DNA
is a Webcomic about some people who shouldn't exist, but do, and how they deal with that.
The comic has recently been rebooted and the old pages taken down so the most of tropes on this page are from an older version of the comic which is no longer available.
DNA contains examples of:
Current Version
- Abusive Parents: Jay had an abusive father.
- Bad Liar: When Jay asks what Rigel did in his office, Rigel says "Nothing." while making a creepy grin.
- Delayed Reaction: When Lisa makes a pun during a conversation with Jay, Jay does not react to it until four pages later.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Jay's real name is Eric, a name he does not like people calling him for reasons that have not been explained yet, but can likely be attributed to sharing his name with his abusive father.
- Flashback Nightmare: The very first pages of the comic are of Jay having a nightmare flashing back to his childhood.
- Staircase Tumble: The comic starts with Jay having a nightmare about being chased by his abusive father and falling down a staircase. He wakes up to falling out of his bed and hitting his head.
Old Versions
- Actual Pacifist: Orion refuses to use his powers.
- Ambiguous Species: The author has not yet revealed what animal or animals Species X is based on, although she has confirmed several things that they are not.
- Art Evolution / Re-Cut: The comic has been completely re-drawn from scratch in order to improve its pacing and composition.
- Badass Adorable: Lukas may be a cute and shy kid who likes drawing and cutely pronounces the word draw as "drawl", but he also does not hesitate to use his powers in retaliation to bullying, and manages to be simultaneously terrifying and adorable.
- Barefoot Cartoon Animal: None of the members of Species X wear shoes, probably because the scientists who are raising them don't bother to give them shoes.
- Big Brother Instinct: Sirius is very protective of Orion and other kids. In a heartwarming moment in Segment: Tooth, he reassures Orion that he doesn't care about his injuries. In Segment: Mud, he goes berserk when he sees that Rigel made Lukas cry.
- Bully Brutality: Rigel goes so far as trying to drown Orion when Orion stands up to his bullying. Even Rigel's fellow bully Leon is horrified by this.
- Bullying a Dragon: Rigel bullies the other kids despite not having super powers like some of the others do. This backfires on him when he does this to Lukas.
- Cheshire Cat Grin: Xs tend to look this way whenever they grin, what with their pointed teeth and wide mouths.
- Cooldown Hug: Happens on this page.
- Covered in Mud: Happens to Orion when Rigel tries to drown him.
- Cute Little Fangs: Species X has these.
- Expressive Ears: All members of species X have very large ears that convey how they are feeling.
- Fang Thpeak: Orion lisps due to his large protruding teeth.
- Fat Bastard: Rigel is the cruelest character in the comic so far and is overweight, unlike the rest of the X's who are very thin.
- Gag Nose: Leon's nose is several times larger that what the rest of the X's have.
- Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: They managed to create creatures with superpowers.
- Hand Blast: Lukas knocks Rigel into the mud with one.
- It's All My Fault: Orion blames himself for what happened in Segment: Tooth, despite being a victim.
- Man Bites Man: Sirius bites Jay in the leg in response to Jay kicking Orion, and ends up losing a tooth when Jay kicks him off.
- Never My Fault: Rigel tries to blame Ben for his misbehavior in Segment: Mud, which only results in Ben increasing his punishment.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Sirius make Lukas uncomfortable by getting much too close to him when they first meet in Segment: Mud.
- Kick the Dog: Jay literally did this to Orion. Rigel also makes Lukas cry immediately after meeting him by wrecking his drawing.
- Kids Are Cruel: Rigel. In Segment: Tooth, he torments Orion for his lisp, and tries to drown him when Orion calls him a "fat jerk" in retaliation. In Segment: Mud, he ruins Lukas' wall drawing.
- Power Incontinence: Orion's powers activate accidentally when he is upset in Segment: Tooth.
- Pet the Dog: Leon assists Rigel with his bullying of Orion by holding down Sirius, but when he sees Rigel attempting to drown Orion he thinks Rigel has gone too far but is too scared to stop him.
- Power Glows: The Xs' hands and eyes glow when using their powers.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Species X has these. Combined with their large ears they are close to being Ridiculously Cute Critters.
- Speech Impediment: Orion gets picked on for this. In Segment: Tooth, Sirius temporarily has one of these as well due to his mouth being injured.
- Stellar Name / Theme Naming: Several of the Xs are named after stars. (A few, like Leon, aren't. Whether this has any significance remains to be seen.)
- Teeth Flying: Sirius gets a tooth knocked out in Segment: Tooth during a (brief) fight with Jay.
- The Quiet One: Orion does not speak at all during Segment: Mud.Sirius: This is Orion. Rigel scares him real bad, so he's gonna be quiet for a while until he feels better. He's sorry.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: The Xs are considered experiments rather than people.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Xs who have powers lose them when their hands are wet.
