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 the Trope Launch Pad.
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openThe villain asks for a duel rather than an execution Print Comic
I've just been looking through the various duel and Just Shoot Him tropes, but can't find an obvious one for this:
The villain is at gunpoint and the hero's about to execute him. Then the villain claims that would be unfair and try to persuade the hero to duel to the death instead.
Where does that fall?
Edited by Mrph1openOdd One Out Print Comic
This is on the The Beano page.
Odd One Out: One strip revealed that nearly the entire cast of the Bash Street Kids live in a block of flats. The sole exception being Plug, who lives nearby next to Minnie. The reason for this was that his family were going to live in the block, but their flat was almost squashed since Fatty lived directly above them. They decided to live in the nearby neighbourhood instead.
Odd One Out is a redlink, was it renamed or cutlisted?
Edited by DigifiendopenCharacter never ages but in-universe explanation Print Comic
Although Comic-Book Time is often used as an explanation for why characters don't age, is there a similar trope for this that's an In-Universe explanation:
- In a superhero comic, Carol the Cold, the protagonist, never grows beyond 24, but that's because she eats special caramel chocolates that always keep her 24 years old. Out-of-universe, she's more like 46 years old.
- Stargirl never ages beyond 21 physically or mentally with her body always resetting to that, but that's because of a special coca-cola formula she drinks in a What If? Alternate Continuity.
openOne series impacting another Print Comic
So, it struck me recently that Rom: Spaceknight, despite being removed from canon when Marvel ran into legal issues, actually has a fair amount of influence over the fate of the X-Men during the 80s. Mystique was originally implied to be an alien and possibly a Dire Wraith when she debuted as an archenemy of Carol Danvers, an encounter with Rom was set-up as the cause behind the eventual Heel–Face Turn of Rogue, and Storm's depowering in the 80s was originally caused by Gyrich getting ahold of the prototype replica of Rom's Power Nullifier that Forge had created as the first step in arming humanity against the Dire Wraith invasion. And those are just the examples I can remember! Is there a trope for this?
openRe-telling trope for comic book universe? Print Comic
What's the main difference between an Ultimate Universe and Alternate Continuity?
Is Ultimate Universe "an Alternate Continuity that's effectively often Darker and Edgier but does not cancel out the original continuity, but re-tells the story in its own way?".
openCharacter is disgusted - doesn't do the right thing as a result Print Comic
See the example in the 4-koma manga Seitokai Yakuindomo (read the left strip):
https://mangadex.org/chapter/32045/2
In the second strip, titled "I'm a guy", the boy character doesn't want to touch the codpiece out of disgust, even though he feels a sense of duty to confiscate it.
Is there any related trope?
openForced to work for the enemy Print Comic
While fighting overseas, Tony the scientist gets a piece of shrapnel lodged in his heart. He gets captured by the enemy, who promise to take it out safely- if he makes powerful weapons for them. If he refuses, they will leave him to die.
openFishing for self-incriminating answers Print Comic
Is there a trope for where Character A asks Character B for an answer that will make Character B look bad if they respond?
For instance, if in front of B's girlfriend, Character A asks B for the details of a porn flick they watched together.
This can be either intentional or unintentional.
openInverted Characterization Fix Print Comic
In The Eltingville Club, two muscular guys try to convince Bill to give up comic books and toy collecting. Bill is such an Uber-geek, however, that he ends up convincing them to pick up the hobbies.
Is there a trope for that? Like, Alice wants to change one of Bob's characteristics, but Bob is such an extreme example of it, in the end Alice is the one who acquires Bob's characteristic?
openSimplification trope? Print Comic
I have examples but not the tropes for this one:
Comic Books
- Supergirl has done this a few times over the years, changing the artwork from ornate comic-book to much more simplified artwork. Let's go through them step-by-step:
- Supergirl (1996) redesigned the protagonist so she was more simple in character design and somewhat resembled a more generic blue-eyed, blonde "American Girl".
- Supergirl (2011), a Continuity Reboot that was within the New 52 Universe, also redesigned Supergirl so that she was simplified in design compared to her 2005 counterpart.
- Supergirl: Being Super, a non-canon one-shot storyline redesigned Kara Danvers in such a way she was simpler in character design.
- Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade, an Alternate Continuity takes this to the extreme; she's very Off-Model in design, but this is justified due to the younger audience it's aimed at.
- Dexter's Laboratory simplified the character models for Season 3 in 2001 and Season 4 of 2002-2003 with a more Retraux design after more complex character models were used from 1996-1998.
- Hamm-N-Eggz, a Back Door Pilot on The Pink Panther, produced in 1995 and aired in 1996, uses an animation style much like Klasky-Csupo shows like Rugrats as compared to the Pink Panther's more cartoonish animation.
- Teen Titans Go! uses much more Super-Deformed character models by comparison to its predecessor show, Teen Titans. Justified, as the emphasis is on comedy, not Darker and Edgier material.
Other than Art Shift, which is for a one-off gag, is there such a trope for this - basically, artwork becomes more simplified for a work, whether it's a reboot, adaptation or new continuity?
Edited by Merseyuser1openWhat kind of twist is this? Print Comic
GI Joe A Real American Hero issue 35 has Buzzer take Zartan's motorcycle (which has holographic projectors to disguise it as anything) for a spin with Ripper and Torch. After Zartan finds out, we see a bus driving around with a little old lady as its only passenger and a driver who never speaks. Near the end, the bus turns out to be a helicopter with similar projectors and the driver turns out to be Zartan himself. After they return to Springfield, Ripper goes to check on the lady and discovers only her clothes and wig. Zartan comments that she wasn't what she appeared to be and comments that only a ninja master could escape from the helicopter while it was flying.
So what kind of twist is the reveal that the woman was actually a ninja master? (An analysis of her scenes seems to identify her as the Soft Master.)
openwrong place wrong time Print Comic
a character is endangered by being in the wrong place at the wrong time
Edited by rcraukaropenMedia adaptation trope Print Comic
Trying to find a Media Adaptation Tropes trope for WesternAnimation.Dexters Laboratory comic-book version:
- Compared to the TV series, Dexter is more of a Keet and not so much of a jerkass.
- In one story, Dexter wears a green crop-top-style blouse and leather trousers, but isn't camp in anyway (only makes sense if you've read it); In-Universe, Dee Dee mistakes him for camp. The storyline was about fashion.
openExclamation Point Above Head Print Comic
I can't find that thing where somebody who's surprised or noticing something has a cartoon exclamation point floating above their head. I expected to find that Sister Trope of Confused Question Mark listed on Briffits and Squeans, but I didn't. Alertness Blink uses a different icon, not an exclamation point.
openThin person who is unfit Print Comic
Is there a trope where a character is noted to be thin and twiggy, lacking physical fitness?
openStraight talk Print Comic
Is there a trope for straight-talkers? People who wouldn't know subtle if it tapped them lightly on the head?
Examples: Wolverine, Luisa of the Vault, Deadpool.
openArt and dialogue segregation Print Comic
Is there a trope for when the visuals of something don't match what's being said? I'm specifically asking about speech bubbles in comics, but it could be seen in other media. Basically, when a character's speech bubble has them saying "I absolutely hate burritos," but they're drawn happily eating a burrito. And it's not played for laughs, lampshaded, mentioned by another character, or anything. It's almost as if the dialogue was written by someone who wasn't even looking at the art. Related would be intentionally-comedic redubs of TV, like what Bad Lip Reading does. But this would be unintentional, or at least appear as if it COULD have been unintentional.
I'm thinking it's somewhat related to Gameplay and Story Segregation, or Lyrical Dissonance? It's not really Art-Style Dissonance.
openStaged Murder Attempt Print Comic
Wednesday Comics: The Batman story revolves around Batman trying to solve the murder of a rich man named Franklin Glass. The Big Bad later has their henchman stage an assassination attempt on them to draw suspicion away from the Big Bad. The Big Bad reveals that the assassination attempt was a fraud after they're exposed.
openOverpowered Hero for the genre or situation Print Comic
Do we have this? Realistically Superman or Thor have no business stopping muggers for example - they'd have to be so careful not to kill anyone or cause ludicrous collateral damage they'd be totally ineffective. Even looking at someone like Spiderman, if you actually analyse his strength and abilities, he shouldn't be either - someone who can fight the entire classic X-Men lineup to a standstill could easily punch someone hard enough to liquefy them - it's only his web shooters that allow him to non-lethally take down normal humans.

For a while, there were twelve comic books being published about Richie Rich at the same time. Is that a trope?