History Literature / RipleysBureauOfInvestigation

* MayorPain: Type Two, concerning Mayor Reynolds in "Danger Underground". He downplayed all the news about the sink holes, monoxide poisoning, and fiery disasters, and viewed them as unrelated to each other. Even when the agents told him about the cause of the incidents, the underground coal mines being on fire, he dismissed them as overreacting kids because he was certain the coal mines have been emptied. He only got the town Copper Creek to evacuate once the sink holes started destroying the town centre, a little too late. He showed he was more ignorant than wicked when he almost sacrificed himself saving Zia and a little girl, he leapt off the team's Quad Buggy as it was soaring over a widening crevasse to ensure his weight doesn't cause the vehicle (with Zia driving and the little girl inside) to not reach the safe side. Almost, as in Alek and Kobe pulled him before he could fall all the way down. [Main/HeelRealization He realised he was wrong after going through the town's destruction and apologises]].

* MayorPain: Type Two, concerning Mayor Reynolds in "Danger Underground". He downplayed all the news about the sink holes, monoxide poisoning, and fiery disasters, and viewed them as unrelated to each other. Even when the agents told him about the cause of the incidents, the underground coal mines being on fire, he dismissed them as overreacting kids because he was certain the coal mines have been emptied. He only got the town Copper Creek to evacuate once the sink holes started destroying the town centre, a little too late. He showed he was more ignorant than wicked when he almost sacrificed himself saving Zia and a little girl, he leapt off the team's Quad Buggy as it was soaring over a widening crevasse to ensure his weight doesn't cause the vehicle (with Zia driving and the little girl inside) to not reach the safe side. Almost, as in Alek and Kobe pulled him before he could fall all the way down.

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** Not the first time this has occurred exactly. While Max, Alek, and Kate went on a mission to Antarctica in "Sub-Zero Survival" (mainly to find the first artifact of Ripley's artifact hunt), Mr Cain sends the remaining agents (Jack, Kobe, Zia, and Li) on a mission to Egypt. But the book only focused on the Antarctic mission, the Egyptian mission remained offscreen. But "Danger Underground" and "Haunted Hotel" is the first time the reader gets to know what happens on these simultaneous missions.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Usually the formula for a novel in the series is that three agents are briefed at Ripley High and go on a mission. Plus, each book is one mission after another. It was changed just for "Danger Underground" and "Haunted Hotel", both missions in each book happen at the same time, the whole team on different missions. "Danger Underground" never even involves Ripley High once. The book begins with Jack, on a holiday and back in his hometown in Australia, just being informed that Max won't be able to visit because he's going on a mission with Kate and Li, the one that occurs in the next book "Haunted Hotel". Instead of being briefed in the RBI's base, Jack is briefed via his R-Phone's video link by Mr Cain. Because the initial mission is a two-hours drive away from Jack and is simply about a three-headed snake, Mr Cain only sends one agent at first, Alek. But once the escalating heat-related incidents happen, Mr Cain sends over the remaining agents, Zia and Kobe, increasing the number of members of team to four.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Ironically, Jack. He had a bad experience with snakes when he was younger, because snakes are not willing to let Jack communicate with them and calm them down like other animals.

* DoingResearch: It's stated they do this before every mission by going through files/reports or asking geography teacher Miss Burrows (who doesn't know about the RBI) about the location of a particular mission, but there is a chapter dedicated to this trope in "Shock Horror". With Li, Zia, and Max going to a newspaper records office to find information about unusual storm that occurred 15 years ago and a missing park ranger.

%%* EinsteinHair: Dr Maxwell.

* ExtremeOmnivore: Jack's perfectly fine with eating insects.

%%* FriendshipMoment: There are a few.%%Such as?

%% * 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.

%%* GirlyGirl: Li.
%%* TheHandler: Mr Cain.

%%* HighSchool

%%* IAmVeryBritish: Kate, Mr Willis, and Mr Clarkson.
%%* IconicOutfit: All the agents in the artwork.

%%* LongHairIsFeminine: Li.
%%* LovableJock: Alek.

%%* MentorArchetype: Mr Cain.

%%* MissionControl: RIPLEY.
%%* MrExposition: Mr Cain and RIPLEY.

%%* MusclesAreMeaningful: Downplayed with Alek.%%How?
%%* MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual: What Ripley High is.

%%* MysteriousAntarctica: "Sub-Zero Survival" is set there.%%Mysterious how?

%%* NatureLover: Jack.

* NightVisionGoggles: Used in "A Scaly Tale".

%%* NosyNeighbor: Well, nosy caretaker.

%%* OrphanedSeries
%%* ParentalSubstitute: Mr Cain.

%%* ThePrankster: Max.
%%* TheProfessor: Dr Maxwell.
%%* RapidFireTyping: Max's way of hacking.
%%* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Mr Cain.
%%* RebelliousSpirit: Max.

** Kate's uncle is [[Franchise/IndianaJones a history and part-time archeologist and their last name is JONES]]. Might be an extremely subtle attempt at making the two franchises be part of the [[Main/LawyerFriendlyCameo same]] [[Main/IntercontinuityCrossover universe]].

%%* TheSmartGirl: Kate.
%%* SmartPeopleBuildRobots: Max.
%%* SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish: Kate.

%%* SpikyHair: Max.

%%* TeachersPet: Kate.
%%* TheTeam: The RBI is just a team.
%%* TeamDad: Mr Cain.

%%* TechnoWizard: Max and Dr Maxwell.

%%* WalkingTechfix: Max.
* TheWarRoom: The briefing room in the underground base is set up like one.
%%* WildChild: Arun, from "Running Wild".

%%* WomenAreWiser: Kate.

''Ripley's Bureau of Investigation'' is a book series written by Kay Wilkins (uncredited on the covers), illustrated by Ailin Chambers, and (apparently most importantly) published by Ripley Publishing to promote [[Franchise/RipleysBelieveItOrNot Ripley's Believe It or Not]] to kids. But it still could be considered a good series in its own right. It consists of eight published books. Two extra books, "Danger Underground" and "Haunted Hotel", have remained unpublished and the series was intended to have twelve books in total, but it discontinued, likely due to low sales.

%%* AndroidsArePeopleToo: RIPLEY.

%%* ArtificialIntelligence: RIPLEY.

%%* BadassBookworm: Kate.

%%* BareYourMidriff: A little bit with Kate.
%%* BenevolentAI: RIPLEY.
%%* BenevolentBoss: Mr Cain.

* BigBrotherInstinct: Alek. He is older than at least four of the other agents and is the tallest/strongest, he is protective of his teammates and has saved them multiple times thanks to his skills and athleticism. Such as saving Max and Zia from a giant robot dragon with back flips, saving Li from a shark, and saving Kate from falling down a crevasse by diving down after her then free-climbing its sheer sides. He tries to keep an eye on agents he feels could end up in danger easily.

%%* BoyishShortHair: Zia.
%%* BrainyBrunette: Kate.

%%* BrilliantButLazy: Max.

%%* {{Contortionist}}: Alek.
%%* CollaredByFashion: Li wears a ribbon choker.

* CreatorsFavorite: Max is in every single slice-of-life first chapter of every published book.

%%* CutShort: Yep.

* DangerousWorkplace: The agents nearly died on missions multiple times. Scarier once you remember they're [[Main/ChildSoldiers between the ages of 13 and 15]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The series managed to use the phrase 'oh, my god' by mashing it together into 'Ohmigod'. At least in the paperback editions. In the ebook versions, it's been changed to [[Main/GoshDangItToHeck 'Ohmigosh']].

* SpoiledSweet: Li grew up in a wealthy family and has no mean bone in her body.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rbi_team_desktop_0.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Left to right: Li Yong, Zia Mendoza, Alek Filipov, Kobe Shakur, Max Johnson, Kate Jones, Jack Stevens]]

!Ripley's Bureau of Investigation contains examples of:

* AndroidsArePeopleToo: RIPLEY.
* AnimalMecha: The giant robot dragon in "The Dragon's Triangle".

* ArtificialIntelligence: RIPLEY.

* BadassBookworm: Kate.
* BadassNormal: Max seems to be the only agent with no special superpower-like abilities. Everyone else is skilled, knowledgeable, and have strange abilities, whereas he is just skilled and knowledgeable. Nevertheless, he is still their equal and is highly competent as an agent.

* BareYourMidriff: A little bit with Kate.
* BenevolentAI: RIPLEY.
* BenevolentBoss: Mr Cain.

--> '''Max''': This is a pretty mountainous area.
--> '''Li''': Mountainous area? That sounds much more like something Kate would say, than you.
--> '''Max''': I'm not just a pretty face, you know.
* BoyishShortHair: Zia.
* BrainyBrunette: Kate.

* BrilliantButLazy: Max.

* {{Contortionist}}: Alek.
* CollaredByFashion: Li wears a ribbon choker.

* CoolShades / SunglassesAtNight: Max always wears a pair up on his head, even indoors. He does get called out about it.
** The DUL agents definitely do this as well.

* CutShort: Yep.

* EinsteinHair: Dr Maxwell.

* FriendshipMoment: There are a few.

* GirlyGirl: Li.
* TheHandler: Mr Cain.

* HighSchool

* IAmVeryBritish: Kate, Mr Willis, and Mr Clarkson.
* IconicOutfit: All the agents in the artwork.

* LongHairIsFeminine: Li.
* LovableJock: Alek.

* MentorArchetype: Mr Cain.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: Alek is the strongest member of the team.
--> '''Alek''': I'm Russian. I grew up swimming in freezing lakes.

* MissionControl: RIPLEY.
* MrExposition: Mr Cain and RIPLEY.

* MusclesAreMeaningful: Downplayed with Alek.
* MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual: What Ripley High is.

* MysteriousAntarctica: "Sub-Zero Survival" is set there.

* NatureLover: Jack.

* NosyNeighbor: Well, nosy caretaker.

* {{Omniglot}}: Kate can speak fourteen languages fluently. Justified though, she was born with the ability to pick up the basics of a language by hearing it only once. So technically she can know every language, but she only counts the ones she learnt to speak fluently.

--->'''Zia''': No, I just can't put my thumb on it.
--->'''Jack''': Finger. The saying is 'I can't put my finger on it'.
--->'''Zia''': Thank you. Your language is so strange.

* OrphansOrdeal: Kate's parents died in a car accident when she was younger, her feelings about it are highlighted in "Running Wild".
* OrphanedSeries
* ParentalSubstitute: Mr Cain.

* ThePrankster: Max.
* TheProfessor: Dr Maxwell.
* RapidFireTyping: Max's way of hacking.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Mr Cain.
* RebelliousSpirit: Max.
* RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude: Justified. They're not just ordinary inexperienced teenagers. They're highly skilled prodigies and experts in their fields of interests, most of them with rare strange abilities that were likely not found in any skilled adults at the time.
** Plus teenagers would have a good balance of skepticism and open-mindedness that would be suitable for the job of investigating such unbelievable sightings. Whereas most adults would be too skeptical to proceed properly.

* SadistTeacher / SternTeacher: Shaun Willis, the school's artifact studies teacher. He goes back and forth between the two. Most of the students, apart from Kate, find his lectures boring. He's very strict when he conducts his lessons, wanting absolute silence from his students in class. Seems reasonable at first, but he gets angered very easily, ready to shout when he shouldn't. He clearly favours Kate more than the other students, being much kinder to her, and treats Max in the opposite manner. And then there's the fact that he gave Jack detention for being tardy, not at all sympathetic to the reason why Jack was late...because he was taking care of a sick two-headed cow!

* ShoutOut: Kate's uncle is [[Franchise/IndianaJones a history and part-time archeologist and their last name is JONES]]. Might be an extremely subtle attempt at making the two franchises be part of the [[Main/LawyerFriendlyCameo same]] [[Main/IntercontinuityCrossover universe]].

* TheSmartGirl: Kate.
* SmartPeopleBuildRobots: Max.
* SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish: Kate.

* SpikyHair: Max.

* TeachersPet: Kate.
* TheTeam: The RBI is just a team.
* TeamDad: Mr Cain.

* TechnoWizard: Max and Dr Maxwell.

* WalkingTechfix: Max.

* WildChild: Arun, from "Running Wild".

* WomenAreWiser: Kate.
* WorldOfWeirdness: Downplayed. A lot of the [[Main/MonsterOfTheWeek monster of the week type stuff]] turn out not to be monsters, like the humanoid lizard that was really a human who went through tons of body modification to look like a humanoid lizard in "A Scaly Tale". Then again, a man who can make trees explode and furry elephants with double-trunks exist.

* NeverSayDie: Averted. It does use words referring to being killed or just death more than most books of its kind.

** Mr Cain could be a shout-out to actor Dean Cain, host of the third incarnation of the Ripley's Believe It or Not television series.

* TeenSuperspy: The agents are more like investigators than spies. But since they're a trained secret team who conduct briefings in a high tech underground base, are given [[Main/ShoePhone advanced disguise gadgets]], go to far-off lands where they go through dangerous situations and occasionally face an organization of well-dressed enemies, the team counts.

* NeverSayDie: Averted. It does use words referring to be being killed or just death more than most books of its kind.

* LeeroyJenkins: Another one of Max's flaws is his recklessness. Most notably in "Wings of Fear". Instead of using his wingsuit properly, he nosedived and then opened up his suit to get to the flying creature much quicker...which caused the extra material to rip, and Max himself to fall until the 'creature' saved him.

* AgentScully: Kate. She doesn't even believe in Kobe's psychic abilities. Although she does believe in the possibility of Atlantis existing as a lost city.

* ChallengeSeeker: Alek is a very competitive sportsman. He tries to play every sport imaginable for the sheer love of them and the challenge, with the skill to match. There is a reason he's an under-16 Olympic athlete after all. For example, in "Secrets of the Deep", he, Kobe, Jack, and Max have a swimming endurance competition for fun. Jack and Max gave up around a half and hour in, but Alek and Kobe kept going for (what felt like) hours because of their respective abilities. While Kobe kept going because of his enhanced endurance/stamina, Alek continued because of his refusal to lose.