Line #16 ComicBook/WildCards


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/695122_wild_cards__001.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: His superpowers are awesome if you're a creepy perv.]]
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4	Author Daniel Abraham penned a 2008 six-issue ''Literature/WildCards'' comics limited series, published by Dabel Brothers Productions. The first issue of the series was issued simultaneously with two variant covers, and the sixth and final issue was later published by Dynamic Comics. Dynamic then collected the miniseries as a single hardcover graphic novel in early 2011; this second series was called ''Creator/GeorgeRRMartin's Wild Cards: The Hard Call''.
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6	It is an original story and not an adaptation of any of the short stories.
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8	----
9	!!This story contains the following tropes:
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11	* AnyoneCanDie: Welcome to ''Wild Cards''!
12	* ArtifactOfDoom: A non-magical version. Jetboy's jacket, used by Kira as a prop in her science fair project, had dormant samples of Wild Card virus on it.
13	* BoomerangBigot: Combined with FreudianExcuse. The BigBad [[spoiler: Fallon]] was a former Joker who took the Trump and was cured of his condition, so he now wants to share it with all other Jokers.
14	* BrokenAce: A literal case with the Sleeper. The Sleeper is an Ace some of the time, a Joker other times, and things in-between whenever he goes to sleep. Every time he sleeps there's a chance he'll die or turn into a non-viable Joker form. That's why he insists on trying to stay up as long as possible, resorting to drugs if necessary.
15	* BrokenAesop: The "cured" Jokers who survive the release of Trump are ecstatic about it and have no regrets about the life they're leaving behind. The dead ones, of course, have no opinion.
16	* CursedWithAwesome: Deconstructed. Alex has superpowers but they came at the cost of his brother's life and the life of almost everyone else at his school. They also have nasty downsides like not being able to touch electrical items without overloading and destroying them. When he wants to get rid of his electricity-based superpowers by taking the Trump, he's considered insane for this as it could potentially kill him.
17	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[spoiler: Fallon's]] desire to "cure" his fellow Jokers is something which can easily be read as an allegory to some gays attempt to force others into conversion therapy.
18	* FantasticRacism: Jokers are subject to severe social stigma due to the fact they're disfigured by their condition. The "social worker" who visits the ones created by their condition encourages them to take the Trump as a result. This, despite the fact it could potentially kill them.
19	* {{Intangibility}}: The killer, [[spoiler:that is, Fallon]] gained this power.
20	* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Kira's act of sprouting wings indicates she was becoming a butterfly.]]
21	* JumpedOffTheSlipperySlope: [[spoiler:Fallon goes from encouraging Jokers to take the Trump despite the possibility of killing them to outright engaging in terrorist attacks with it, killing dozens of Jokers.]]
22	* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler:Fallon believes life as a Joker is worse than potential death taking the cure.]]
23	* LogicalWeakness: Alex's powers make him short out anything electrical he tries to use, and his attempt to use a landline phone is drowned out by interference. This might go away with practice.
24	* LostAesop: The story is about Jokers and whether it's worth it to transform back into a human being with the sometimes lethal Trump virus. What it's trying to say about beauty, society, and medical risks is unclear.
25	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Simon.]]
26	* ShockAndAwe: Alex gains the ability to project red lightning.
27	* SociopathicHero: Simon doesn't care about the fact the people in his high school were all killed by the Wild Card outbreak and is ectastic about his new superpowers. [[spoiler: He gets killed in the book soon after.]]
28	** The Sleeper himself, to a lesser extent.
29	* {{Teleportation}}: Simon gains the power to teleport from one mirror to another.
30	* WrongGenreSavvy:
31	** Putting your faith in profoundly drug-addicted person isn't likely to have the results you're looking for.
32	** Defense may be less flashy than offense, but it has the benefit of keeping you, you know, ''alive''.

Context ComicBook / WildCards