Webcomic / Princess Pi

Princess Pi apparently enhanced your life.^note She's not the only one in this comic claiming credit for doing so.

Peter Paltridge, the host of Platypus Comix, created Princess Pi in 2011. Until 2013, the comic followed the invincible Egyptian Princess Pi's efforts to protect the kingdom of Piscataway from all sorts of threats, such as a superpower-stealing American dictator named Princess Ip. Peter planned for Princess Pi to become one of his weirdest comics ever, so Pi's adventures tended to rely on nonsensical logic.

Princess Pi underwent a hiatus from 2015-2018^note Pi herself last appeared in 2013, as the sole Princess Pi comic released in 2014 instead gave one of her enemies A Day in the Limelight, when Peter decided to give the series a gradual Retool. Some updates he has announced include a larger supporting cast for Pi, a new name and hierarchy for her kingdom, and the loss of her invincibility. Tropes detailing this era of Princess Pi contain unmarked spoilers for every story from the first run, including "Dan vs. Chuck vs. The Tick vs. Princess Pi", the last pre-hiatus comic starring Pi.

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This comic provides examples of:

Both Runs

• Alliterative Name: Princess Pi has one if her royal title counts as part of her name. Bottle Blonde the genie plays this perfectly straight.
• Alpha Bitch: Sam, Alex, and Butch, also known as the Totally Nazis. The story "Princess Pi vs. The Alpha Bitch" even uses this trope's name in reference to Sam. Not only that, the comic was originally named "Princess Pi vs. The Libby (after the former Trope Namer), who appeared on page 8.
• As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Peter has admitted that it didn't make sense to name an Egyptian character after a Greek number (apparently unaware that Egypt came under Greek influence by the time Cleopatra was born). This contemplation led him to try and prevent anything in the comic from making sense.
• Couch Gag: Each story has a randomly selected picture as its front cover image. Each one posted before the retool also has a random quote as its synopsis.
• Different in Every Episode: Each comic, a different celebrity is credited with Princess Pi's creation.
• Hostile Show Takeover: The week that Princess Pi launched, the Platypus Comix banner contained a picture of the title character using green paint to change the Platypus Comix logo to read, "Pi Comix◊". It re-appeared when Peter posted the first part of the first story of the Retool.
• Interactive Narrator: Princess Pi uses a narrator more often than Peter's other comics do, and Pi can even talk to him/her sometimes.
• Princesses Rule: The titles of Princess Pi and Princess Ip become a little confusing after learning that Pi's mother called herself a queen before she died, and that Ip reigns over a dictatorship instead of a kingdom.
• Satire: As the series progressed, the comics started satirizing everything from Black Comedy to fundamentalist religion (and the lack thereof).
• Versus Title: Practically all of Princess Pi's comics each have one.

2011- 2014

• Advertised Extras: Eight of the celebrities listed on the first page of "The Princess Pi Holiday Special". The other people don't appear at all. Princess Pi herself turns out to be an Advertised Extra as well.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: "Sam Adams vs. True Love" takes this to an extreme, as a terrorist named Zahari Zaskowitz gains Fangirls due to his cute appearance.
• All There in the Manual: The character bios for this series managed to inform readers of five villains before Pi faced them.
• America Takes Over the World: Princess Ip's main goal involves helping this possibility come true.
• Angels Pose: This Platypus Comix banner◊ has Pi perform one with Mulberry and Shroomy.
• Anticlimax: "Princess Pi vs. Prince William"
• Black Comedy: Deconstructed in "Princess Pi vs. Cerebus Syndrome", when Pi's depressing stories make her an unwilling comic phenomenon. Pi's displeasure with offensive humor also results in some in-universe examples of Dude, Not Funny!
• Bottle Episode: The middle portion of "The Princess Pi Holiday Special" consists of word balloons added to pre-existing photographs, with old videos playing below.
• Bragging Theme Tune: The lyrics are written on the cover of "Princess Pi vs. Everything".
• Broken Aesop: In "Princess Pi vs. The Totally Nazis," Pi learns to believe in herself so bullies' insults don't bring her down. The Aesop breaks when she starts believing her most mediocre attempts at fulfilling her royal duties actually suffice, and doesn't let her subjects' complaints bring her down until they tar and feather her.
• Brought Down to Normal: With help from Bottle Blonde, a girl named Gertie takes away Princess Pi's throne and invincibility in "Princess Pi vs. Bottle Blonde".
• Call-Back: Some comics recycle at least one gag from the previous one.
• Can't You Read the Sign?: Subverted in "Dan vs. Chuck vs. The Tick vs. Princess Pi". Bottle Blonde tries to remind patrons of Burger Yellowbellied Sapsucker that they can't break any rules, because "There's a sign that says so!" She then points to a plaque reading simply, "The Sign That Says So."
• Card-Carrying Villain: Princess Ip, such that the phrase, "Princess Ip!® Princess Pi's greatest enemy!™" bears two trademarks.
• Cats Are Superior: Princess Pi worships a cat, like her Ancient Egyptian ancestors did.
• Cerebus Syndrome: Princess Pi catches this in "Princess Pi vs. Cerebus Syndrome", after a marriage to the Trope Namer, Cerebus the Aardvark, causes her to speak only in depressing stories.
• Christmas Episode: "The Princess Pi Holiday Special" marked the first time that Peter made a Christmas-themed comic since Electric Wonderland's "Inevitable Christmas Adventure" in 2008.
• Church Militants: The Moonerites, of "Princess Pi vs. The Moonerites", terrorize Piscataway and try to destroy Princess Pi after an image of their god ( Alf) gets posted in public media.
• Cliffhanger: Actually, Peter doesn't try to write as many for this series as he does for his other comics. One shows up on occasion, though. "Princess Pi vs. The Moonerites", in particular, became one of the few Platypus Comix stories in which the first and second parts did not become merged together in the archive.
• Comically Missing the Point: In "Nick and MORE!", Nick Carville gets turned into a potato (later known as "Potatycoon") as punishment for neglecting his son. What does he do after enduring days of embarrassment? Tap the power of Zeus from his son's magic teddy bear.
• Crossover:
  • "Princess Pi vs. Princess Ip" follows Pi's efforts to protect Mark Zuckerberg from Princess Ip.
  • The crew accompanying Pi on her journey to the Frizzies' planet in "The Princess Pi Holiday Special" includes The Venture Brothers, a Facehugger from Alien, Adam West, and Hannibal Lecter, plus ALF, Finn, and Toph Beifong.
  • "Dan vs. Chuck vs. The Tick vs. Princess Pi" features, well, the stars of Dan Vs., Chuck, The Tick, and Princess Pi. Larry and Balki from Perfect Strangers also pop in.
• A Day in the Limelight: Sam gets one in "Sam Adams vs. True Love," a 2014 Valentine's Day Episode.
• Eleventy Zillion: "Princess Pi vs. The Moonerites" says that Princess Pi has so much money, counting it necessitated the invention of the number "Pijillion".
• Everything Trying to Kill You: Pi suffers this in her first story released, "Princess Pi vs. Everything."
• Extreme Omnivore: Princess Pi. One example of this occurs when "Princess Pi vs. Bottle Blonde" begins with Pi eating a pencil.
• Fish out of Water: Princess Pi becomes one in "Princess Pi vs. Prince William, while carrying out a mission in the stereotypically British country of Gilliamsburg.
• Foe Romance Subtext: "Nick and MORE!" ends with Pi receiving a kiss from Ip, much to the shock of them both.
• Freeing the Genie: Bottle Blonde asks a few times in "Princess Pi vs. Bottle Blonde" if her master could free her. Princess Pi does so at the end of the story.
• From Bad to Worse: "Princess Pi vs. The Alpha Bitch" has a car chase between Pi and Sam with dangers that won't seem to stop piling up.
• Good Thing You Can Heal: Princess Pi would have died all the way back on page 5 of the first released comic if that weren't the case, never mind all the dangerous exploits she survives during the rest of the series.
• Girl Posse: The Totally Nazis have made a game out of insulting random people until they're Driven to Suicide.
• Godwin's Law: Used by the Totally Nazis, but more often in reference to people they hate.
  • Practiced in "Princess Pi vs. The Alpha Bitch", when Sam's attorney says anyone who arrests her would be Hitler.
  • Practiced again in "Sam Adams vs. True Love": Sam warns classmate Ty Chiselbottom that if he doesn't dump her fat girlfriend, she'll never develop the desire to lose weight, and she'll die just because he made her feel content with her portly figure.
    You know what that makes you? A Nazi! And not the cool kind of Nazi, I mean the bad kind!
• Groin Attack: "Nick and MORE!" has two examples.
  Princess Ip: How could that work? He doesn't have anything there!
• Hopeless Suitor: Sam desires Ty Chiselbottom, but he already has a girlfriend. She looks fatter and frumpier than Sam does, but she does share Ty's love of anime, and his belief in The Power of Love.
• Immortal Hero: Pi has this power.
• Indy Ploy:
  • Pi using her recorder to turn all the murderous objects inanimate again in "Princess Pi vs. Everything." Unfortunately, she also kills all the other animals and plants in the process.
  • Pi performs a riskier ploy in "Princess Pi vs. Bottle Blonde", when having to remove Bottle Blonde's bottle from a concrete block.
• Irony: In "Sam Adams vs. True Love", Sam's campaign to free Zahari succeeds. However, when she and the other Totally Nazis fight over him, they accidentally trample him dead.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Strikes Sam in "Sam Adams vs. True Love". She loses Zahari, almost gets knifed by the girl she frames of killing him, and breaks some of her limbs after becoming trapped in a collapsing building.
• Last Of Her Kind: Princess Pi's bio claims she is the only Egyptian in the world. "Dan vs. Chuck vs. The Tick vs. Princess Pi" suggests otherwise, though.
• Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Bottle Blonde, a Literal Genie, lives in a bottle and acts like a Dumb Blonde.
• Negated Moment of Awesome: Pi never gets to fight the Frizzies in "The Princess Pi Holiday Special" because she gets stuck in traffic.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • "Princess Pi vs. Everything" ends with Pi accidentally killing everyone in the world.
  • An indirect example in "Princess Pi vs. Princess Ip." Pi takes away Mark's handheld so Princess Ip's troops wouldn't trace their location. She accidentally drops it at Erica's house, so Erica uses it to destroy Facebook out of spite against Mark.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: In "Princess Pi vs. Cerebus Syndrome," Pi meets Cheery Girl (Ellen DeGeneres), Jonah Mound (Jonah Hill), and Gilbert Gotfreak (Gilbert Gottfried).
• Non-Indicative First Episode:
  • "Princess Pi vs. Everything" runs about twice as long as the usual comic, and does not boast a Villain of the Week.
  • "Princess Pi vs. The Land Shark From Saturday Night Live", the first comic drawn, runs shorter than the usual comic, and boasts a more unoriginal plot.
• Power-Up Food: In "Dan vs. Chuck vs. The Tick vs. Princess Pi", Bottle Blonde magically makes food that turns people into monsters, and briefly transforms the evil Witch Doctor Mojo Nixon into the ruler of the world.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: The following that Zahari Zaskowitz receives among teenage girls in "Sam Adams vs. True Love" parallels that received by the Boston Marathon Bomber.
• Recurring Extra: A man who apparently sounds like Dan Green keeps showing up during disasters to assure onlookers that the victims will survive.
  It's all right, I can see their parachutes!
• Save the Villain: What Pi does to Ip at the end of "Nick and MORE!"
• Shout-Out: The kingdom of Gilliamsburg was named after Terry Gilliam.
• Status Quo Is God: Lampshaded when Pi closes her first issue by assuring the readers she'll have her world fixed by "next week."
• Sugar Bowl: Gertie and Bottle Blonde turn Piscataway into one in "Princess Pi vs. Bottle Blonde".
• Take That!:
  • Pi's bio boasts that she has the best webcomic ever, "even better than Sonichu." (Considering Sonichu's large Hatedom, this might also sound like faint praise of Princess Pi.)
  • Pi's stint as an animation writer in "Princess Pi vs. Cerebus Syndrome" includes some criticisms at cartoons that try to draw too much of their humor from acting insensitive. (Allen Gregory in particular.)
  • Pi's interview in "Princess Pi vs. The Moonerites" serves as a potshot at Real Time with Bill Maher.
• Tomboyish Name: Two of the Totally Nazis, Sam and Alex, have the same name as girls from Totally Spies!, while the third, Butch, as a masculine-sounding name for consistency's sake. "Princess Pi vs. The Alpha Bitch" says Sam's full name is Samuel Lewinsky Jackson Adams. Peter admittedly hates it when girls have names that sound boyish.
• Unexplained Recovery: At the end of "Princess Pi vs. Bottle Blonde", Bottle Blonde turns herself into a sandwich, which then gets eaten by Pi. To Pi's surprise, she comes back alive and well in "Dan vs. Chuck vs. The Tick vs. Princess Pi". The reader can assume that she used magic to achieve this, but doesn't get much more detail than that.
• Unsound Effect: "Dan vs. Chuck vs. The Tick vs. Princess Pi" has "Wacky Pratfalls" as the sound that the protagonists of Perfect Strangers make when they fight.
• Victor Gains Loser's Powers: Ip has this power.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: "Dan vs. Chuck vs. The Tick vs. Princess Pi" doesn't pick up on the fight that Pi ditches at the beginning of the comic.
• Whole-Plot Reference: "The Princess Pi Holiday Special" parodies The Star Wars Holiday Special, specifically the lengthy parts where the actors speak an unintelligible alien language, and the infamous "Fighting the Frizzies at 11" promo that aired that same night.
• A Wizard Did It:
  • Princess Pi deems genies responsible for talentless hacks unexpectedly becoming celebrities.
  • When Princess Pi finds Bottle Blonde cooking with magic in "Dan vs. Chuck vs. The Tick vs. Princess Pi", Bottle Blonde explains that she can't make normal food because the machines in the kitchen are broken. Pi asks how they got broken, but Bottle Blonde just answers, "Magic!"
• Xanatos Gambit: The Witch Doctor Mojo Nixon tries to pull several. The first shown in his debut comic, "Princess Pi vs. Mojo Nixon", involves switching the contract for a deal between Piscataway and Canadavania with one that would declare him ruler if Pi signed it, but blast Pi into space if she didn't.
• You Killed My Mother: Princess Ip's father killed Pi's mother, Queen Isosceles, for being part Magi. Pi, in turn, killed him, after eliminating the then-current members of the US Army. Pi recounted this to Sam in "Princess Pi vs. Cerebus Syndrome".
• You Mean "Xmas": Pi celebrates Life Day in "The Princess Pi Holiday Special", but the traditions shown in The Star Wars Holiday Special apparently became replaced with fighting the Frizzies at 11; the name refers to the fact the winner gets to live a longer life than the dead loser. Any assumptions that Peter used the phrase "Life Day" to avoid Christian references become negated when Pi explains they fight the Frizzies "to honor Jesus".

2018-current

• Brainy Baby: Pi meets one in "Princess Pi vs. Princess Pai".
• Brick Joke: "Princess Pi vs. Princess Pai" lists four men accused of sexual harassment in 2017 in its opening credits. At the end of the story, Pi meets another one, John Lasseter.

• Disney Owns This Trope: In "Princess Pi vs. Princess Pai", Disney buys the whole Internet, foiling Potatycoon's efforts to take it over.
• Evil Knockoff: "Princess Pi vs. Princess Pai" has Potatycoon create an evil clone of Princess Pi, to help him destroy Net Neutrality.
• Nonstandard Character Design: Princess Pai looks like a photograph of Ajit Pai's face pasted over a drawing of Pi in a business suit.
• Ominous Visual Glitch: In "Princess Pi vs. Princess Pai", the destruction of Net Neutrality causes page 9 to lose the bottom of its last row, as if the reader's Internet connection went down before he or she could finish reading the page.

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