The TVTropes Trope Finder is where you can come to ask questions like "Do we have this one?" and "What's the trope about...?" Trying to rediscover a long lost show or other medium but need a little help? Head to Media Finder and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at You Know, That Thing Where.
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openSequel title that adds a word to the original title. Print Comic
Do we have a trope for a sequel title that simply adds an extra word to the work the sequel follows up on?
Like this example, for instance:
- The second main issue of The Loud House adds the word "More" to the first issue's title (There Will Be Chaos), with the resulting title being There Will Be More Chaos.
openA dog name Charles Print Comic
Is there a trope for characters such as aliens/monsters/cavemen/animals/robots having regular-sounding names, usually as a joke, or a form of Translation Convention?
openFreeze-Frame Chaos Print Comic
A comics trope where a single huge panel has a large amount of different events happening on it, something like a bunch of Funny Background Events happening at once. Usually the individual events are seen separately and then culminate in the large panel so the whole thing makes sense in context.
For instance, this page from the Scrooge Mc Duck comics: a bull has a dinosaur skull stuck on its head and is running after two panicking natives, a bear is chasing the villains, Scrooge is tied on the back of a calf, two scared horses are trying to get away from the calf, and in the middle Theodore Roosevelt is trying to make sense of what's happening.
openThe planet is moved Print Comic
So, I was reading some Marvel comics, and some of the space heroes tend to have their planet relocated by Galactus (Silver Surfer and Rom). What would this trope be?
openCharacter is introduced to fulfill a specific narrative purpose, then meanders about Print Comic
I'm thinking of a trope where a writer creates a character to fulfill a certain purpose, interacts with long-established characters, but their story arc is either aborted or cancelled (worst case scenario), or fulfilled (best case scenario). After accomplishing his purpose, the character remains in the universe, but does not seem to fulfill any relevant purpose.
This is not Reimagining the Artifact, but, to my mind, it can be used to salvage the character. A Retool may also serve to revitalize the character.
A few comic examples: 1) Black Swan - introduced by Jonathan Hickman during his dual Avengers/New Avengers (2012-2015) as the sole survivor of a universe that fell to a phenomenom called Incursion. The incursions happen in 2015 Secret Wars, and Black Swan appears later as part of Thanos's circle (Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, etc.).
2) Hope Summers - as part of the long term "Mutant Messiah" storyline (2006-2010, 2012), mutantkind is depowered by the Scarlet Witch (House of M, 2005; Decimation/The 198, 2006). Hope is born as the first mutant after the mass depowering of mutants and is fought over by several mutant factions (Messiah Comple X, 2008). Cable takes her to the future, since she is destined to be some kind of "Mutant Messiah" who will rescue mutantkind from the brink of extinction (Messiah War, 2009). Cable and Hope return to the present time; Cable apparently dies, and Hope begins to bring in a new generation of mutants (Second Advent, 2010; Generation Hope, 2011-2012). She stars in 2012 Av X, but flounders until being given a new role in Hickman's Krakoan Age (2019-2021).
3) Cable - despite being introduced in the tail end of the 1980s, in New Mutants, his mythos, IRRC, would only be firmly established in 1992 crossover X-Cutioner's Song and 1993 Cable: Blood and Metal. For the entirety of his first series (1993-2000), he is said to be destined to fight against mutant supremacist Apocalypse, a tyrant during his future timeline. His purpose seemingly ends after Cyclops dies by merging with an aging Apocalypse in 2000 crossover Apocalypse: The Twelve. His lack of a mission or purpose is even acknowledged in-universe in Cable #79 (May, 2000).
4) Romulus (Wolverine's enemy) - after House of M (2005), Wolverine regains the memories of his past, which are explored in an arc in his solo title (Wolverine #36-40, 2006) and later in Wolverine: Origins (2006-2010). Throughout "Origins", it is hinted that Wolverine's entire life has been manipulated from the shadows by a mysterious character, which is later revealed to be Romulus. Romulus is defeated in the final arcs of "Origins", but later returns in an arc in Wolverine #310-313 (2012), and vanishes from the limelight into limbo.
I think many Time Travellers in comics are prone to fall in this trope.
The characters in question should be integral/vital/pivotal to the plot the writer is using them in. Sometimes, the character is so connected to that storyline that, when it folds, the character may survive it, but has no narrative purpose beyond their original appearance.
Edited by KHR-FolkMythopenUnnecessary Display of Superpowers Print Comic
Is there a trope for superheroes (and villains) "wasting" their powers when they don't need to, just so the reader won't forget they have it? Reed Richards stretching when he's in his lab, Wolverine popping his claws during a meeting, Spiderman clinging to walls when someone goes to see him...
openGhost of the Living Print Comic
We have Undercover When Alone, for when a character acts like someone else even when nobody's around because it wasn't revealed (or decided) that he's actually The Mole. But, what about when we see a character's ghost (or some other afterlife equivalent) when afterwards, it's revealed that the character faked his death, or whatever? Is there a trope for that?
Edited by PisthetairosopenTwo visual anger tropes Print Comic
Are there tropes for either of these scenarios:
1 - A character gets angry, or threatens to start a fight so he pulls one of his sleeves up while balling his fist (either to show his muscles, or to avoid getting blood on his shirt). Also done by cartoon animals that don't even wear clothes.
2 - A little girl / young woman gets angry, so she balls her fists and moves them perpendicular to her arms, keeping them straight down - this shows she's angry, but still cute.
openAnti-Consumerism Aesop Print Comic
The moral of a story is it's bad to spend your money (or your parents' money) on expensive products, you are being fooled by advertisers into buying stuff you don't need and won't make you happy. Except, of course, the book/movie/game that's telling you that.
Also comes in the form of an ad: Buy our product, and you'll be free from the consumerist lifestyle of having other people asking you to buy their product.
openSelf-Deception Print Comic
After acting X for a while, Bob is revealed to be Y.
But, then, why did we, the readers, see Bob being X even when he was alone? Or why did he keep the pretense up with someone else in on the con? Or, even worse, did his thought bubbles indicate he was X? Was he lying to himself?
I've seen that happen a lot in comic book retcons, when a character is later revealed to have been evil or savvy all along, contradicting previous thought bubbles. But it also happens in self-contained stories, especially in ones featuring a Gambit Pileup.
openSeen in the same room with your alter-ego Print Comic
I'm pretty sure this is a common way to protect a secret identity (by faking a simultaneous appearance of a character and that secret identity), but I'm not sure that there's a trope for it.
openValid name by convention Print Comic
I’m looking for a way to describe the Roman, Gaul and foreign names in the ‘Asterix’ comics and likewise. It’s basically when you get a humorous effect by inventing a funny name for a place or character by playing with the naming conventions of the country/culture in question. Asterix does that by giving all Roman men names that end on ‘-us’ (Centurions Itakethebus And Yourasourpus ) all places names that end on ‘-um’ (Camp doomandglum) and all Gauls names that end on ‘-ix’ (the schoolteacher is called ‘Behomebysix’)
Although Asterix is the best example, there are lots of country/culture specifIc naming conventions that can be subverted for comic relief such as Dimitri Itsaripov the Russian store owner or Japanese supermodel Yoko Owhatakuti
Edited by EnnobeeopenFuture Quest and Wacky Raceland Print Comic
Okay since I haven't been able to get any responses on the Is This An Example? Thread and have been advised to try here instead, But could someone take a look at the following examples and see whether they are being used correctly:
- Art Shift: Characters not designed by Alex Toth were redesigned to unify the comic's art style.
- Shared Universe: The action heroes are part of a multiverse, though it is shown that Jonny Quest, Birdman and Mightor exist in the same Earth.
- Action Survivor: Their flashback tale makes it clear Luke and Blubber were this pre-racing. They survived the apocalypse as children and spent years fighting and surviving until well into their twenties in spite of being trapped in a world filled with monsters and cannibals and being dead drunk at least 90% of the time.
- All Germans Are Nazis: The Red Baron sings the praises of the Announcer by calling her an Aryan Goddess who is giving him a chance to create a new "Master Race".
- Always Save the Girl : Peter perfect as ever...this goes even worse for him than in the original since by the time he's trying to rescue Penny she's already gotten herself out of trouble...and to her exasperation she ends up having to save him instead. In a mythology gag the Ant Hill Mob offer to help when Penelope faces down a licentious mutant in the bar, although once she politely says she doesn't need any help they happily get on with their own fight.
- All Men Are Perverts: A mutant with three heads and Dick Dastardly both act lecherous towards Penelope.
- Ambiguously Evil: The Announcer. She's apparently omnipotent and is putting what may be the last of humanity through a road of death traps.
- Badass Long Coat: Dick Dastardly still wears one, now made of leather.
- Butt-Monkey: Peter Perfect is lucky to still be alive given how disastrous his attempts to help Penelope Pitstop go.
- Darker and Edgier: A post-apocalyptic version of a cartoon that was amazingly predictable.
- Ms. Fanservice: Penelope Pitstop now dresses in a latex catsuit and gimp hood. Since she's first seen in normal clothes just before recruitment and this outfit was given to her by the announcer this may have been an intended trope in universe as well.
- Mythology Gag: A few most notably Penelope and the Ant Hill Mob are clearly friendly and they rush to her aid during the bar brawl...not that she needs their help but she's still happy to see them.
- Nice Guy: Peter Perfect tries to be helpful and polite.
- Sentient Vehicle: The Announcer has given the cars awareness, intelligence, memory, and even the ability to talk. Mean Machine is quite vocally disdainful of Dick and Muttley.
- Transsexual: Private Meekly is a trans woman, in a departure likely meant to avert The Smurfette Principle. When Red Baron makes gross remarks at Meekly, she angrily tells him that she was never a man but a "damn fabulous woman".
- Xenafication: While never exactly helpless (especially in her own show) the new Penelope is a badass who drives around in a fetish catsuit, kicks ass all on her own and when her car breaks down rides an eldritch abomination to win the race.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Dick Dastardly has Multicolored Hair that's dark purple and red.
openEverybody Gets One Print Comic
A work of Speculative Fiction takes place In a World… where every person has a distinctive thing - a different superpower, a Mon, a weapon, a tattoo, whatever. The main character is distinguised because his thing is extra-special (the only golden weapon), or because he's the only one who doesn't have the thing.
Most times it's all about magic, but it can also be a cultural aspect.
openNo-one ever bothers to look Print Comic
Trying to find a trope for Dilbert:
- In one strip, Dilbert goes to a data retention office. In a thought bubble in the caption, the employee thinks "Good job I got this line of work, no-one ever bothers coming to check on old records". It was satirising how people think about data retention at the time circa 1997-1998.
Is there such a trope for where items or records are sent to be archived and forgotten about?
openCharacter published very frequently, but not just for publicity grabs Print Comic
Specifically, Deadpool. Some of his appearances are Wolverine Publicity, but there are months where he's a genuine title-starring role in multiple things at once.
Here's what I've written up so far, but... what is it?
- Deadpool's appearances exploded starting in 2008, with multiple simultaneous comic books of his own and concurrent appearances of varying significance in other comics. For instance, his new appearances released in February 2016 (cover: April 2016) to coincide with the Deadpool film premiere: ongoing series Deadpool vol. 4, Uncanny Avengers, and newly-launched Spider-Man/Deadpool; limited series Deadpool & Cable: Split Second and Deadpool & the Mercs for Money; and a guest appearance in Black Knight. The prior month, he also made six new appearances, along with several True Believers reprint issues anticipating new readers from the film's audience. As Deadpool later tells Gwenpool in her issue #13:
Deadpool: Do you know who's heard of me?! Everyone. I have had hundreds of issues. I don't know how many series. I guest-appear everywhere. Comics. Video games. TV shows. And so much merchandise. And never forget... the highest grossing R-rated film of all time.
(Heck, I might even change the "For instance" stuff to an example from March 2017— ten issues from 9 different titles, 4 of them his own)
openribbon cape Print Comic
Is there a trope for when a character has a cape that's not a solid piece of fabric but rather made of a bunch of ribbons? Mr.Sinister's cape is the main example I can think of, though I think there are a few other Marvel characters with capes like that.
openPeople sit on logs Print Comic
In a representation of their rustic innocence and relationship with nature, people in Arcadia use a fallen log as a makeshift bench. When it comes to dates, it can also mean isolation from other people (and privacy), as well as showing couples getting more acquainted by sitting closer and closer to each other with each passing date.
openArchitecture Tailored to the Gag Print Comic
In How to Read Nancy, they discuss how for one strip, Nancy's house seems to be built so there's a fence right in front of the garden, while the next strip might have the garden in a different place, might add windows, doors, trees, for the gag to work.
Is there a trope for when the architecture in a comic strip or story seems to be ever-changing for the sake of logistics in a gag? (Of course, it's possible to do it in non-comedic scenarios, but the point is, there isn't a 'blueprint' of the house, because that would limit the joke possibilities)
A villain dresses up as the (super)hero, which often leads to Superdickery-heavy comic covers. This can be because: