Hero Inside is a CGI-animated series released in 2023.
Famous comic book artist Scott mysteriously disappears, leaving behind 100 volumes of superhero comic books scattered throughout San Francisco. The protagonist, Mike, stumbles upon Crying Man and ends up summoning the titular superhero from the book, forever changing his life. But it’s not just Mike, many people begin to summon superheroes from these comic books, dubbed "hero books", leading to a series of events unfolding throughout San Francisco.
Tropes:
- 11th-Hour Superpower: Mike somehow managing to summon and Comicalize five heroes at once to stop Dirk's bomb from destroying the city, leaving both Lucy and Dirk in amazement of such power.
- Anonymous Benefactor: The mysterious man who gives Dirk extra hero books to use in his quest for world domination. Even more mysterious is him somehow being able to go toe-to-toe with heroes despite being a human and the wheelchair-bound old lady that's always with him. He turns out to be Super Scott, who is heavily implied to be behind Scott's kidnapping and has plans of spreading the hero books to all corners of the world. The old lady meanwhile is revealed to be his book wielder.
- Anti-Hero: X, a mysterious masked woman who is going around retrieving hero books from those who are using them irresponsibly. Except she causes just as much if not more collateral damage as those she fights and doesn’t care that innocent people could get hurt or even killed, which as Mike points out is the exact opposite of what a real hero does. Her real identity is Lucy, who turns out to be Scott’s niece who has been searching for him ever since he disappeared. Her obsession with finding her uncle ended up making her lose sight that the hero books were created for the purpose of helping people, but thankfully comes back to her senses with help from Mike and now strives to become genuinely heroic.
- Atrocious Alias: Mike's persona as "Super Awesome Man". In his defense, he did come up with it in the heat of the moment.
- Author Avatar: An in-universe example with Super Scott, who years ago was created in Scott's own likeness with help from Lucy.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Comicalization allows heroes to unleash their most powerful moves, but at the cost of severely draining the energy of both them and their wielders. Nick even lampshades this, pointing out that it should only be used as a last resort.
- Baritone of Strength: Black Knight speaks with a deep, slightly raspy pitch akin to Batman from The LEGO Movie.
- Basement-Dweller: Dirk was living in his mother's basement up until "Jewel of the Nile" after she kicked him out for his poor treatment of her.
- The Beastmaster: Black Knight's Comicalization power allows him to command flocks of owls.
- Berserk Button: Mike really doesn't like it when people bring up the fact that his father walked out on him and his mother.
- Beyond the Impossible: Dirk being able to summon and Comicalize two heroes at once, much to Lucy's bafflement when every hero book wielder seen so far has only ever been able to use one at a time. Mike then one-ups him by mustering enough power to summon and Comicalize five of his own heroes to use their combined abilities to defuse Dirk's bomb before it has a chance to go off.
- Beware the Silly Ones:
- Several heroes like Crying Man and Ginseng Man are rather quirky and/or have outlandish powers, but they're no slouches in fights.
- Dirk spends most of the first season being a Laughably Evil antagonist who (deservedly) suffers one misfortune after another. Then comes the final battle between him and Mike, where he's not only able to summon and control two heroes at once when most are limited to just one, but can combine their powers to make a bomb powerful enough to wipe the whole city off the map. Good thing Mike and his heroes were able to disarm it in time.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Dirk O. and his Council of Comics, who plot to use the hero books to Take Over the World and get revenge on those who mistreated them.
- Big Bad Wannabe: While Dirk tries his hardest to be a real villain, he’s ultimately too incompetent for the role and he and his Council of Comics are thwarted relatively easily by Mike and Lucy.
- Big Friendly Dog: Lucky, a muscular humanoid poodle strong enough to rip lamp posts out of the ground and withstand Gravity's intensified gravitational fields.
- Blob Monster: Jelly King, an enormous red jellybean/Fall Guy-esque hero.
- Blood Knight: Some of the heroes actually don't mind a good fight between themselves every now and then, such as Crying Man being thrilled about squaring off against Mummy Girl controlled by Dirk in "Jewel of the Nile".
- Blow You Away: Sylph, who commands winds fearsome enough to destroy entire city blocks.
- Bolt of Divine Retribution: Parodied with Sparkules' Comicalization ability where he calls out to his father Zeus to help him deliver one to his opponents, only for Zeus to retort that Sparkules actually isn't his son nor did he ever want a son like him and zaps him alongside the intended targets.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Timo, a young boy who uses Jelly King to beat up anyone who crosses him. He's revealed in "Revolution" to have joined Super Scott's group, although he claims that he would've put the hero books given to Dirk to way better use.
- Broken Pedestal: Mike loses all affection and admiration for Lucy once he finds out that she's X. Later becomes a Rebuilt Pedestal after he hears her backstory and helps to steer her back on the right path to finding her uncle.
- Bully Hunter: Ed, one of Mike and Nick's classmates, becomes this using the Disco Duo, until he eventually realizes that he's become no better than the bullies he fights and surrenders his hero book to Mike.
- Butt-Monkey:
- Nick is often the one to get the most slapstick.
- Sparkules is this amongst the heroes, to the point that his Comicalization ability causes him self-harm alongside his opponents.
- Calling Your Attacks: All the heroes do this.
- Captain Ersatz: A few heroes are these, such as the Batman-esque Black Knight and the Kamen Rider-themed Locus.
- Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Hero book wielders can only summon heroes if they possess a powerful imagination, which Nick apparently lacks. The more imagination the wielder has, the more powerful the hero becomes.
- The Comically Serious: Mr. Justice tackles any problem given to him by his wielder with the most serious of expressions, whether its planting seeds or getting attacked by raccoons.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Black Knight doesn't quite live up to his heroic self-image, but he's more than capable of holding his own in a fight.
- Dance Battler: The Disco Duo attack with synchronized disco dancing and funky beats, with one of their moves being able to force opponents to dance endlessly.
- Deadpan Snarker:
- Nick has no shortage of sardonic quips.
- Mummy Girl also gets in a few, such as this exchange in "Jewel of the Nile":Black Knight: Hey there! (while making a series of poses) How'd you like to spend some time with a real hero?
Mummy Girl: Love to. Let me know when one shows up.
- Disappeared Dad:
- Mike's father is stated to have walked out on him and his mother, something that Mike hates being brought up.
- "Disappeared Uncle" for Lucy, who had been searching for Scott ever since he suddenly vanished without a trace after leaving a note telling his niece to protect the hero books from those who would abuse their power.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Lucy's father never approved of Scott's comic business or wanted Lucy hanging around him out of the belief that his brother would be a bad influence on her. This didn't stop Lucy and Scott from doing so anyway under the respective aliases "X" and "Super Scott", the latter becoming the name for one of Scott's comic book heroes, until Scott disappeared after being kicked out for disregarding his brother’s wishes. Then two months prior to the start of the series, Lucy received a letter from her long-lost uncle telling her to protect the hero books from those who would misuse them, inspiring Lucy to collect them all as X believing it would bring her closer to finding him.
- Fat Bastard:
- Dirk is rather portly and a real Jerkass to everyone around him, even his own mother.
- The initial wielder of Lucky, who uses him to terrorize a dog park to get revenge on someone who allegedly did her wrong.
- Finger Poke of Doom: Great Finger can enlarge his hand to deliver giant flicks to his opponents.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Scott was always seen as the more irresponsible sibling between him and Lucy's father, especially after his comic writing got him fired from his old job. It was because of this that Scott was forbidden from being around Lucy lest he become a bad influence on her and was eventually kicked out for disregarding his brother’s wishes, leading to his disappearance in the present day.
- The Ghost: Scott, the hero books' enigmatic creator who mysteriously disappeared sometime before the start of the series. He finally makes an onscreen appearance in “Revolution”, albeit in flashbacks.
- Gravity Master: The titular hero Gravity, who is capable of erecting gravitational fields.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Super Scott was the one who gave Dirk the extra hero books to give the world a sample of what’s to come, and is heavily implied to be behind Scott’s disappearance.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Appears to be a recurring theme throughout the first season.
- Dirk and his Council of Comics were people who using the hero books sought revenge on those who mistreated them for their nerdy interests, but in doing so they became far worse than their assaulters as Mike points out to them.
- Ed had been using the Disco Duo to get revenge on the bullies who made his life a living hell, until his confrontation with Mike makes him realize that he's become no better than those he targets and willingly surrenders his hero book.
- Lucy was instructed by her uncle to retrieve all the hero books so their power wouldn't be abused, but became so fixated on her mission that she failed to realize that she had been causing just as if not more collateral damage than those she fights and putting dozens of innocent people in harm's way. Fortunately, she sees the error of her ways thanks to Mike and vows to use her heroes in less destructive ways.
- Husky Russkie: Gravity speaks with a thick Russian accent.
- Imagine Spot: A Running Gag has Mike having one about Lucy falling in love with him whenever the two interact. After learning that she’s X, they become ones where he can only see her as such.
- Intrepid Reporter: Mike’s mother is a journalist for a dog fashion show, yet dreams of becoming a real reporter someday. It’s because of this that she decides to investigate the mystery of the hero books in hopes of making a name for herself.
- Karmic Butt-Monkey: Dirk has no shortage of misfortune and slapstick thrown his way, but you don't have to feel too sorry for him due to how much of an obnoxious Jerkass he is to everyone around him.
- Laughably Evil: Dirk’s attempts to make himself look imposing often makes him come off as this.
- Lethally Stupid: It's made clear early on that some people can't be trusted to wield the hero books responsibly lest they be prone to this behavior. One example is the homeless guy in "Two Smiles" whose attempt to use Sylph to get revenge on everyone who looked down on him ends in her almost destroying several city blocks.
- Limit Break: Comicalization allows heroes to unleash their strongest abilities. However, it causes both them and their book wielder to deplete most of their energy.
- Living Gasbag: Toxo appears to be something akin to this.
- Logical Weakness: Some heroes can be defeated this way. Mummy Girl’s bandages for example are useless in gravitational fields and against bladed weapons while Crying Man suffers against electric attacks.
- Magical Girl: Sugarsugar Pangpang is a walking homage to the genre.
- Magnetism Manipulation: Mag B wields the power of magnetism.
- Masked Luchador: Great Finger’s attire greatly resembles this.
- Medium Awareness: An in-universe example where the heroes know they are fictional characters from comic books and explain how the mechanics of controlling them works.
- Mundane Utility:
- Mike using Crying Man to do his chores like washing the outside of the house, which Nick admonishes him for.
- The episode "Can You Water My Plants?" revolves around various hero book wielders doing this with their heroes, such as an old lady who uses Mr. Justice to clean up her garden and fight off raccoons. A villainous example occurs in the same episode with an office clerk-turned pickpocket who uses Hummingbird Man to rob his targets, much to the latter’s dismay as he considers doing so to be a squandering of his powers.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Crying Man’s “sad sense”, which compels him to go wherever sadness is present.
- Plant Person: Ginseng Man, who as his name implies is an anthropomorphic ginseng root capable of extending his limbs to attack from afar.
- Poisonous Person: Toxo, whose attacks involve spraying poisonous gasses at opponents.
- Refugee from TV Land: The series revolves around superheroes, all made by the same creator, somehow appearing in real life and are able to be commanded by those who are in possession of their comic books.
- Satellite Love Interest: Lucy to Mike, who can’t help but fall into an Imagine Spot of her falling in love with him every time he runs into her. The "satellite" part is greatly lessened once she's revealed to have a lot more involvement in the plot than expected.
- Screams Like a Little Girl: Black Knight, to the point that Mike and Crying Man mistake him for a little girl trapped in a burning building.
- Seductive Mummy: Mummy Girl, who utilizes her bandages as weapons.
- Shock and Awe: Sparkules attacks with lightning bolts.
- Skewed Priorities: When Mike and Lucy rush in to exchange blows with the Council of Comics, the only thing running through Mike's mind is the realization that he forgot to do his math homework.
- Super-Speed: Hummingbird Man, so much that he’s capable of slipping in and out of Bullet Time.
- Swiss-Army Tears: A weaponized example with Crying Man, who as his name implies has high-pressure tear ducts as his superpower.
- Telepathy: Professor Z is capable of this, much to his wielder’s annoyance.
- Turns Red: Lucky’s Comicalization power makes him turn into a gigantic red berserker.
- The Unintelligible:
- Lucky is one of the few heroes who can't speak, only communicating through growling and roaring.
- Also Jelly King, whose lines are nothing but gurgling chuckles.
- Unwitting Pawn: Dirk turns out to be this to Super Scott, who only gave him the extra hero books to demonstrate to the world their power and give a prelude of what's to come.
- Villainous Breakdown: Dirk completely loses it when his Council of Comics is defeated and Mike vows to always stop him, prompting Dirk to try and destroy the city using an improvised bomb made with the combined powers of Mag B and Sparkules. Fortunately, Mike musters enough power to summon and Comicalize five heroes at once to stop it.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Black Knight is easily stopped by large amounts of light.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Mike calls out X at several points for not caring about all the destruction she’s caused in her pursuit of the comics, especially in “Give Me My Gloves” where she almost gets dozens of people hurt or killed by a runaway tram. Lucy eventually admits that Mike was right after he defeats her in "Top of Coil Tower", having realized that her obsession with gathering the comics caused her to lose sight of the fact that her uncle created them to help people. She thanks Mike for helping her come back to her senses and becomes more open to working with him.
- With Great Power: The power of the hero books are just as capable of being abused as they are able to be used for good, which the heroes themselves lampshade whenever the wielders of their books want to do something that Scott would never approve of. Sadly, many wielders aren’t as responsible as Mike and end up using them for their own selfish desires, prompting Mike to retrieve as many as he can from them. The masked vigilante X is also collecting them for the same reason, except she’s just as bad if not worse in regards to causing mass destruction as Mike points out. Fortunately, Lucy reevaluates her methods with help from Mike and vows to start using her heroes in ways that don't endanger innocent people.
