History YMMV / CityOfHeroes

* {{Alt-itis}}: With all the power and costume options, it's not unusual for one person to have 20 or more characters.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: ''Subverted'', Paragon City is in Rhode Island but does not resemble any part of it, partially because of early super heroes, the Rikti War, and being built on the sunken city of Oranbega. Likewise the Rogue Islands are an archipelago in the Atlantic [[spoiler: that is actually part of an ancient magic island known as Mu]].
* BrokenBase: {{Munchkin}}s and [[TheRoleplayer roleplayers]] each look down on each other as the nerdier way to play the game.

* CompleteMonster: Westin Phipps definitely qualifies for this title and arguably anyone who gleefully takes on his missions.

* DemonicSpiders: The Malta Group have been one of the most-loathed enemy groups in the game since they first appeared, generally having the right abilities to eventually hose ''any'' PC trying to fight them.
** While Malta are annoying, the Knives of Artemis are much more deserving of this. Knives can see through stealth, can easily keep player characters stunned permanently, and they stack Caltrops to a ridiculous level, ensuring that most players can barely move while taking damage. Unless there's a character on the team with Speed Boost to free others from Caltrops, teamwipes happen on every single Knives of Artemis mission. Fortunately there aren't that many. (You can save yourself through use of flight. And, if you have the team teleport power, you can teleport all your teammates in range to a safer spot.)
*** Historically, players have given the role to the Rikti (when they first started invading and everyone panicked because they were showing up everywhere, only to calm down once they realized they weren't so bad once you became powerful enough), the Malta ([[ManaDrain Sappers]] used to be much more plentiful than they are now, and their spawn rates were decreased as a result of player [[strike:complaints]] feedback), and the Rularuu (which have ridiculously powerful and accurate powers and are extremely hard to kill, but thankfully only show up in [[ThatOneLevel Those Four Zones]] that are entirely optional).

* MemeticBadass: Blue Steel is responsible for so many DeusExMachina rescues in ''CityOfVillains'' that fans hail him as a Super Super Hero. He has a fact list similar to "Chuck Norris" facts. Until recently, his shield-based power set was impossible to show in game, making him even more awesome.

* MemeticMutation: Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls.

* MoralEventHorizon: Villain alignment missions (the ones which cement your alignment as villain after you have done ten morality missions with the villain choices) generally feel like you are crossing one of these. As they should.

*** [[{{The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized}} War Dog]]'s story arc provides [[{{La Resistance}} Resistance]] characters with unparalleled opportunities to [[{{Jump Off The Slippery Slope}} jump off the slippery slope]]. In one mission, he sends the PC to [[spoiler:kidnap and threaten the family of a PPD officer War Dog is interrogating]]. After [[spoiler:the cop sings like a canary]], War Dog [[spoiler:kills him, and orders the PC to kill his family]]. Later on, War Dog lets the PC in on his master plan: [[spoiler:to set off [[{{Nuke Em}} a neutron bomb]] in the heart of the city, in a gambit to destabilize Tyrant's regime]].

* ParanoiaFuel: When you idle in the game by civilians, sometimes they'll talk about your exploits. Nemesis is fond of using Automatons that perfectly resemble normal people. If you've encountered Nemesis troops lately, you might hear a comment like this:

* ThatOneBoss: Which boss is That One depends on the PC's powers -- Malta Gunslingers and Carnie Master Illusionists tend to be much-hated.

* UnfortunateImplications: The "Cure Lost" mission of the Midnighter arc gives you the ability to make the heavily-mutated Lost normal humans again. Unfortunately, due to the random nature of the swap from Lost character to "citizen" character, this sometimes involves turning black people into white ones. [[PlayingWithaTrope And White to Black.]]

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[AnIcePerson Polar Shift]], a young hero who ends up going crazy after discovering a Nemesis plot to replace other heroes with automatons; she begins to believe that anyone might be a Nemesis automaton and ends up blowing up a Longbow base full of innocent people. Eventually, she becomes a full villain who believes that the world is so corrupt it has to be destroyed.

* FandomRivalry: ''ChampionsOnline'' is made by the ScapegoatCreator of this game, and has a lot of pretty blatant attempts to steal players from it. The results are [[{{Understatement}} not pretty]].

** Playing as a villain especially, there will be times when you are this.

* LoveItOrHateIt: Sometimes seems this way, you see people either gushing over it or complaining about it for ''the exact same reasons''.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: ''Subverted'', Paragon City is in Rhode Island but does not resemble any part of it, partially because of early super heroes, the Rikti War, and being built on the sunken city of Oranbega. Likewise the Rouge Islands are an archipelago in the Atlantic [[spoiler: that is actually part of an ancient magic island known as Mu]]

** Metronome, the [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetorian]] [[spoiler:Clockwork King]]. He has no physical body. You can't kill him, because [[{{Our Ghosts Are Different}} he's already dead]]. He can possess any robot by [[{{Psychic Powers}} telekinetically]] rewriting the operating system on its hard drive (which he knows how to do because [[spoiler:he helped Anti-Matter design them]]). You know, those [[{{Super Powered Robot Buddy}} robots]] that Praetoria uses for [[{{Robot Meter Maids}} everything]]. Throw a stick and you'll hit three of them, and now every single one of them could, at any time, suddenly drop what it's doing, turn around, and try to murder you. He's not just [[{{Haunted Technology}} a ghost in the machine]], but a ghost in any machine, in every machine. And since [[spoiler:Anti-Matter murdered him]], and Penelope Yin [[{{Stalker With A Crush}} spurned his affections]], he's [[{{Roaring Rampage Of Revenge}} angry]].

* {{Paranoia Fuel}}: Metronome, the [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetorian]] [[spoiler:Clockwork King]]. He has no physical body. You can't kill him, because [[{{Our Ghosts Are Different}} he's already dead]]. He can possess any robot by [[{{Psychic Powers}} telekinetically]] rewriting the operating system on its hard drive (which he knows how to do because [[spoiler:he helped Anti-Matter design them]]). You know, those [[{{Super Powered Robot Buddy}} robots]] that Praetoria uses for [[{{Robot Meter Maids}} everything]]. Throw a stick and you'll hit three of them, and now every single one of them could, at any time, suddenly drop what it's doing, turn around, and try to murder you. He's not just [[{{Haunted Technology}} a ghost in the machine]], but a ghost in any machine, in every machine. And since [[spoiler:Anti-Matter murdered him]], and Penelope Yin [[{{Stalker With A Crush}} spurned his affections]], he's [[{{Roaring Rampage Of Revenge}} angry]].

** [[{{Big Bad}} Tyrant]] and his [[{{The Dragon}} Praetors]]. During the war against Hamidon, Tyrant [[spoiler:stood by and let everyone in the world who refused to submit to his rule perish]]. Now he's building an army specifically to [[spoiler:hunt down and murder every single super-powered being on every other [[{{Mirror Universe}} alternate Earth]], so he can conquer them all]]. Mother Mayhem runs a mental asylum devoted to training Praetorian psychics as "Seers," thought-police who track down and apprehend any "thought criminals," so that "Mother" can "rehabilitate" them. But [[spoiler:the Seers aren't volunteers]], and that's actually [[spoiler:the '''secondary''' purpose of the Seer Network; the primary purpose is to provide "Mother" with psychics to [[{{Vampiric Draining}} feed on]], prolonging her own life and expanding her personal power]]. And those "thought criminals" wind up as [[spoiler:[[{{Playing With Syringes}} guinea pigs]]]] for Neuron's [[spoiler:bio-weapon experiments]], as does [[spoiler:pretty much anyone else he wants, even a "hero cop" from the PPD]]. Chimera's [[{{Secret Police}} secret police]] and [[{{Career Killer}} assassins]] round up any dissidents that the Seer Network misses, and his relationship with Belladonna is [[spoiler:basically what happens when {{Batman}} murders the Graysons so he can take Dick under his wing as Robin]]. Marauder and Dominatrix [[spoiler:secretly supply the Destroyers with [[{{Psycho Serum}} Fixadine]], artificially creating a threat to public safety that gives Tyrant an excuse for his totalitarian regime]]. Anti-Matter might be the lone exception, as his missions involve the PC preventing a staggering loss of life '''against''' the wishes of the other Praetors. But even he [[spoiler:murdered the man who helped him create the Clockworks, [[{{Nice Job Breaking It Hero}} inadvertently unleashing]] the [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetorian]] Clockwork King, [[{{One Winged Angel}} "Metronome,"]] upon the world]]. There are "good" and "evil" people among both the Loyalists and the Resistance, but the Emperor and his Praetors themselves are unambiguously evil.

** The exact opposite happened to the NPC hero, Fusionette, and owner of the MAGI vault, Azuria. Their incompetence has been played up to ridiculousness.

* CharacterAlignment: Depends heavily on the individual character. Here are some guidelines though:
** [[TheCape Heroes]]: LawfulGood or NeutralGood
** [[VigilanteMan Vigilantes]]: NeutralGood, TrueNeutral or NeutralEvil
** [[SuperVillain Villains]]: ChaoticEvil or LawfulEvil
** [[NobleDemon Rogues]]: NeutralEvil or ChaoticNeutral
*** And for Praetorians...
** [[IDidWhatIHadToDo Responsibility Loyalists]]: LawfulNeutral or LawfulGood
** [[GloryHound Power Loyalists]]: LawfulEvil
** [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified Resistance Wardens]]: NeutralGood or ChaoticGood
** [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Resistance Crusaders]]: ChaoticNeutral or ChaoticEvil.

* UnpleasableFanbase: Like just about every other {{MMORPG}}, players will complain about everything.
** Emphasis on ''everything''. More ludicrous examples include a universal experience increase/death penalty decrease, the ability to customize your own weapons, the ability to make your own ''missions,'' and the fact that you have to pay money to play the game. As a rule, whenever there is a major announcement, there will be [[strike:rioting]] cries of "[[DoomyDoomsOfDoom DOOOOOOM]]!"
*** ...basically, at least half of the fanbase is self-aware about it. The forumgoers to try to be more [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} eccentric]] than obnoxious.

** [[VigilanteMan Vigilantes]]: ChaoticGood or ChaoticNeutral

*** {{Most Triumphant Example}}: [[{{The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized}} War Dog]]'s story arc, which provides [[{{La Resistance}} Resistance]] characters with unprecedented opportunity to [[{{Jump Off The Slippery Slope}} jump off the slippery slope]]. In one mission, he sends the PC to [[spoiler:kidnap and threaten the family of a PPD officer War Dog is interrogating]]. After [[spoiler:the cop sings like a canary]], War Dog [[spoiler:kills him, and orders the PC to kill his family]]. Later on, War Dog lets the PC in on his master plan: [[spoiler:to set off [[{{Nuke Em}} a neutron bomb]] in the heart of the city, in a gambit to destabilize Tyrant's regime]].

* MoralEventHorizon: The [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters Crusader Rebels of Praetoria]] are a good example of what happens when a WellIntentionedExtremist goes ''[[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope waay]]'' over the line. And these guys are supposed to be working for ''the [[LaResistance traditionally]] morally superior faction''.
** Villain alignment missions (the ones which cement your alignment as villain after you have done ten morality missions with the villain choices) generally feel like you are crossing one of these. As they should.

** [[{{The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized}} War Dog]]'s story arc provides [[{{La Resistance}} Resistance]] characters with ample opportunity to [[{{Jump Off The Slippery Slope}} jump off the slippery slope]]. In one mission, he sends the PC to [[spoiler:kidnap and threaten the family of a PPD officer War Dog is interrogating]]. After [[spoiler:the cop sings like a canary]], War Dog [[spoiler:kills him, and orders the PC to kill his family]]. Later on, War Dog lets the PC in on his master plan: [[spoiler:to set off [[{{Nuke Em}} a neutron bomb]] in the heart of the city, in a gambit to destabilize Tyrant's regime]].

** Maelstrom's transition from "Hero" to "Vigilante," when he turned to his only friend in the world and shot him in the face, just to improve his own bargaining position with Tyrant.

** [[{{Big Bad}} Tyrant]] and his [[{{The Dragon}} Praetors]]. During the war against Hamidon, Tyrant [[spoiler:let everyone in the world who refused to submit to his rule perish]]. Now he's building an army specifically to [[spoiler:hunt down and murder every single super-powered being on every other [[{{Mirror Universe}} alternate Earth]], so he can conquer them all]]. Mother Mayhem runs a mental asylum devoted to training Praetorian psychics as "Seers," thought-police who track down and apprehend any "thought criminals," so that "Mother" can "rehabilitate" them. But [[spoiler:the Seers aren't volunteers]], and that's actually [[spoiler:the '''secondary''' purpose of the Seer Network; the primary purpose is to provide "Mother" with psychics to [[{{Vampiric Draining}} feed on]], prolonging her own life and expanding her personal power]]. And those "thought criminals" wind up as [[spoiler:[[{{Playing With Syringes}} guinea pigs]]]] for Neuron's [[spoiler:bio-weapon experiments]], as does [[spoiler:pretty much anyone else he wants, even a "hero cop" from the PPD]]. Chimera's [[{{Secret Police}} secret police]] and [[{{Career Killer}} assassins]] round up any dissidents that the Seer Network misses, and his relationship with Belladonna is [[spoiler:basically what happens when {{Batman}} murders the Graysons so he can take Dick under his wing as Robin]]. Marauder and Dominatrix [[spoiler:secretly supply the Destroyers with [[{{Psycho Serum}} Fixadine]], artificially creating a threat to public safety that gives Tyrant an excuse for his totalitarian regime]]. Anti-Matter might be the lone exception, as his missions involve the PC preventing a staggering loss of life '''against''' the wishes of the other Praetors. But even he [[spoiler:murdered the man who helped him create the Clockworks, [[{{Nice Job Breaking It Hero}} inadvertently unleashing]] the [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetorian]] Clockwork King, [[{{One Winged Angel}} "Metronome,"]] upon the world]]. There are "good" and "evil" people among both the Loyalists and the Resistance, but the Emperor and his Praetors themselves are unambiguously evil.

** [[{{Big Bad}} Tyrant]] and his [[{{The Dragon}} Praetors]]. During the war against Hamidon, Tyrant [[spoiler:let everyone in the world who refused to submit to his rule perish]]. Now he's building an army specifically to [[spoiler:hunt down and murder every single super-powered being on every other [[{{Mirror Universe}} alternate Earth]], so he can conquer them all]]. Mother Mayhem runs a mental asylum devoted to training Praetorian psychics as "Seers," thought-police who track down and apprehend any "thought criminals," so that "Mother" can "rehabilitate" them. But [[spoiler:the Seers aren't volunteers]], and that's actually [[spoiler:the '''secondary''' purpose of the Seer Network; the primary purpose is to provide "Mother" with psychics to [[{{Vampiric Draining}} feed on]], prolonging her own life and expanding her personal power]]. And those "thought criminals" wind up as [[spoiler:[[{{Playing With Syringes}} guinea pigs]] for Neuron's bio-weapon experiments]]. Chimera's [[{{Secret Police}} secret police]] and [[{{Career Killer}} assassins]] round up any dissidents that the Seer Network misses, and his relationship with Belladonna is [[spoiler:basically what happens when {{Batman}} murders the Graysons so he can take Dick under his wing as Robin]]. Marauder and Dominatrix [[spoiler:secretly supply the Destroyers with [[{{Psycho Serum}} Fixadine]], artificially creating a threat to public safety that gives Tyrant an excuse for his totalitarian regime]]. Anti-Matter might be the lone exception, as his missions involve the PC preventing a staggering loss of life '''against''' the wishes of the other Praetors. But even he [[spoiler:murdered the man who helped him create the Clockworks, [[{{Nice Job Breaking It Hero}} inadvertently unleashing]] the [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetorian]] Clockwork King, [[{{One Winged Angel}} "Metronome,"]] upon the world]]. There are "good" and "evil" people among both the Loyalists and the Resistance, but the Emperor and his Praetors themselves are unambiguously evil.

** [[{{Big Bad}} Tyrant]] and his [[{{The Dragon}} Praetors]]. During the war against Hamidon, Tyrant [[spoiler:let everyone in the world who refused to submit to his rule perish]]. Now he's building an army specifically to [[spoiler:hunt down and murder every single super-powered being on every other [[{{Mirror Universe}} alternate Earth]], so he can conquer them all]]. Mother Mayhem runs a mental asylum devoted to training Praetorian psychics as "Seers," thought-police who track down and apprehend any "thought criminals," so that "Mother" can "rehabilitate" them. But [[spoiler:the Seers aren't volunteers]], and that's actually [[spoiler:the '''secondary''' purpose of the Seer Network; the primary purpose is to provide "Mother" with psychics to [[{{Vampiric Draining}} feed on]], prolonging her own life and expanding her personal power]]. And those "thought criminals" wind up as [[spoiler:[[{{Playing With Syringes}} guinea pigs]] for Neuron's bio-weapon experiments]]. Chimera's [[{{Secret Police}} secret police]] and [[{{Career Killer}} assassins]] round up any dissidents that the Seer Network misses, and his relationship with Belladonna is [[spoiler:basically what happens when {{Batman}} murders the Graysons so he can take Dick under his wing as Robin]]. Marauder and Dominatrix [[spoiler:secretly supply the Destroyers with [[{{Psycho Serum}} Fixadine]], artificially creating a threat to public safety that gives Tyrant an excuse for his totalitarian regime]]. Anti-Matter might be the lone exception, as his missions involve the PC preventing a staggering loss of life '''against''' the wishes of the other Praetors. But even he [[spoiler:murdered the man who helped him create the Clockworks, inadvertently unleashing the [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetorian]] Clockwork King, "Metronome," upon the world]]. There are "good" and "evil" people among both the Loyalists and the Resistance, but the Emperor and his Praetors themselves are unambiguously evil.

** [[{{Big Bad}} Tyrant]] and his [[{{The Dragon}} Praetors]]. Mother Mayhem runs a mental asylum devoted to training Praetorian psychics as "Seers," thought-police who track down and apprehend any "thought criminals," so that "Mother" can "rehabilitate" them. But [[spoiler:the Seers aren't volunteers]], and that's actually [[spoiler:the '''secondary''' purpose of the Seer Network; the primary purpose is to provide "Mother" with psychics to [[{{Vampiric Draining}} feed on]], prolonging her own life and expanding her personal power]]. And those "thought criminals" wind up as [[spoiler:[[{{Playing With Syringes}} guinea pigs]] for Neuron's bio-weapon experiments]]. Chimera's [[{{Secret Police}} secret police]] and [[{{Career Killer}} assassins]] round up any dissidents that the Seer Network misses, and his relationship with Belladonna is [[spoiler:basically what happens when {{Batman}} murders the Graysons so he can take Dick under his wing as Robin]]. Marauder and Dominatrix [[spoiler:secretly supply the Destroyers with [[{{Psycho Serum}} Fixadine]], artificially creating a threat to public safety that gives Tyrant an excuse for his totalitarian regime]]. Anti-Matter might be the lone exception, as his missions involve the PC preventing a staggering loss of life '''against''' the wishes of the other Praetors. But even he [[spoiler:murdered the man who helped him create the Clockworks, inadvertently unleashing the [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetorian]] Clockwork King, "Metronome," upon the world]]. There are "good" and "evil" people among both the Loyalists and the Resistance, but the Emperor and his Praetors themselves are unambiguously evil.

** To a lesser, much more subtle, and much more awesome extent, you have Praetor Tilman, AKA Mother Mayhem. Who runs a mental asylum devoted to turning people who commit thought crimes into orderly members of society, with a secondary objective to 'recruit' and train psychics to turn them into Seers, who detect these thought crimes and very kindly give up any aspirations they may have in order to serve Praetoria. You 'recruit' at least one psychic in every single one of her missions, mostly as a side benefit.