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* ProtectivePressure: As a controller of bugs Weaver notices that a lot of stores utilize this to keep pests out. [[spoiler:A Clone of Mannequin weaponizes this in theQ Slaughterhouse Nine thousand arc.]]

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* ArbitrarySkepticism: In a world where huge numbers of people have powers that flat-out defy the laws of physics, everyone still thinks the capes who interpret their powers as magical are completely bonkers. [[spoiler:While they're technically correct to dismiss magic, this still bites them in the ass -- aside from a very thin coating of supernatural interpretation, Glaistig Uaine was one of the few people who knew exactly what was going on, and everybody ignored her solely because she used the word 'fairy' instead of 'alien'.]]
** Discussed by Tattletale when claiming to be psychic during the bank robbery, although it's subverted since Tattletale isn't actually psychic, just [[SherlockScan inhumanly good at reading people]].
-->'''Tattletale:''' Why is it so hard to believe? Legend can shoot lasers from his hands, lasers that turn corners. Clockblocker and Vista can mess with the fundamental forces of space and time. Kaiser can create metal from thin air. Conservation of mass, conservation of energy, basic laws of our universe get broken by capes all the time. All of that is possible, but I can’t peek into your brain?

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* ArbitrarySkepticism: In a world where huge numbers of people have powers that flat-out defy the laws of physics, everyone still thinks the capes who interpret their powers as magical are completely bonkers. [[spoiler:While they're technically correct to dismiss magic, this still bites them in the ass -- aside from a very thin coating of supernatural interpretation, Glaistig Uaine was one of the few people who knew exactly what was going on, and everybody ignored her solely because she used the word 'fairy' "fairy" instead of 'alien'.]]
** Discussed
"alien".]] This is discussed by Tattletale when claiming to be psychic during the bank robbery, although robbery when Glory Girl calls out her claim to be a mind reader on the basis that true PsychicPowers are literally impossible, as intercepting, deciphering and meaningfully interpreting someone's neural activity in real time would require far more computing power than can be obtained from a human brain. Tattletale replies that, in a world where people can and do manifest powers that allow them to warp space and time, ignore the conservation of mass and energy or shoot lasers that can ''[[HomingLasers turn corners]]'', claiming that something is flatly impossible because it goes against the known laws of physics is a ''little'' less than logical. However, this it's subverted since Tattletale isn't actually psychic, just [[SherlockScan inhumanly good at reading people]].
-->'''Tattletale:''' --->'''Tattletale:''' Why is it so hard to believe? Legend can shoot lasers from his hands, lasers that turn corners. Clockblocker and Vista can mess with the fundamental forces of space and time. Kaiser can create metal from thin air. Conservation of mass, conservation of energy, basic laws of our universe get broken by capes all the time. All of that is possible, but I can’t can't peek into your brain?



* ArmorIsUseless: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Her armor from spider-silk is all that's saved Taylor's life, including [[spoiler:multiple attempts to slit her throat]].



* BodyguardBabes: The twins Menja and Fenja fulfill this role for Kaiser. [[spoiler:Until Leviathan shows up and Kaiser and one of them die]]
* BodyHorror: There are quite a few sources of this in the Wormverse; the most prolific is probably Bonesaw, who calls it 'art'.

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* BodyguardBabes: The twins Menja and Fenja fulfill this role for Kaiser. [[spoiler:Until Leviathan shows up and Kaiser and one of them die]]
die.]]
* BodyHorror: There are quite a few sources of this in the Wormverse; Wormverse. Biokinesis and biotech tinker powers tend to result in this fairly often if in the most prolific hands of the less than scrupulous, but other powers can easily react to living tissue in... less than pleasant ways as well.
** When Bitch transforms her dogs into their monstrous forms, their bodies grow faster than their skin can keep up with. They essentially burst from their hides like sausages splitting open, their engorged musculature calcifying and hardening as it goes and growths of bone bursting forth from beneath it. Once at full size, their surfaces become patchworks of torn skin, exposed flesh, bony spikes and plates, and patches of hardened, partially ossified muscle.
** Bakuda's two-twenty-seven bomb
is probably Bonesaw, who a spatial warper that only affects organic substances, stretching, compressing, bending and twisting any living tissue within three feet of itself. Because this is purely a change in proportions -- the affected tissue still connects and functions as before -- it's never directly lethal, forcing its victims to live with their horribly distorted bodies. Bakuda likes to plant it inside people's bodies before setting it off, in order to maximize the disfigurement.
%%** Bonesaw
calls it 'art'."art".



* LandSeaSky: The three Endbringers follow this theme with the subterranean Behemoth as land, the aquatic Leviathan as sea and the permanently flying Simurgh as sky.

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* LandSeaSky: The three primary Endbringers follow this theme with theme:
** Behemoth, which manipulates energy to turn its surroundings into volcanic wastes and rests deep beneath
the subterranean Behemoth as land, earth between attacks, is land.
** Leviathan, which manipulates water to create storms and tidal waves and to drown whole cities and islands, and which rests beneath
the aquatic Leviathan as sea and the permanently ocean between rampages, is sea.
** Simurgh, a many-winged woman that's constantly
flying Simurgh as and rests high in the stratosphere, is sky.
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* SymbioticPossession: Alec/Regent has the power of [[PeoplePuppets controlling a person's body.]] Aisha/Imp lets him do this willingly, since her own power of her existence being forgotten when she's not being paid attention to lets her have control over the situation, and there is strategic value in being controlled for fights. They form a close emotional bond in addition to the body-sharing.

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* SymbioticPossession: Alec/Regent has the power of [[PeoplePuppets controlling a person's body.]] Aisha/Imp lets him do this willingly, since her own power of her existence being power--to be completely forgotten when she's not by everyone if she stops concentrating on being paid attention to remembered--to lets her have control over the situation, and there is strategic value in being controlled for fights. They form a close emotional bond in addition to the body-sharing.
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* SchlubbyScummySecurityGuard: The Brockton Bay Boardwalk enforcers have a reputation for beating and raping people for being poor. When Coil press-gangs Lisa into his service, he has some of his mercenaries disguise themselves as enforcers so they can catch Lisa attempting to pickpocket another mercenary posing as a rich customer, thus giving them an excuse for dragging her away.
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* SymbioticPossession: Alec/Regent has the power of [[PeoplePuppets controlling a person's body.]] Aisha/Imp lets him do this willingly, since her own power of her existence being forgotten when she's not being paid attention to lets her have control over the situation, and there is strategic value in being controlled for fights. They form a close emotional bond in addition to the body-sharing.
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Moving to Character page.


* SelfHarmInducedSuperpower: Marquis has to have his bones burst out from his body and break them in order to use his powers offensively, which causes him agony despite his minor healing factor, but he's trained himself enough to not show any signs of physical pain.
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* SelfHarmInducedSuperpower: Marquis has to have his bones burst out from his body and break them in order to use his powers offensively, which causes him agony despite his minor healing factor, but he's trained himself enough to not show any signs of physical pain.
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* WellIntentionedExtremist: Multiple characters in the story, to the point that the evil things people are willing to do for what they believe is a good cause is a running theme. Taylor herself justifies her often ruthless actions in varying ways - first wanting to keep her cover as a spy for the heroes, then [[spoiler:needing to be in Coil's good graces to save Dinah]], then [[spoiler:protecting the people in her territory because she thinks the heroes are running things so badly that she can do better]], and finally [[spoiler:trying to [[SaveTheWorldClimax save the world at any cost.]]]] Cauldron, meanwhile, has a more consistent goal - they are kidnapping and horribly mutating the case 53s, among other horrible actions, in order to [[spoiler:have a chance at defeating Scion and stopping him from killing everyone in every alternate earth.]] It helps that they have [[spoiler:Contessa, a parahuman with the power to know the correct path to achieve a planned goal]], to [[OmniscientMoralityLicense ensure they are doing the right thing]], though it may not be so cut and dry since [[spoiler: her power doesn't seem to work when Endbringers or Scion are around.]]

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* WellIntentionedExtremist: Multiple characters in the story, to the point that the evil things people are willing to do for what they believe is a good cause is a running theme. Taylor herself justifies her often ruthless actions in varying ways - first wanting to keep her cover as a spy for the heroes, then [[spoiler:needing to be in Coil's good graces to save Dinah]], then [[spoiler:protecting the people in her territory because she thinks the heroes are running things so badly that she can do better]], and finally [[spoiler:trying to [[SaveTheWorldClimax save the world at any cost.]]]] Cauldron, meanwhile, has a more consistent goal - they are kidnapping and horribly mutating the case 53s, among other horrible actions, in order to [[spoiler:have a chance at defeating Scion and stopping him from killing everyone in every alternate earth.]] It helps that they have [[spoiler:Contessa, a parahuman with the power to know the correct path to achieve a planned goal]], to [[OmniscientMoralityLicense ensure they are doing the right thing]], though it may not be so cut and dry since [[spoiler: her [[spoiler:her power doesn't seem to work when Endbringers or Scion are around.]]
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* WelcomeEpisode: The first arc has Skitter meet up with the already established group of the Undersiders, which she ends up joining.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Multiple characters in the story, with Skitter being the most prominent.

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* WelcomeEpisode: The first arc has Skitter meet up with the already established group of sees Taylor being invited to join the Undersiders, a supervillain group which she ends up joining.
already has four members.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Multiple characters in the story, to the point that the evil things people are willing to do for what they believe is a good cause is a running theme. Taylor herself justifies her often ruthless actions in varying ways - first wanting to keep her cover as a spy for the heroes, then [[spoiler:needing to be in Coil's good graces to save Dinah]], then [[spoiler:protecting the people in her territory because she thinks the heroes are running things so badly that she can do better]], and finally [[spoiler:trying to [[SaveTheWorldClimax save the world at any cost.]]]] Cauldron, meanwhile, has a more consistent goal - they are kidnapping and horribly mutating the case 53s, among other horrible actions, in order to [[spoiler:have a chance at defeating Scion and stopping him from killing everyone in every alternate earth.]] It helps that they have [[spoiler:Contessa, a parahuman with Skitter being the most prominent.power to know the correct path to achieve a planned goal]], to [[OmniscientMoralityLicense ensure they are doing the right thing]], though it may not be so cut and dry since [[spoiler: her power doesn't seem to work when Endbringers or Scion are around.]]
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* CuffsOffRubWrists: Taylor does this because of how tightly Shadow Stalker bound her wrists with the plastic cuffs.
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* DefiedTrope: The story gives [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains quite]] [[BondVillainStupidity a]] [[ThereAreNoTherapists few]] [[ImpossiblyCoolClothes examples]], but the most obvious is in the first chapter when Taylor explicitly talks about how easy it would be to follow ''Film/{{Carrie}}'''s WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds example and have a superpowered RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the bullies at her school -- and how she refuses to go that route.

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* DefiedTrope: The story gives [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains quite]] [[BondVillainStupidity a]] [[ThereAreNoTherapists few]] [[ImpossiblyCoolClothes examples]], but the most obvious is in the first chapter when Taylor explicitly talks about how easy it would be to follow ''Film/{{Carrie}}'''s ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'''s WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds example and have a superpowered RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the bullies at her school -- and how she refuses to go that route.



** Right in the first chapter, Taylor thinks about how easy it would be to go ''Film/{{Carrie}}'' on Emma, Sophia, and Madison.

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** Right in the first chapter, Taylor thinks about how easy it would be to go ''Film/{{Carrie}}'' ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'' on Emma, Sophia, and Madison.
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Expand example


** Also played with in that it's revealed [[spoiler:in her POV chapter that Jack purposefully manipulated and mentally broke her to give her the moral compass she has now by continuously mortally wounding her parents for her to save over and over again]]. How much of this excuses her behaviour is left up to discussion.

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** Also played with in that it's revealed [[spoiler:in her POV chapter that Jack purposefully manipulated and mentally broke her to give her the moral compass she has now by continuously mortally wounding her parents for her to save over and over again]].again, until she was so tired that she had no choice but to give up]]. How much of this excuses her behaviour is left up to discussion.

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Split example that's actually two examples


* AgonyBeam: Bakuda [[spoiler:turns the tables on Taylor and her team]] using a grenade that has this effect. Also, one of [[spoiler:Butcher]]'s attacks

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* AgonyBeam: AgonyBeam:
**
Bakuda [[spoiler:turns the tables on Taylor and her team]] using a pain grenade that has this effect. Also, effect.
** It's also
one of [[spoiler:Butcher]]'s attacksattacks, relying on line of sight.
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* BaitTheDog: Taylor is initially so persuaded by Coil's cool PragmaticVillainy and his commitment to running the city better than it has been run before, even if he admits he's just doing it because of his pride, that she makes the final decision to work for him as one of the Undersiders rather than betraying them. Then she, and the audience, find out that Coil [[spoiler: has kidnapped a child and is drugging her in order to use her future prediction powers.]]

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* BaitTheDog: Taylor is initially so persuaded by Coil's cool PragmaticVillainy and his commitment to running the city better than it has been run before, even if he admits he's just doing it because of his pride, that she makes the final decision to work for him as one of the Undersiders rather than betraying them. Then she, and the audience, find out that Coil [[spoiler: has [[spoiler:has kidnapped a child and is drugging her in order to use her future prediction powers.]]



** Also played with as part of Worm's deconstruction/reconstruction of superhero archetypes. Rather than just personal training, powers/tech that grant AwesomenessByAnalysis, such as the software in Armsmaster's helmet or the powers of [[spoiler: Number Man, Contessa, Jack Slash, and the Harbinger clones]], can allow them to perform seemingly supernatural feats of strength, agility, and stamina.

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** Also played with as part of Worm's deconstruction/reconstruction of superhero archetypes. Rather than just personal training, powers/tech that grant AwesomenessByAnalysis, such as the software in Armsmaster's helmet or the powers of [[spoiler: Number [[spoiler:Number Man, Contessa, Jack Slash, and the Harbinger clones]], can allow them to perform seemingly supernatural feats of strength, agility, and stamina.



* HatesMySecretIdentity: Superhero Shadow Stalker sides with Emma in a fight with the person she has been bullying for the last few years, Taylor. Unbeknownst to Shadow Stalker, Taylor is actually Skitter, a supervillain she has fought in costume before, [[spoiler: and unbeknownst to Taylor, Shadow Stalker is actually her other bully, Emma's close friend Sophia, which is why Shadow Stalker takes the side she does.]]

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* HatesMySecretIdentity: Superhero Shadow Stalker sides with Emma in a fight with the person she has been bullying for the last few years, Taylor. Unbeknownst to Shadow Stalker, Taylor is actually Skitter, a supervillain she has fought in costume before, [[spoiler: and [[spoiler:and unbeknownst to Taylor, Shadow Stalker is actually her other bully, Emma's close friend Sophia, which is why Shadow Stalker takes the side she does.]]
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* HatesMySecretIdentity: Superhero Shadow Stalker sides with Emma in a fight with the person she has been bullying for the last few years, Taylor. Unbeknownst to Shadow Stalker, Taylor is actually Skitter, a supervillain she has fought in costume before, [[spoiler: and unbeknownst to Taylor, Shadow Stalker is actually her other bully, Emma's close friend Sophia, which is why Shadow Stalker takes the side she does.]]
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* AlienSpaceBats: ''Worm'' is set in a world that was originally our own, but diverged with the real world thirty years or so before the time the story was written due to people developing superpowers. "Our world" exists as an alternate universe that can be traveled to. However the existence of the city of Brockton Bay where most of the city is set, which does not exist in the real world, has led to a lot of WildMassGuessing about why it is there.
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** Brian teaches Taylor physical combat so she can be more useful at a close range without relying on her powers. It turns out to be helpful when she fights foes like Mannequin who can No-Sell a lot of what her insects can do.
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Dewicked trope


* BareYourMidriff: Taylor after Lisa forces her to buy and dress in new clothes.
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crosswicking a new trope





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* ForcedAddiction: After kidnapping Dinah Alcott, Coil has a doctor administer carefully selected drugs until Dinah will do whatever he asks in exchange for more "candy". He then pumps her for information from her precognition power, using disposable timelines to push her to her limits over and over again in finding out everything he can. For extra villain points, Dinah is just twelve years old.
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** Later it is revealed [[spoiler:during Scion’s interlude that Taylor has the Administrator shard]], meaning that her ‘secondary’ power is actually the primary one, and the bug control is [[spoiler:how the shard interpreted its function in this world through Taylor’s eyes]]. With that in mind, one has to wonder how many of the supposedly secondary powers some capes have are the actual power itself.
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* MagneticPlotDevice: Powers are granted by a passenger, which seems to be some kind of alien being with a will of its own that subtly drives superhumans to conflict with each other, explaining in part why most people with powers become superheroes or supervillains getting into conflict instead of just living normal lives. The other reason for this is societal pressure for people with powers to become heroes and initially treating "rogues", people who don't use their powers for fighting, as undesirable.
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Asskicking Leads To Leadership is the new name of the trope.


* BadassBystander: When Skitter is fighting Mannequin, a then-unnamed man runs over and helps drag away and smash his head. That took major guts to do. The guy later gets a [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority major rank]] in Skitter's organisation just because of it.

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* BadassBystander: When Skitter is fighting Mannequin, a then-unnamed man runs over and helps drag away and smash his head. That took major guts to do. The guy later gets a [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership major rank]] in Skitter's organisation just because of it.
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* SmokescreenCrime: Coil uses the Undersiders gang to rob a bank on a day the only available local heroes in Brockton Bay available were the teenaged Wards. With the Wards distracted and no other major heroes available to respond, Coil is able to complete his true objective -- kidnapping a young and powerful precognitive only he is aware of.
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* BaitTheDog: Taylor is initially so persuaded by Coil's cool PragmaticVillainy and his commitment to running the city better than it has been run before, even if he admits he's just doing it because of his pride, that she makes the final decision to work for him as one of the Undersiders rather than betraying them. Then she, and the audience, find out that Coil [[spoiler: has kidnapped a child and is drugging her in order to use her future prediction powers.]]
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* LiarRevealed: After the Leviathan battle, Armsmaster reveals to the Undersiders that the protagonist Taylor was only pretending to be on their side in order to betray them to the heroes. It turns out Tattletale already knew this, though, and thought correctly she could get her on their side for real anyway, though the other Undersiders feel appropriately shocked and betrayed.
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* CharlesAtlasSuperpower:
** DefiedTrope. During Brian's combat training with Taylor, he notes that training can help with fighting ability, but an enemy's greater strength or reach could still be insurmountable obstacle without resorting to weapons or superpowers.
** Also played with as part of Worm's deconstruction/reconstruction of superhero archetypes. Rather than just personal training, powers/tech that grant AwesomenessByAnalysis, such as the software in Armsmaster's helmet or the powers of [[spoiler: Number Man, Contessa, Jack Slash, and the Harbinger clones]], can allow them to perform seemingly supernatural feats of strength, agility, and stamina.
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Kill Em All was renamed Everybody Dies Ending due to misuse. Dewicking


* KillEmAll: The Endbringers' apparent ultimate goal. And [[spoiler:after Jack Slash hears he's going to cause the end of the world, he's delighted by it and actively aims to make it happen. This ultimately leads to him convincing Scion to take this trope to heart, although he would have done so eventually on his own.]]
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* BigBad: [[spoiler:Scion, the world's first superhero, is truthfully an alien EldritchAbomination that introduced superpowers to Earth as part of his species' life cycle, making him indirectly responsible for every major conflict in the story. The cycles usually end in the destruction of all life on the planets the entities inhabit, but the death of Scion's partner leaves him unable to complete the process and stranded without a purpose. Cauldron committed all of their atrocities in the hopes of stopping Scion when he inevitably tires of the superhero role he adopted to pass the time and decides to wipe out all life anyway, which happens when Jack Slash has a chance encounter with him upon being defeated and convinces him to kill everyone.]]

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* BigBad: [[spoiler:Scion, the world's first superhero, is truthfully an alien EldritchAbomination that introduced superpowers to Earth as part of his species' life cycle, making him indirectly responsible for every major conflict in the story. The cycles usually end in the destruction of all life on the planets the entities inhabit, but the death of Scion's partner leaves him unable to complete the process and stranded without a purpose. Cauldron committed all of their atrocities in the hopes of stopping Scion when he inevitably tires of the superhero role he adopted to pass the time and decides to wipe out all life anyway, which happens when Jack Slash has a chance encounter with him upon being defeated and convinces him to kill everyone.return to his vicious, primal roots.]]
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* BigBad: [[spoiler:Scion, the world's first superhero, is truthfully an EldritchAbomination that introduced superpowers to Earth as part of its species' life cycle, making him indirectly responsible for every major event in the story. While their life cycles usually end in the destruction of all life on the planets they inhabit, as well as every alternate version in the multiverse, the death of Scion's partner leaves him unable to complete the cycle and seriously unstable, as a chance meeting with the villain Jack Slash convinces him to speed up his omnicidal timetable and wipe out all life anyway.]]

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* BigBad: [[spoiler:Scion, the world's first superhero, is truthfully an alien EldritchAbomination that introduced superpowers to Earth as part of its his species' life cycle, making him indirectly responsible for every major event conflict in the story. While their life The cycles usually end in the destruction of all life on the planets they the entities inhabit, as well as every alternate version in the multiverse, but the death of Scion's partner leaves him unable to complete the cycle process and seriously unstable, as stranded without a chance meeting with purpose. Cauldron committed all of their atrocities in the villain Jack Slash convinces him hopes of stopping Scion when he inevitably tires of the superhero role he adopted to speed up his omnicidal timetable pass the time and decides to wipe out all life anyway.anyway, which happens when Jack Slash has a chance encounter with him upon being defeated and convinces him to kill everyone.]]

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