History ComicBook / Nextwave

* TakeThatMe: At its core, ''Nextwave'' is a parody of Ellis' own previous comics like ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'', which makes the whole thing feel a little less mean-spirited than it otherwise could have been.

* PowerWalk: The Nextwave team does this at the end of one comic.

* ContinuityNod: Some surprisingly obscure ones, too, all brilliantly PlayedForLaughs.
** Nearly every "Captain" character name mentioned really belonged to an obscure Marvel character, other than Film/CaptainRon,[[ChurchOfHappyology Captain L. Ron]], and Captain ☠☠☠☠. Yes, even Captain Kerosene is a minor Marvel UK character.

** As it turns out, Hiroyuki Imaishi, director of ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' actually ''is'' [[http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=10206 a big fan of Nextwave]]. This should surprise no one.

** The Captain's internal monologue about learning to hate "the hissing" is a reference to Creator/PeterDavid's story and later comic book ''[[Comicbook/HulkTheEnd]]''.

* AssholeVictim: [[http://marvel.com/universe/Nextwave Officer Mac Mangel]], a cop one week from retirement... who beats up drug dealers (when he doesn't get his cut), threatens prostitutes (when he doesn't get his cut), and beat up a mugging victim upon learning he still has some money left. He is transformed into some kind of robotic monster when trying to sell what he thinks is a stray cat, said robot body is blown up, and then Tabby and Aaron kick him for being a cop. Monica ends up being unwittingly bad help when she hands him over to his "friends" -- all the people he'd victimized in the beginning. They promptly haul him off into a back alley and perform a little vigilante charity via several rounds to the skull.

[[quoteright:266:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Agents_of_Hate.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:266: It's like Shakespeare. [[{{Dissimile}} But with lots more punching]].[[note]]From left to right: Elsa Bloodstone, Monica Rambeau, Boom-Boom, the Captain, and Machine Man.[[/note]]]]

->''"I took ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' and I stripped out all the plots, logic, character and sanity. (...) It's an absolute distillation of the superhero genre. No plot lines, characters, emotions, nothing whatsoever. It's people posing in the street for no good reason. It is people getting kicked, and then exploding. It is a '''pure''' comic book, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. And afterwards, [[MadeOfExplodium they will explode]]."''

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

Creator/WarrenEllis and Stuart Immonen's irreverent parody of {{Super Team}}s, which featured five relatively obscure {{Super Hero}}es fighting the forces of H.A.T.E., a [[HeroesRUs S.H.I.E.L.D.-style organization]] who were discovered to be in league with the Beyond Corporation, the current incarnation of their former rivals, [[NebulousEvilOrganization S.I.L.E.N.T.]]. ([[FunWithAcronyms Who doesn't love a good acronym]]?)

** The Captain's internal monologue about learning to hate "the hissing" is a reference to Creator/PeterDavid's story and later comic book ''[[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Hulk: The End]]''.

* [[Characters/Avengers90sMembers Aaron Stack (formerly known as X-51 and Machine Man)]]: A surly, [[TheAlcoholic Alcoholic]], {{Do Anything Robot}}ic {{Jerkass}}. Ended up as EnsembleDarkhorse for precisely those reasons.

* [[ComicBook/{{Bloodstone}} Elsa Bloodstone]]: Daughter of a famous monster hunter, she was the series' resident ActionGirl. [[NationalStereotypes She's British]].

[[caption-width-right:266: It's like Shakespeare. [[{{Dissimile}} But with lots more punching]].[[note]]From left to right: Bloodstone, Monica Rambeau, Boom-Boom, the Captain, and Machine Man.[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:266: It's like Shakespeare. [[DisSimile But with lots more punching]].[[note]]From left to right: [[ComicBook/{{Bloodstone}} Elsa Bloodstone]], ComicBook/MonicaRambeau, Boom-Boom, the Captain, and Machine Man.[[/note]]]]

* ComicBook/MonicaRambeau (Formerly known as ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}} and Photon): The leader of the group. She used to lead [[Comicbook/TheAvengers The Avengers]], and reminds her teammates of this fact at every available opportunity.
* Tabitha "Tabby" Smith (formerly known as Time Bomb, Boom-Boom, Boomer, Meltdown, Firecracker, and Mutate #35): A trailer-trash klepto with the "mutant powers of blowing things up and stealing all your stuff" (actual description). Her theft of the Beyond Corporation's Marketing Plan provided the impetus for the team to leave the employ of H.A.T.E..

* [[ComicBook/{{Bloodstone}} Elsa Bloodstone]]: Daughter of a famous monster hunter, she was the series' resident ActionGirl. [[NationalStereotypes She's British.]]
* The Captain (Formerly known as [[Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture Captain Power]], Film/CaptainRon, [[ChurchOfHappyology Captain L. Ron]], Captain Universe, Captain Ultra, Captain Avenger, Captain Avalon, ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}}, Captain ☠☠☠☠, and various others before finally giving up): [[IdiotHero An idiotic]] FlyingBrick from [[BrooklynRage Brooklyn]] who received his powers from benevolent aliens while drunkenly stumbling home. Subversion of TheGoodCaptain and frequent victim of TheWorfEffect. The only member of Nextwave created specifically for the series.

The series ran for twelve issues, with each story arc being two issues long (although a case can be made for the final arc actually being four issues long). Plot wasn't a high priority, and served mostly as an excuse for the team to beat things up and cause things to explode.

* Aaron Stack (formerly known as X-51 and Machine Man): A surly, [[TheAlcoholic Alcoholic]], {{Do Anything Robot}}ic {{Jerkass}}. Ended up as EnsembleDarkhorse for precisely those reasons.

* CaptainErsatz: Dirk Anger, H.A.T.E., and S.I.L.E.N.T. are stand-ins for Nick Fury, SHIELD, and HYDRA, respectively. (Warren Ellis wanted to use the originals, but was shouted down. After seeing what he did with them, that's kind of a relief.)
** Although Brian Bendis and Creator/JonathanHickman later recycled the idea, making both SHIELD and the goofier version of HYDRA sub-divisions of a larger HYDRA network; presumably, Marvel editors refused the earlier idea not because they were afraid of it... But afraid of Ellis.

* ComicBook/MonicaRambeau (Formerly known as [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Captain Marvel]] and Photon): The leader of the group. She used to lead [[Comicbook/TheAvengers The Avengers]], and reminds her teammates of this fact at every available opportunity.

* The Captain (Formerly known as [[Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture Captain Power]], Film/CaptainRon, [[ChurchOfHappyology Captain L. Ron]], Captain Universe, Captain Ultra, Captain Avenger, Captain Avalon, [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Captain Marvel]], Captain ☠☠☠☠, and various others before finally giving up): [[IdiotHero An idiotic]] FlyingBrick from [[BrooklynRage Brooklyn]] who received his powers from benevolent aliens while drunkenly stumbling home. Subversion of TheGoodCaptain and frequent victim of TheWorfEffect. The only member of Nextwave created specifically for the series.

* Tabitha "Tabby" Smith (formerly known as Time Bomb, Boom-Boom, Boomer, Meltdown, Firecracker, and Mutate #35): A trailer-trash klepto with the "mutant powers of blowing things up and stealing all your stuff" (actual description). Her theft of the Beyond Corporation's Marketing Plan provided the impetus for the team to leave the employ of H.A.T.E.

Creator/WarrenEllis and Stuart Immonen's irreverent parody of {{Super Team}}s, which featured five relatively obscure {{Super Hero}}es fighting the forces of H.A.T.E., a [[HeroesRUs S.H.I.E.L.D-style organization]] who were discovered to be in league with the Beyond Corporation, the current incarnation of their former rivals, [[NebulousEvilOrganization S.I.L.E.N.T.]] ([[FunWithAcronyms Who doesn't love a good acronym]]?)

[[caption-width-right:266: It's like Shakespeare. [[DisSimile But with lots more punching]].[[note]]From left to right: ComicBook/ElsaBloodstone, ComicBook/MonicaRambeau, Boom-Boom, the Captain, and Machine Man.[[/note]]]]

* ComicBook/ElsaBloodstone: Daughter of a famous monster hunter, she was the series' resident ActionGirl. [[NationalStereotypes She's British.]]

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: The third story features such wonderful creations as the man-eating drop bears and samurai robots. Bloodstone destroys an army of the latter with ''a shovel''.

** The Mindless Ones engage in various wacky shenanigans, like [[Film/WestsideStory fingersnap-heavy dance routines in the middle of the street]].

* LooksLikeSheIsEnjoyingIt: When Dirk Anger accidentally hanged himself in his private chamber on the H.A.T.E. Aeromarine, two female attendants listening to his strangled grunts thought he was looking at pornographic websites.

* RealityEnsues: Lampshaded when Elsa runs out of bullets. Hollywood lies to you constantly.

* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Forbush Man, originally a mascot for Marvel's [[AffectionateParody Not Brand Echh Comics]], eventually becomes a significant threat to [[spoiler: most of]] the Nextwave squad and (if his WorldOfCardboardSpeech is legitimate) one of the most powerful entities in Marvel continuity.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
--> '''Tabby''': They shot their muck all over meee!\\
'''Aaron''': Like that's never happened before.
** "The Hideous Felch-Monster of Bihar Province" - we know what most of those words mean. Don't look up "felch." Really. Don't.[[note]]You did, didn't you. Warren Ellis mailed you a straw, you [[SchmuckBait schmuck.]][[/note]]
** The famous "Mark Millar Licks Goats" cover right here in the page picture. There's an urban legend that editors discouraged the use of the word "flick" in comics, because when written in capital letters, [[TheProblemWithPenIsland if the ''L'' and the ''I'' overlap, you get "fuck"]]. Now notice that there's just enough space out of sight on Aaron's sign for the letter ''F'' and you get...

[[caption-width-right:266: It's like Shakespeare. [[DisSimile But with lots more punching]].[[note]]From left to right: Elsa Bloodstone, Monica Rambeau, Boom-Boom, the Captain, and Machine Man.[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:266: It's like Shakespeare. But with lots more punching.]]