMustScream:

*** Egg's duty is to levitate, maintain and reshape the Great Egg, six, later eight, layers of baroquely shaped stone that tells the history of the elves as far as the Gliders know it. While such a thing would require frequent attention, it's not explained why he needs to be on duty all the time, or why they can't have a stand for the thing.

* TimeTravel: The Palace can travel through time, accidentally at the beginning of the series and end of the Kings of the Broken Wheel Arc (they're the same trip), and deliberately when Rayek takes off with it.

* TimeTravel

* TearfulSmile: Especially the [[http://www.elfquest.com/read/index.php?s=OQ/OQ16 magnificent cover]] for ''[=ElfQuest=]'' (original series) #16.

* TearfulSmile: Especially the [[http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/OQ/OQ16/DisplayOQ16.html?page=0 magnificent cover]] for ''[=ElfQuest=]'' (original series) #16.

** The warrior trolls all seem to be male.

* TakeMyHand