Line #7 Webcomic/ComboRangers


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/comborangers_2548.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Top (L-R): Tati, Luke and Lisa.\
3	Bottom (L-R): Ken, Fox and Kiko.]]
4
5	''Combo Rangers'' started out as a webcomic written by Brazilian author Fábio Yabu (who also created the ''WesternAnimation/SeaPrincesses'' series), first published in 1998 (thus being one of the genre's pioneers in Brazil). Initially an AffectionateParody of ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and {{Toku}} in general (though no pop culture outlet was safe), ''Combo Rangers'' steadily grew to become its own thing, while keeping true to its influence and comedy roots.
6
7	The story starts in [[CityOfAdventure Cidade]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment City]] (translated as Cityville back in the day), where five nine-year-old kids are drafted by a retired hero, the Mighty Combo, to fight the good fight against the invading aliens of the [[ToiletHumor Deskarga Empire]], led by the terrible General Pile and his army of monsters. As the children fight on, their bonds of friendship and sense of justice grow stronger, allowing them to defeat enemy after enemy and ultimately saving the world from destruction.
8
9	Months later, however, a new threat to mankind resurfaces in the form of Dr. Delirium and his elusive Master, who wish to use the people's fear for sinister purposes. Uncle Combo, as he's affectionately called by the kids, is then forced to bring the quintet (who had forgotten their adventures) back into action in the new phase of Combo Rangers, known as ''Combo Rangers Zero'' (1999-2000). New allies show up, enemies start presenting a bigger threat, and the heroes begin maturing with their new experiences.
10
11	By the third phase, ''Combo Rangers Revolution'' (2000-2001), the Rangers were living relatively peaceful lives as they entered their teenage years, when yet another threat looms from outer space, this time represented by Cardman, an evil wizard whose goal is to steal all the beauty on Earth. Eventually, however, the world is shaken by a series of natural disasters, spelling the Earth's impending Collapse... of which, unfortunately, readers never got to know the conclusion thanks to the season being LeftHanging with 14 episodes.
12
13	The Combo Rangers' adventures were a huge hit amongst Brazilian Internet users, back in its emerging era in the country during the turn of the 21st Century; so much, in fact, that while ''Revolution'' was rolling, they even got [[ComicBookAdaptation their own comic series]], published by JBC, which lasted 12 issues between 2001 and 2002 (as well as a three-issue miniseries based on the first three episodes of ''Revolution'' before that), each with their own self-contained story; a second series, published by Panini in 2003, was a little more mature (both in art and plot) and lasted 10 issues. Since then, the series lay pretty much dormant as Yabu shifted his focus to ''Sea Princesses'' and other personal projects, until he announced, late in 2012, a fundraising campaign for three brand-new ''Combo Rangers'' albums. The R$ 40,000 (about US $17,000 at the time) goal was met in just ''two weeks,'' which goes to show how fond are the memories of the Brazilian Net surfers who followed the Rangers more than ten years before. The first of these albums, ''We Are Heroes'', was released in the 16th Rio de Janeiro Biennial Book Festival, in September 2013, with the other two (''We Are Humans'' and ''We Are Equals'') coming out in the following years. The graphic novel trilogy and most of the print comics have been released digitally as well. The first graphic novel has been released in English through [=iTunes=] and Comixology, and is also available for free on [[https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/combo-rangers-we-are-heroes/list?title_no=296798 Webtoon]], with plans to release the other two there as well.
14
15	More details on the albums, and the series in general, can be found [[https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combo_Rangers here,]] in Portuguese.
16	----
17	!!''Combo Rangers'' provides examples of the following tropes:
18
19	* TheAce: Maya.
20	** Lisa inherited this from Maya in the ''A Dream of Ten Summers'' arc as [[AlternateSelf Revanche]].
21	* AchievementsInIgnorance: Fox pretending to be intelligent (complete with NerdGlasses) to save his teammates from a monster who drained their minds. He explains that he managed to pull it off by "saying a lot of stuff he didn't even know the meaning of."
22	* ActionGirl: Lisa, Tati and Maya. Fabi started out as a DarkActionGirl, then [[PutOnABus took a bus]] until she came back in the later issues of the Panini series.
23	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Ken for Tati.
24	** Maya was hinted to have feelings for Luke in the BadFuture he originally came from. The present Maya acknowledges he's pretty, but respects his feelings for Lisa.
25	* AllMythsAreTrue: Not only does Santa Claus exist, he's also a superhero!
26	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: Episode 16 of the original series saw the original Combo Base invaded and destroyed.
27	* AnimeHair: The Go Go Riders (the Rangers who protect the planet Toobaine) and, as of ''Revolution'', Fox and Ken, both of which got scaled back in the reboot.
28	* ArtEvolution: There's a reason why the original arc is called "Bolinha" (meaning "Little Ball") by fans. Lampshaded in the finale of ''Zero'':
29	--> '''Civilian:''' Who are you?
30	--> '''Lisa:''' Uh... the Yellow Combo Ranger.
31	--> '''Civilian:''' But you weren't this tall before! ''(imagines the Yellow Ranger's first appearance)''
32	--> '''Lisa:''' Yeah, we really stretch out at this age!
33	* AsianAndNerdy: Ken's original characterization. As time went on, the nerdy part was mostly ditched, though he still has a sharp brain, possibly only behind Lisa and Maya.
34	* AuthorAvatar: In the story, Yabu is the alter-ego of the '''Scarlet Defender Spectroseven!'''
35	** CreatorCameo: He started as an unassuming grocery owner. It's possible that his role got upgraded after the speculations on him being the White Combo Ranger got out of control.
36	* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:The entire core team following their HeroicSacrifice at the end of the first season, thanks to Lisa wishing to the Supernova Crystal that every bad thing that happened to them and the city was undone. Luke was another ressurrected Ranger, but in a different scenario altogether.]]
37	* BadFuture: In the timeline where Luke came from, [[spoiler:Lisa had died while shielding him from an attack by Deskarga troopers, so]] the Combo Rangers were defeated and General Pile could TakeOverTheWorld. He became an ActionSurvivor by joining an underground [[LaResistance resistance group]] led by Maya, and was later sent back in time to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong [[spoiler:(which he did by TakingTheBullet for Lisa before she could do the same for his present self)]].
38	* BookDumb: Fox [[{{Malaproper}} sticks out like a knife in the drawer]], as [[IdiotHero he himself would say]]. Kiko's profile says he's this too; however, unlike Fox, Kiko has human-level intelligence.
39	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Dr. Cooper, while he was Dr. Delirium. [[spoiler:Also Luke during his Black Combo Ranger phase.]]
40	* ByThePowerOfGreyskull: "It's Combo Time!"
41	* CaptainErsatz: Some of the other heroes Combo allied with in his golden days are these. [[Comicbook/GreenLantern Green Ring]] and [[Series/UltraSeven Spectroseven]] in particular stand out.
42	** Issue #9 of the JBC series features the Superchampion, who looks exactly like Silver Age Comicbook/{{Superman}} except with a C-shield rather than an S-shield. In fact, the whole issue is a tribute to the idealism of the Silver Age, with a handful of other ersatzes appearing.
43	* CelibateHero: Kiko, who thinks that getting a girlfriend is too much of a hassle because they eventually get too clingy and needy.
44	* CerebusSyndrome: The first season started as a quirky work, taking a level of serious storytelling towards the final episodes, with the Crystal Warriors presenting a more genuine threat than everything General Pile had tried before, combined. The stories still kept a humorous tone, but became more and more serious with time.
45	* CityOfAdventure: Cidade City. In grand {{Toku}} tradition, every planetary scale threat is represented by how much destruction can be wreaked upon the city. In fact, at the end of ''Zero'', it gets so bad that the city's still being rebuilt by the time ''Revolution'' rolls around.
46	* ClarkKenting: Since they were repowered, the Rangers ditched the helmets for colored visors. And no one figures out who they are unless they're told or manage to see it (like Anti-Combo did). Even Ken, who looks ''exactly the same'' thanks to his bangs.
47	** It gets ridiculous in a ''Revolution'' episode where Kiko leads the others in a speech against hate and intolerance. Partway through, they all remove their visors... and their families, who are watching them on TV, ''still can't put two and two together'', thinking they only ''look'' like their children. As if to [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] this, Ken is seen sheepishly looking to the side while everyone else takes off their visors.
48	* ClingyJealousGirl: Tati can be like this at her worst, especially concerning Maya, whom she thinks keeps putting the moves on Fox.
49	* ColorCodedSpeech: Every character has their own speech bubble color, [[TropesAreTools which does make it easy to follow offscreen dialogue]]. And yep, the Rangers' bubbles are their respective colors. [[spoiler:It's even used as a hint for the true identity of the Master in ''Zero''.]]
50	%%* ComesGreatResponsibility: And how.
51	* ComicBookTime: Averted! The Combo Rangers aged in real time (though we never saw their birthdays, with the exception of Ken's 16th in the 2006 series, and even that was ABirthdayNotABreak). They started out at 9 (1998), then in ''Zero'' they were 10-11 (1999-2000), and had turned 12 by the time ''Revolution'' stopped (2001). And, in one issue of the JBC series (2001-2002), Fox states he had recently turned 13.
52	%%* DarkerAndEdgier: The 2006 comics series published by Panini.
53	* {{Determinator}}: Throw whatever you want at the Combo Rangers. They won't go down. ''Ever.''
54	** They are this to such a degree that by [[ISurrenderSuckers giving up]], they confuse Último (who knew all their strategies and moves) in issue #5 of the JBC series.
55	%%* DumbIsGood: Fox could be the poster boy of the trope.
56	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: The "Collapse" arc in ''Revolution'' was supposed to be about this, but as the season went unfinished, we'll never know what happens afterwards (see also LeftHanging).
57	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Fabi truly cared for Dr. Delirium, to the point of silently crying every time the Master punished him. This is because he, too, did care enough for her to bring her out of the streets to live with him[[spoiler:, if only because she resembled his daughter, Maya.]]
58	%%* EverybodyLaughsEnding: Episode 8 and series finale of ''Zero''.
59	* EvilTwin: The BigBad of ''Zero'' turns out to be [[spoiler:an evil copy of Combo, created from the guilt he felt when the Rangers pulled off their HeroicSacrifice at the end of the original series.]]
60	* {{Expy}}: Lisa started as one to [[Manga/MagicKnightRayearth Fuu Hououji]] until the climax of the Black Combo Ranger arc in ''Zero'', where she became more and more her own character.
61	* EyesDoNotBelongThere: General Pile's lieutenant Carolho is a grey mass of eyes with arms and legs, who can throw his eyes at enemies. Every one of his evolutions (which started when he got into a teleporter with an ape monster and they got fused, ''[[Film/TheFly1986 The Fly]]''-style) retained this trait. Also the Deskarga footsoldiers, the Four-Eyed Men, [[ToiletHumor though don't ask us where the fourth eye is.]]
62	* EyesOutOfSight: Ken's eyes are covered by his bangs.
63	* FlyingBrick: The Combo Rangers became this after their repowering. Before that, they were just a regular tech-based {{Sentai}} with augmented abilities when in uniform.
64	* ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself: Issue #4 of the JBC series starts with the Combo Rangers at a cosplay contest. Fox has the [[SarcasmMode brilliant]] idea of entering as Red Combo Ranger. Thankfully for him (and his teammates), when he gets a distress call just as he's on stage, everybody thinks it's AllPartOfTheShow.
65	%%* FourFingeredHands
66	* HealingHands: Luke. Notable in that he can use this power even without transforming, and they ''weren't'' bestowed by the wizard Syros.
67	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:The Combo Rangers pull one off at the end of the original series to stop the Crystal Warriors and their HumongousMecha from destroying the world, by [[RammingAlwaysWorks ramming it]] with a Combomobile rigged to blow up.]]
68	* HourOfPower: Midnight from issue #4 of the JBC series.
69	* HumongousMecha: The Combotrons, which stopped appearing halfway through ''Zero'' after the Combo Rangers lost their powers.
70	* IWasQuiteALooker: The original Rainbow Girl went on to become [[spoiler:the kids' Geography teacher!]]
71	** Also, [[spoiler:Midnight. Spending about 30 years locked in an airplane will do that to you.]]
72	* IdiotHero: Fox. Dear God, Fox. He's a capable and competent team leader and hero. The problem is, that aside, he's about as intelligent as a brick.
73	* InTheNameOfTheMoon: Varies every time, after the MadLibsCatchPhrase below is said. The usual format is Fox (or 3-4 Rangers with one sentence at a time, finishing with whoever's on point - though it's usually Fox) saying something heroic along the lines of whatever plan the villain's carrying out, continuing with "How dare you [insert short line about what the bad guys are doing]? We are the Combo Rangers!", and finishing with Kiko going "And we're gonna [insert something about beating the villain up]!"
74	** This is spoofed in the first two issues of the JBC series, when the team does this intro and both times Luke points out he got left with nothing to say, and no room to pose in.
75	* InsufferableGenius: Maya won't let you forget that she's the prettiest and smartest girl around, ''and'' the best fighter too. Even though she has no superpowers. Exhibit A:
76	---> '''Luke:''' We met in my future! You became known as a great heroine, did you know?\
77	'''Maya:''' Hahahahaha! The Mighty Combo told me! But seriously, a girl as smart and pretty as I am just had to be a superheroine! One of these days I'll have my own website!\
78	'''Luke:''' ''([[FaceFault falling over]])'' [-I forgot I'm not supposed to praise her!-]
79	** Exhibit B:
80	---> '''Maya:''' ''(to Fabi)'' I can't forgive you for harming those poor humans, even though you're almost as pretty as me, something I thought impossible!\
81	'''Spectroseven:''' [-The very picture of modesty...-]\
82	'''Uncle Combo:''' [-You ain't seen nothing yet...-]
83	* KidHero: They started their careers when they were 9. It's implied to be something of a tradition for Combo Rangers.
84	* LeftHanging: The ''Revolution'' arc stopped halfway into the season, with only 14 episodes, due to the conflict with the printed publication and a major case of ScheduleSlip. Thanks to this, many a fan was left wondering how this season would end, considering that the then-running print comics were supposed to be side stories.
85	** WordOfGod says there was supposed to be a continuation to the Collapse arc, which would revolve around Luke.
86	* LegacyCharacter: There were three generations of Combo Rangers before the ones we know.
87	* LemonyNarrator: Depending on the silliness of the story.
88	* LukeIAmYourFather: Well, not for Luke, but [[spoiler:Dr. Delirium, TheDragon of the ''Zero'' season, is Maya's long-lost father, Dr. Paul Cooper.]]
89	* MadLibsCatchPhrase: Often directed from the Combo Rangers to whatever villain is in the scene, though sometimes the villain turns it back to them. Other heroes also get in on it occasionally. Also, the first line ''must'' be said off-scene.
90	-->'''A:''' Stop right there, [insert random insult here]!\
91	'''B:''' Who said that?
92	* MakeMyMonsterGrow: Possibly the most disgusting method available: have Fart, uh, ''fart'' at them, and up they go.
93	* {{Malaproper}}: Fox is a master at these.
94	* MoodWhiplash: The JBC series was quite prone to this, swinging between light-hearted and funny in one issue, to action-packed (but not without the idiosyncratic humor) in another, to a heartwarming tear-jerking tale in the next.
95	** That's far from the only example, though. The final episodes of the first and second seasons grew more and more serious in comparison to the lighter earlier episodes.
96	* MysteriousWaif: Luke is a male version.
97	* NinetiesAntiHero: The ironically-named Peacemaker.
98	* NonIndicativeName: ''Combo Rangers Zero'' is not a prequel series.
99	* OlderThanTheyLook: Chronologically speaking, Combo should be around his [=50s=]/[=60s=]; however, his superhuman physiology prevents him from physically aging any further than in his heyday in TheSixties.
100	* ParentalAbandonment: Tati's parents died shortly after she was born, so she was raised by her Aunt April.
101	* PerpetualPoverty: Became a RunningGag since the loss of the original Combo Base, and even harder in the JBC series, wherein Uncle Combo was shown to be constantly broke and trying to make ends meet. In fact, it's not until late in the Panini series that he stops boarding Spectroseven's base!
102	* PlanetOfHats: Yabusei, Yabu's homeworld, where everybody looks like him. Even the women.
103	* PowerIncontinence: The entire reason why the Mighty Combo retired from superheroics: while he was a SuperpowerLottery winner, these powers started to steadily cause harm to his body, to the point using them could kill him. This is why he decided to create the Combo Rangers, so he could still indirectly fight for justice.
104	* ThePowerOfLove: This is how Lisa manages to bring Luke back to life [[spoiler:after his second death (the one from the alternate future not counting)]].
105	** Luke later returns the favor to a heavily wounded Lisa.
106	* PrincelyYoungMan: Ken is a Prince Charming/Gentleman composite, but he's not too happy about it.
107	* ThePsychoRangers: The Crystal Warriors from the final episodes of the original series.
108	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After the Crystal Warriors destroy General Pile's plans and empire and his wife ditches him, Fart instantly jumps ship and leaves him alone.
109	%%* {{Sentai}}
110	* ShoutOut: They were especially bad about this in the first series, with various characters from different media popping up in cameos ([[Franchise/SailorMoon Sailor Venus]] as a TV reporter, for example), as well as a few other things, like the Combomobile's license plate being "Series/BeverlyHills90210". Not to mention the fact that Super Macacaloiro is a [[Franchise/DragonBall Super Saiyan]] pastiche.
111	** The team's first suit is clearly based on ''Series/DengekiSentaiChangeman''. They even have their take on the Power Bazooka.
112	** Ken's last name is Ozora, just like Change Pegasus, another blue ranger.
113	** Tati was raised by her Aunt April. And which month comes after April? [[Comicbook/SpiderMan May]]. They even look alike.
114	* SickeninglySweethearts: By default, this is how Tati's relationship with Fox works.
115	* SoulJar: [[spoiler:Before dying towards the end of the first season, Luke transferred his soul to a shard of the Supernova Crystal so that one day, he could be revived in his present body. This, coupled with [[ThePowerOfLove Lisa's feelings for him]], is how he is able to come back to life after the backlash of his depowering in ''Zero''.]]
116	* StatusQuoIsGod: Parodied in episode 13 of the original series. The original Geography teacher (who had been vampirized and killed a few episodes before) is replaced by her twin sister who, conveniently enough, also teaches Geography. Much to Fox's chagrin.
117	** WordOfGod says he wasn't satisfied with the whole [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer vampire arc]], so her death is never even mentioned again.
118	* StockSoundEffects: In the form of WrittenSoundEffect, the webcomics frequently culled onomatopoeiae from regular comics (like the BA-DOOM every time something exploded in season 1).
119	* StrictlyFormula: As far as a ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' parody could go, until story arcs were introduced.
120	* SuperSentaiStance: Averted at first, but more experimented with as the art evolved beyond the stubby kid bodies. Lampshaded when they first meet the Go Go Riders:
121	--> '''Fox:''' ''(laughing hard)'' These guys pose harder than us!
122	* ThemeNaming: The original Combotrons are named after operating systems:
123	** Red's and Yellow's are Unix distributions (Redhat and Linux, respectively);
124	** Green's and Pink's are codenames for Windows versions (Chicago - for Windows 95 - and Memphis - for Windows 98 - , respectively);
125	** Blue's and White's are pretty straightforward (Platform/MacOS and Windows, respectively).
126	* ToiletHumor: Plenty during the first season! But what would you expect from an alien invader who looks like a hulking piece of poo, with a helper who [[MakeMyMonsterGrow makes monsters grow]] by [[{{Fartillery}} farting]] on them?
127	* TranslationYes: In episode 19 of ''Zero'', Fart's lines are given captions. Even though he still uses PokemonSpeak, the captions are ridiculously long.
128	* WaxingLyrical: '''Everyone''' through most of episode 4 of ''Revolution'', due to it revolving around music. Its title is even "[[Music/DonMcLean The Day the Music Died]]"!

Context Webcomic / ComboRangers