In this retelling of the classic A Christmas Carol, the ghosts of Donald Trump (Peter Shukoff), J.P. Morgan (Lloyd Ahlquist), Kanye West (DeStorm Powers), and The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come (Peter Shukoff) visit Ebenezer Scrooge (Zach Sherwin) on Christmas Eve and convince him to change his miserly ways.
TROPES
- All-Loving Hero: At the end, Scrooge vows to be “a friend to all men.”
- Anachronism Stew: J.P. Morgan’s the Ghost of "Rich Dudes Past" and he's haunting Ebenezer Scrooge... who aside from being fictional, would have been decades older then Morgan. Scrooge is more suited to the job than Morgan himself is. Of course, nobody Scrooge fits is contemporary to him anyway so...
- Brutal Honesty: Yet to Come doesn't mince words when telling Scrooge about what's to come."You're gonna die!""With no one to love you and no one to cry!"
- Butt-Monkey: Scrooge first gets startled awake by Trump, then yelled at by three rappers - the last of whom absolutely horrifies him - until he nearly starts crying before changing his ways, and then he gets Interrupted by the End. This was bound to happen since the battle is an abridged version (with new characters) of A Christmas Carol.
- Catchphrase: Scrooge gets in his typical “Bah, humbug!”
- Composite Character: Trump’s portrayal in this battle combines elements of his pre-2016 public image and Jacob Marley from the Dickens novel.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: He has his name on the side of a building, man! (Trump Tower) and he isn't known for his heart.
- Dead All Along: It’s not until the end of Trump’s verse that we find out he was a ghost this entire time.
- Dem Bones: Yet to Come looks like a living skeleton.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Scrooge starts out being negative to the ghosts appearing to him and dismissing them with insults. After Kanye West, he begins to listen to their advice more."I do not believe in ghosts and I don't believe that hair!""The only thing that scares me is your gross ghost proboscis!"
- Dodgy Toupee: Scrooge doesn't believe in ghosts or Trump’s hair.
- Don't Fear the Reaper: Downplayed. While Yet to Come looks scary and talks about Scrooge's imminent death, he comes across as more 'punisher of the wicked' than 'evil spirit'. If Scrooge weren't a selfish man, they wouldn't be having this conversation.
- Everyone Has Standards: Trump dismisses Scrooge as heartless, despite his own professed reputation for being less than upstanding."I'm not known for my heart but you're still getting trumped!"
- Fate Worse than Death: Implied when Trump walks off chained to a briefcase, which becomes much clearer when you realize he fills the role originally played by Jacob Marley, who was also subjected to such a thing and tried to warn Scrooge to keep him from enduring the same fate.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: This battle features 5 rappers: Donald, Ebeneezer, J.P. Morgan (The Ghost of Rich Dudes Past), Kanye West (The Ghost of What's Right Now), and The Grim Reaper. However, Ebeneezer gets a whole verse in response to each of the other four. The episode was also different in that the rap itself tells a progressing story; even in the Vader vs Hitler trilogy, the story only happened before and after the battles. Also, only Trump gets the standard Boastful Rap, while the others' raps are just to fill their part in the story.
- Gag Nose: The only thing Scrooge is frightened of is Morgan's "gross ghost proboscis."
- Gang Up on the Human: A musical variation happens when Ebenezer Scrooge (Human) fights against Donald Trump, JP Morgan, Kanye West, and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Ghosts).
- Good is Not Nice: Yet to Come’s on the same mission as the other ghosts, to redeem Ebeneezer's soul, but is the least pleasant among them. Considering his allies include Donald Trump and Kanye West, that's saying something.
- Good Morning, Crono: Trump wakes up Scrooge to begin the rap battle.
- The Grim Reaper: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a Black Cloak-wearing ghoul that tells Scrooge of his impending death.
- Grumpy Old Man: Scrooge’s first words are how upset he is that his nap was disturbed.
- Heel–Face Turn: At the end of the battle, Scrooge gives up his greedy ways.
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Kanye’s shown wearing the leather jacket and matching leather kilt from his "Black Skinhead" video.
- Honest Corporate Executive: In contrast to Trump, Morgan "owns the railroads" but he says that wealth in the heart is more important than wealth in the wallet.
- Incoming Ham: Trump’s first line is belted out at the top of his lungs: "WAKE UP, SCROOGE!"
- Interrupted by the End: Scrooge's last verse gets cut off by the announcer.Scrooge: It's Christmas! I haven't missed my chance to be different! God bless us, every-
Announcer: WHO WON? WHO'S NEXT? YOU DECIDE! - Jacob Marley Apparel: When Trump exits the battle, he wanders off bound in chains to a heavy briefcase.
- Jacob Marley Warning: Trump stands in for the trope namer; "you're gonna be rocked by three MCs from the ethereal plane!"
- Jerkass: Trump’s the only one who disses Scrooge rather than telling him to change his ways.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: If you are in the crowd who sees the real Kanye West as an Insufferable Genius, then he falls into this category in this battle, due to calling Scrooge out on his selfishness and suggesting he share his money with the homeless.
- Jump Scare: Yet to Come gives one to Scrooge with a "boo!" from behind him.
- Knight of Cerebus: The final ghost has no humourous quirks and serves as the figure that ultimately puts Scrooge on the right path. He introduces himself by appearing behind Scrooge and saying "boo" but that's as funny as he got.
- Large Ham: Trump, Kanye, and Death/Yet to Come are all loud and dramatic.
- Meaningful Background Event: The clock in Scrooge's background sounds off the hour whenever a new ghost shows up.
- Mood Whiplash: Yet to Come immediately follows Kanye, even piggybacking off of his beat, but his rhymes couldn't be farther apart in tone.
- Nice Guy: Morgan talks about the importance of having a rich heart.
- Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a robe-wearing wraith who appears shrouded in a sickly green fog and speaks in a rasping, guttural baritone. In particular, his threat that Scrooge will die alone and unmourned, regretting the miserable life he led, and responsible for Tiny Tim's death, is a terrifying enough prospect to cement Scrooge's Heel–Face Turn.
- Not Using the "Z" Word: Claims he doesn't believe in ghosts, but refers to Trump as both a "phantom" and an "apparition".
- Our Ghosts Are Different: The ghosts of Trump, Morgan, and Kanye are indistinguishable from their human selves, while the Ghost of Christmas Future is a wraith that resembles The Grim Reaper.
- Perpetual Frowner: Peter's attempt at getting the Donald look down has not gone unnoticed.
- The Power of Friendship: Kanye states that there is more to life than money and that Scrooge should have asked for friends.
- Precision F-Strike: The only use of profanity in the battle is both audibly muted and censored via Symbol Swearing in the subtitles.
- Red Baron: J.P. Morgan and Kanye West introduce themselves as “The Ghost of Rich Dudes Past” and “The Ghost of What’s Right Now.”
- Right on the Tick: Trump tells Scrooge to expect the other ghosts “when the clock strikes.” Sure enough, Morgan and Yet to Come appear right when the clock in the background strikes One and Three, respectively, but Kanye (much like the Ghost of Christmas Present) takes his sweet time to make an entrance after the clock strikes Two.
- Scare 'Em Straight: The ultimate goal of the four ghosts is to scare some decency into Scrooge.
- Scary Black Man: Kanye is loud, forceful, and scary enough to finally make Scrooge take his hauntings seriously.
- Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: Trump and Scrooge are both quite old and quite rude.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After delivering his Jacob Marley Warning, Trump announces his departure from the battle because he has his own problems (read: eternal damnation) to deal with.
- The Scrooge: The man himself appears and goes through the usual schtick.
- Shout-Out: Trump warns Scrooge to prepare to "enter a world of Christmas pain."
- Sickly Green Glow: Yet to Come’s background is a swirling green miasma.
- Sound-Effect Bleep: Trump's F-bomb at the end of the verse is muted.
- Suddenly Voiced: In contrast to his usual portrayal as The Voiceless, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’s a deep-sounding growler, which only makes him more horrifying.
- Terrified of Germs: Trump’s mysophobia is brought up in his verse.Donald Trump: Keep your TB from Tiny Timmy away from me! Don’t even touch me!
- Token Good Teammate: Morgan is the only ghost who doesn't insult Scrooge, and overall seems to be the most genial and cordial.
- Uncle Pennybags: Morgan, who was the basis for the Trope Namer as he points out, is considerably more friendly and cheery than Trump or Scrooge.
- Waxing Lyrical: Trump ends his verse quoting "Fucking Problems" by A$AP Rocky and 2 Chainz, even name-dropping the latter.Donald Trump: I'm out! I got my own f**king problems; call me 2 Chainz!
- Wham Line: Trump’s verse has one line towards the end that reveals what seemed at first to be a typical rap battle is actually Yet Another Christmas Carol.Donald Trump: You’re about to get whooped by three emcees from the ethereal plane!
- Wham Shot: Trump ends his verse by revealing that he’s bound in chains to a heavy briefcase, revealing that he was a ghost all along.
- A Wild Rapper Appears!: A unique example to this series in that Kanye is the first character who is known for rapping to appear in the series.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: It’s a retelling of the classic Dickens tale in rap battle form.
