History ComicBook / MrA

* StrawmanPolitical: Mr. A's opponents tend be of the Straw Liberal persuasion.

* OneLetterName: Mr. A's name consists of just the letter "A" after the "Mr.".

* CallingCard: A black and white business card, representing his worldview. Usually displayed before Mr. A beats up some criminals.

* GentlemanThief: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in the story "Count Rogue". The titular Count Rogue acted AffablyEvil toward his marks (while insulting all of them in his head) as part of a complicated plan [[spoiler:to embarrass a rival at his day job who had been promoted before him]]. Mr. A is the only person who doesn't buy into the mystique of the Count as a noble thief, [[spoiler:except for a burglar who randomly breaks into the Count's home at the end of the story, and gives an oddly on-the-nose NotSoDifferentRemark while trying to blackmail his way into a "partnership".]]

* MissXPun: Mr. A, sounds like a variation on "Mystery".
* OneLetterName: Mr. A's name consists of just the letter "A" after the "Mr".

* SadisticChoice: A rare heroic example. In the very first Mr. A story, the protagonist forces an [[LethallyStupid excessively gullible and naive]] woman to choose whether he should save her or her friend the villain when both are in grave danger, in order to prove that her philosophy doesn't work. Made somewhat more reasonable by the fact that the bad guy is a complete [[CardCarryingVillain Card Carrying]] StrawHypocrite and [[TheSociopath murderous psychopath]], who had also [[spoiler: ''stabbed the woman in the guts'' moments before, which was the reason she urgently required medical attention in the first place]].

* StrawmanPolitical: Mr. A's opponents tend be of the StrawLiberal persuasion.

* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys: How a journalist could get all of the gadgets and an iron mask without getting any funny looks?

Philosophical elements aside, ''Mr. A'' marked Ditko's shift from working on contract for mainstream publishers like {{Creator/Marvel|Comics}} and {{Creator/DC|Comics}} to more creator-owned projects; ''Mr. A'' was first published in the UndergroundComics series ''witzend'' and was later collected in self-published comics Ditko distributed himself.

* AuthorTract: There are times when the action comes to a sudden stop in order for Mr. A to put on WallOfText after WallOfText regarding BlackAndWhiteMorality.

* QuitYourWhining: Mr. A's reaction to criminals who complain about being unfairly treated by society.

* StrawmanPolitical: Mr. A's opponents tends be straw man versions of liberals.

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: The driving force behind the comic. Mr. A's entire outfit is portrayed as pure white because of this, and his "calling card" is half-black, half-white, and he constantly goes on filibusters about how there is no "gray area".
* CharacterFilibuster: Oh, '''big time.'''

* GoodIsNotNice: Mr. A, who is basically Rorschach, just not ugly and insane ([[DesignatedHero though the non-insane part is subject to some serious YMMV]]).

* OneLetterName

* SoapBoxSadie: Arguably, the liberal complaining about police brutality in "Initiation of Force" in {{Anvilicious}} fashion:
-->It's UNFAIR! Innocent VIOLATORS of others' rights and harmless INITIATORS of FORCE are the victims of BRUTALITY and VIOLENCE by the country's legally licensed law enforcement agency, the POLICE!

* MoralDissonance: The author sometimes had him violate his ethical code for the sake of making him more palatable to the audience, thereby [[BrokenAesop completely undermining the point of a morally absolutist hero.]] This is most prominent when he gets a crime boss sent to prison for 15 years and then meets him after his term is over and tells him that his slate is now clean and he can start over. It doesn't cross Mr. A's mind that he himself had killed people or left them to suffer and bleed out for lesser crimes than the crime boss ever committed and deserves worse punishment according to his own moral code.

Creator/AlanMoore disliked this character ''strongly'' and portrayed this type of character [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity in a rather twisted way]] as ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'''s Rorschach. In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'', a character named Q also appears to be based on him.

->''"There is black and there is white, and there is wrong and there is right, and there is nothing, NOTHING in between."''

* GentlemanThief: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in the story "Count Rogue". The titular Count Rogue acted AffablyEvil toward his marks (while insulting all of them in his head) as part of a complicated plan [[spoiler:to embarrass a rival at his day job who had been promoted before him]]. Mr. A is the only person who doesn't buy into the mystique of the Count as a noble thief, [[spoiler:except for a burglar who randomly breaks into the Count's home at the end of the story, and gives an oddly on-the-nose NotSoDifferent speech while trying to blackmail his way into a "partnership".]]

* {{Expy}}: Might be mistaken for one of either [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]] or the hero ''he'' was based on, ComicBook/TheQuestion. Actually, Mr. A predates them both.

Born in 1967 of Creator/SteveDitko's fascination with UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}}, Mr. A is a "superhero" without observable powers aside from his steel gloves and mask, similar to the first incarnations of ComicBook/TheQuestion. Creator/AlanMoore disliked this character ''strongly'' and portrayed this type of character [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity in a rather twisted way]] as ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'''s Rorschach. In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'', a character named Q also appears to be based on him.

* BadassNormal: As mentioned, he is absolutely a normal human, even without TrainingFromHell.