Line #25 Literature/DominoLady


1	[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/domino_lady_5b.jpg]]
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3	The Domino Lady was a masked pulp heroine who first appeared in the May 1936 issue of ''Saucy Romantic Adventures''. All of her stories were published under the house name "Lars Anderson" owned by the publisher, Fiction Magazines. The author's real identity is unknown, although it has been suggested it was a well-known writer. New short stories and a comic book featuring The Domino Lady are currently being published by Moonstone Books.
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5	The Domino Lady is really University of California, Berkeley-educated socialite Ellen Patrick. When her father, District Attorney Owen Patrick, is murdered she puts on a domino mask and a backless white dress to avenge him. She would arm herself with a .45 pistol and a syringe full of knockout serum, but often her best weapon was her beauty, which often distracted and entranced opponents, or at the very least led them to underestimate her, allowing her to outwit them. Such wiles rarely worked upon her female adversaries, however.
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7	She steals from her targets, donating most of the profits to charity after deducting her cut, and leaves a calling card with the words "Compliments of the Domino Lady".
8	----
9	!!The Domino Lady stories contain examples of:
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11	* ActionGirl: Ellen Patrick, a.k.a. the Domino Lady.
12	* AllWomenLoveShoes: As a leading proponent of CombatStilettos, Ellen is ''very'' fond of her collection of high-heel shoes.
13	* AnimalAssassin: In the Eros Comix miniseries, a mobster and a rogue paleontologist use a ''deinonychus'' [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast controlled by music]] to destroy their enemies.
14	* AutoErotica: In the Eros Comix miniseries, Domino Lady and Det. Rob Wyatt start having sex in the back of Ellen's limousine when they are effected by the MindControlMusic. Their liaison is cut short when Delglyn drives the car off a bridge and into the river.
15	* BathroomBreakOut: In "Target: Domino Lady" in ''Domino Lady: Sex as a Weapon'', Ellen fakes emotional distress as an excuse to go to the bathroom where she changes to her alter ego and sneaks out the bathroom window.
16	* TheBeard: Ellen's SecretKeeper Lulu Chambers is married to gay movie director who is in a relationship with his favourite leading man. Lulu gets a rich and glamorous lifestyle, while her husband gets cover for his sexuality, which would be professional doom in the 1930s if made public.
17	* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: In "Target: Domino Lady" in ''Domino Lady: Sex as a Weapon'', the Domino Lady uses her .22 automatic to shoot a gun out of gangster Miles Prince's hand in order to save Inspector Michael [=McCarty=].
18	* CallingCard: The Domino Lady leaves behind a literal one: a black card with white writing reading "Compliments of the Domino Lady".
19	* CargoEnvy: An anthology of short stories had Domino Lady team up with ComicBook/{{Airboy}}. At the end, she leaves a lipstick mark on [[CoolPlane Birdy]] and Airboy remarks that for the first time, he's actually envious of his plane.
20	* ClearMyName: In "Target: Domino Lady" in ''Domino Lady: Sex as a Weapon'', gangsters frame the Domino Lady for murder and she has to clear her name.
21	** Ditto in ''The Domino Lady's Double'', the last of the original six stories, where the corrupt party bosses do the same.
22	* CombatStilettos: Domino Lady could be the poster girl for this trope.
23	* DeathByOriginStory: It is the murder of her father, crusading D.A. Owen Patrick, that inspires Ellen to take up the identity of Domino Lady.
24	* DestinationDefenestration: In the Eros Comix miniseries, Domino Lady knocks the crime boss Lester Musgrove out of a window in the radio station atop a skyscraper.
25	* DominoMask: Forms part of Domino Lady's costume.
26	* EthicalSlut: Moonstone Books' version of the Domino Lady tends to fall under this trope. The character is quite unapologetic about her many on-panel and off-panel liaisons, but she draws the line at sleeping with men who are involved with someone else.
27	* FriendOnTheForce: Det. "Mad Dog" Morgan Verani provides Domino Lady with details of cases he thinks she would be interested in.
28	* FullFrontalAssault: The Eros Comix version of ''Literature/DominoLady'' would often suffer extreme ClothingDamage that would result in her fighting the villains in nothing more than her DominoMask.
29	* FurBikini: In ''Domino Lady's Jungle Adventure'', Ellen's evening gown is ruined in a plane crash and subsequent trek through the jungle, so she skins a leopard that had tried to kill her a creates a fur bikini from its pelt.
30	* GuileHero: Ellen was just as likely to use her allure and quick wit as her pistol and knockout serum to defeat the bad guys.
31	* HeroicSeductress: Ellen is just as likely to use her knockout figure and talents in the bedroom to uncover information and distract bad guys as she she is to use her .45 or her syringe of knockout drug.
32	* HighHeelPower: Ellen uses sex appeal as one of her main weapons, and her high-heeled shoes are as much a part of her IconicOutfit as her evening gown slit to the hip.
33	* ImpossiblyLowNeckline: DependingOnTheArtist, Domino Lady's signature white gown can be this. The original pulp stories specify the gown is backless, and some artists have taken this to mean strapless as well. Some artists have drawn the neckline so low it would be impossible for her to move, let alone run or fight, without popping out.
34	* InstantSedation: Whatever drug it is Domino lady keeps in her syringe, it seems to have a near instantaneous effect.
35	* JustLikeRobinHood: Ellen steals ill-gotten loot from her targets, deducts enough to cover her lifestyle, and donates the rest to charity.
36	* KarmicThief: Domino Lady steals from her targets, who are all high-profile underworld figures, [[JustLikeRobinHood donating most of the profits to charity]] after deducting her cut, and leaves a CallingCard with the words "Compliments of the Domino Lady".
37	* KickChick: Domino Lady's hand-to-hand combat style primarily involves high kicks; which show off her legs through her slit-to-the-hip gown. This is even more emphasised in her comic book incarnation.
38	* LittleBlackDress: In the first three stories, Domino wears one of these with a white cape, reversing the colors into their iconic form in the fourth story, ''Emeralds Aboard''
39	* MileHighClub: In ''Domino Lady's Jungle Adventure'' #3, Domino Lady and a [[DefectorFromDecadence defector from the Italian army]] finally consummate their relationship in the cockpit of a plane flying on autopilot.
40	* MindControlMusic: In the Eros Comix miniseries, the villains learn that the flute the natives use to control the dinosaurs can also be used to control the natives, and use it to take control of the tribe and set themselves up as kings.
41	* MostCommonSuperpower: Domino Lady is notably well-endowed, with much text devoted to how her sheer white gown stretches across her ample bust.
42	* MurderousThighs: In ''Domino Lady's Jungle Adventure'' #3, Domino Lady escapes from an Italian army camp in Ethiopia by wrapping her legs around Mussolini's neck and threatening to snap it.
43	* MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast: In the first miniseries from Eros Comix, the villains discover a tribe of Indians in South America who can control dinosaurs with a flute. The villains learn the secret of the flute and bring a ''deinonychus'' back to America with them to use as an AnimalAssassin.
44	* NonPoweredCostumedHero
45	* ProtoSuperhero: One of very few female examples.
46	* RuthlessModernPirates: In "Masks of Madness" in ''Domino Lady: Sex as a Weapon'', the Domino Lady teams up with ComicStrip/ThePhantom to take down a gang of modern pirates.
47	* SecretIdentity: Ellen maintains a cover as a brainless socialite.
48	* SecretKeeper: In the comics, Ellen's friend Lulu Chambers serves this role for her.
49	* ShowSomeLeg: Ellen often used her stunning beauty to distract her foes.
50	* StockingFiller: Domino Lady's costume includes stockings (and apparently [[VaporWear no other underwear]]). She often had a small automatic holstered in her garter.
51	* StrippingSnag: In the Eros Comic miniseries, Ellen has to jump up a broken staircase to escape a dinosaur. As she jumps, her already damaged gown snags on the staircase and is ripped off.
52	* SuperheroPackingHeat: Domino Lady carried either a .45 or a .22 automatic depending on the situation.
53	* TwoFistedTales
54	* UndercoverModel: In the ''Domino Lady's Threesome'' comic, Domino Lady goes undercover as a performer in a burlesque show to learn why some dancers have mysteriously vanished.
55	* UnorthodoxHolstering: Domino Lady often has a small automatic holstered in her garter.
56	* VaporWear: Much description is lavished on how Domino Lady's sheer white gown clings to her body with nothing underneath it.
57	* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys: Domino Lady confiscates funds from her criminal targets to pay for her crime-fighting.
58	* WithMyHandsTied: In ''Domino Lady's Jungle Adventure'' # 3, Domino Lady is shackled to a wall but manages to take Mussolini hostage by wrapping her MurderousThighs around his neck.

Context Literature / DominoLady