Girl Genius/Tropes F-J

Tropes A-E | Tropes F-J | Tropes K-O | Tropes P-T | Tropes U-Z

Girl Genius provides examples of the following tropes:
"Zeetha: What are you thinking, using Bunbury's trash? He's why every smart actress from here to Paris wears special underwear! Why do you even have one of those?"
 * Face Fault: The reactions to Gil "admitting" to Zola that he's really a pirate.
 * Face Palm: Frequent.
 * A beautiful one in this strip.
 * An even better one at the end of this comic.
 * Two-handed face-palm for Gil on this page.
 * Faking the Dead
 * False Innocence Trick: Agatha mentions this trope when she first encounters Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer! who asks her to free him. She believes he's doing this and does not free him; however, he actually believes he's the hero being held by the villain.
 * Famed in Story: The Heterodyne Boys. And how!
 * Famous Named Foreigner: Zola is French. "Zola" is hardly a French first name -- and Émile Zola's last name is in fact of Italian origin.
 * Fan Service
 * So very, very much gratuitous Agatha-in-her-underwear. Also impressive bosoms on basically every female character. On the other hand, it is only Victorian underwear... Not that that especially matters.
 * Later: The Really Nice View of Agatha's Signal, and this little gem, followed by this one.
 * And let's not forget the rather lengthy section of Volume 8 where Tarvek was entirely naked save for a strategically placed bedsheet.
 * And Gil is next wandering around shirtless. Nom.
 * Another case. Not only are both Gil and Tarvek naked, but they keep changing colors.
 * Like son, like father. There are many who are very grateful for that Naughty Flashback Scene.
 * Also Tinka's metal but curvy body in a semi-transparent nightie.
 * Zeetha and the Wacky Weave Destabilizer.

"Gil: (to Agatha, about Othar) Trust me. When you get to know him better, you'll want to throw him out of the window yourself."
 * Speaking of which, Zeetha spent a lot of time running around in that leather underwear...
 * And now, we have "Revenge of the Weasel Queen", in which Agatha and Zeetha end up wearing BUNNY outfits. Although these "bunny outfits" are not quite what one might assume.
 * To summarize, though, the reason for such high-quality versions of this trope, all you need do is look at the Bleached Underpants section, above.
 * Fanservice Extra: Ferretina. She drips with fanservice. Quoting a bit from the wiki: "... her outfit isn't chosen for modesty." You can say that again.
 * Fan Service With a Smile: Zeetha noted that they got their crowd after Gilgamesh accidently stripped her of her clothes.
 * Fantastic Racism: There is much prejudice against Constructs of all 11 varieties, and also against the Jägers. In the case of the Jägers, the prejudice is understandable (they're elite troops of the most dangerous conquerors around, and enjoy this). But not in Mechanicsburg. There it's "by monsters, for monsters".
 * Fascinating Eyebrow: Baron Oublenmach should be afraid now... very afraid.
 * Fashionable Asymmetry: Maxim, with a glove and a spiked shoulderpad on one side.
 * Filler Strip: Radio Theatre Breaks, Short Stories, Fairy Tale Theatre: Cinderella, and to a lesser extent, Heterodyne Boys Stories and "The Storm King Opera" synopsis, as the latter two contribute to the overall mythology.
 * Five-Man Band
 * The previous generation in the Heterodyne Boys stories;
 * The Hero: Bill Heterodyne
 * The Smart Guy: Barry Heterodyne
 * The Lancer: Klaus Wulfenbach
 * The Big Guy: Punch and Judy
 * The Chick: Lucrezia Mongfish
 * New generation;
 * The Hero: Agatha Heterodyne
 * The Lancer: Gilgamesh Wulfenbach
 * The Smart Guy: Tarvek Sturmvoraus
 * The Big Girl: Zeetha
 * The Chick: Krosp
 * Flanderization: In-universe example; the character of Big Guy Punch in stories and stage-shows is reduced to comic buffoon and Butt Monkey. Among the secrets kept from Agatha her whole life was that the quiet, competent blacksmith she knew as her father was Punch. The Jägermonsters who knew Punch tries to give an actor advice on how to play him authentically, but all of it requires casting out what makes his act so successful.
 * Klaus' characterizations in many Heterodyne Boy stories has undergone similar treatment, being rewritten as an excitable cowardly braggart. Klaus allowed this for one reason: He thought it was hilarious.
 * Flashback Effects / Monochrome Past: Sepia tones.
 * Flip Personality: Lucrezia and . No outward signs of transition, but obviously different personalities.
 * Fluffy the Terrible: The Fun-sized Mobile Agony and Death Dispensers, a.k.a. the "devil dogs"
 * Follow the Chaos: How Adam and Lilith locate Agatha aboard Castle Wulfenbach.
 * For Doom the Bell Tolls: The aptly-named Doombell.
 * Foreign Cuss Word
 * Klaus' "Götterdämmerung!"
 * Zola will mutter "Merde!" when riled up enough.
 * "Vot der dumboozle?"
 * Foreshadowing: Several.
 * Agatha does a nice job of intimidating one of Klaus' scientists  into calling her "mistress" here. Jump ahead several years...
 * A more minor example:

"Von Mekkan: In my experience, a strong Heterodyne will take about two hours to truly warp the laws of nature."
 * The whole missing tale of the Storm King that Klaus told the Author Character is either Klaus foreshadowing things to come or sending a message to his son in a very cryptic manner, so that Lucrezia wouldn't realize what he was doing.
 * Agatha being able to order Gil not to die on her foreshadows
 * Forgets to Eat: This can happen to Sparks if they stay in the Madness Place too long. Non-Spark can be used to remind them.
 * Fork Fencing: Cranked Up to Eleven, as can be expected of Sparks, with Gil's ''Hand-cranked Runcible Gun.
 * Form-Fitting Wardrobe: How does Agatha even breathe in some of those outfits?
 * For Science!: Girl Genius would not exist without this trope. Lampshaded.
 * For the Lulz: Apparently, this is why Castle Heterodyne kills people. Because it "will be fun".
 * Frame Break: Apparently, the Spark also conveys the power to break the fourth wall -- quite literally.Or maybe that's just Gil.
 * Freeze Ray: Used as firefighting gear. It is mentioned that, with a little tinkering on one, you could freeze a castle wall and then bash it in with a hammer.
 * Freudian Excuse: There's an implied inversion with the Heterodyne Boys. It looks like they grew up good because they were raised by the Muse of Protection, rather than this.
 * Friendly Enemies: Invoked here in the last panel.
 * Friend or Foe: The Jägers have an excellent way of solving the problems presented by this trope.
 * Funetik Aksent: De Jägers hall talk like dis, sveethot!
 * Funny Background Event: The Foglios love this. Early on while on board the Castle Wulfenbach, there's:
 * No clanks, cucumbers, clocks, or dancing.
 * Do Not Drink. Look at panel 1, then panel 3. then look at the mug in the next page
 * Ether Bunny.
 * in the same frame, what appears to be "Mummy Dust" and "Daddy Dust".
 * No Alchemy (unless it works).
 * Lab Full of Exploding Things #5. NUMBER FIVE.
 * "Trade Entrance. Invade in front.". (The small signs in the bottom panel. You may need to squint.)
 * This page on the last panel. Four arrows pointing, from the top: left, right, up and down. All of them say "DANGER".
 * While Othar and Sanaa are talking, we see her fellow prisoners get out of the pit trap, run away from Othar, a sign signalling 'Secondary pit trap activated' and a sign asking 'Want a laugh?' with two buttons 'Yes' and 'Hell Yes'
 * There is a gumball machine in the background. The sign over it says "POISON! Illiteracy Reduction."
 * More recently, look at Agatha's attempts to fix that machine in the background. She still has the hammer when she yells at Gil in the last panel.
 * Read what's written on the steps in this strip
 * Gadgeteer Genius: Pretty much all Sparks, but the Heterodynes were notable even among Sparks.

"Klaus: Ah, I see history repeats itself."
 * Gambit Pileup: Agatha's arrival in Sturmhalten causes everyone to set off their master plan at once. And when Agatha and Zola reached Castle Heterodyne, everything just went nuts.
 * Gatling Good
 * Geeky Turn On
 * And how!
 * And then some -- back the other way!
 * Now with some side characters! Although that's debatable about just how much of it is "geeky" and how much is "insanity".
 * Generation Xerox:

"Oggie: Who vants to be my friend?!
 * "hee hee! Everyone says I look just like dear Mama!"
 * Genius Bruiser: Many Sparks, the Jägergenerals, and Da Boyz.
 * Genre Savvy
 * "What? They're in all the stories."
 * A special mention for the men carrying Anevka's squishy bits two pages later.

(Beat Panel)

Geisterdamen: (draw swords)

Henchmen: (immediately raise their hands)"

"Tarvek: What! That's impossible! Isn't it?
 * Also Othar, especially in his Twitter updates, and Moloch.
 * Also The Other.

The Other: Oh dear, I do so mistrust it when "impossible" is one's initial reaction to an idea."

"Selnikov: Son of-- SHOOT HIM! QUICKLY!"
 * The leader of the war clanks attacking Mechanicsburg quickly realizes that the lone guy walking out to challenge his entire army is the most dangerous person on the battlefield.

"Selnikov: As if I'd trust anyone I know to hold a razor to my throat!"
 * Selnikov again (well, what's left of him):

"Tarvek: So, Wulfenbach -- just checking -- is this going to be some kind of macho exercise where you insist on battling a potentially superior opponent alone in some kind of misguided attempt to "prove" your intrinsic worth?
 * "He's no threat--" (both look around the room in obvious terror) -- "Do you WANT him to show up?!"
 * Tarvek played the fool for years. He was paying attention.
 * Also, this entire exchange between Gil and Tarvek.

Gil: No, no! I'm only that stupid in front of Agatha!

Tarvek: Drat."

"Belloptix: But... didn't he have a... lighter side?
 * Gentle Giant: Punch, apparently, though most people who didn't know him assume he's just Dumb Muscle. Also possibly a Genius Bruiser, though the evidence for that comes from the Jägers who are... not the best at determining who's "schmott".

Maxim: Oh yah! He build very amuzing toys for de orphan cheeldren!"

"Agatha:"She... ...tea cozy... ...forty-three hours... ...only one spoon... ...how... eek!""
 * Gentleman Adventurer: Othar Tryggvassen is the Trope Namer.
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Most often done by using water. Or pies.
 * Get It Over With: Boris
 * Giant Spider
 * One of the many creepy albino monsters the Geisterdamen use for transportation.
 * Also one in Castle Heterodyne. Not quite as big, but... "Nyar!"
 * Giant Squid: A giant mechanical squid and a giant flying squid.
 * Gilligan Cut
 * "There's no male guard on this ship that can resist the charms of a beautiful princess!"
 * "If the mistress were here, she'd say..."
 * ""Do you really think he'd just hand it to her?"
 * Giving Them the Strip: The Minstrel does it in this strip.
 * The Glomp: Zoing to Gil, with a "GLOMPH" sound effect.
 * God-Emperor: Gender Flipped for the Brits, their queen is known as "Her Undying Majesty".
 * God Guise: Lucrezia Mongfish is worshipped by the Geisterdamen.
 * Goggles Do Nothing: Dimo (green Jäger with 5 o'clock shadow, wearing an olive-drab cap with mustard trim and a yellow ostrich plume stuck in).
 * Going to Give It More Energy: Zola drinks a last-resort combat stimulant to be nearly unstoppable. Violetta -- who she stole it from -- sticks her with a dart... not with a poison, with more of the same, figuring that an overdose of already near-lethal stuff would kill her more reliably than anything else.
 * Gone Horribly Right: Same as below.
 * Gone Horribly Wrong: This seems to occur with alarming frequency for Sparks. Generally with horrible results.
 * Gonna Need More Trope: "I don't think I've got one big enough."
 * Good Cop, Bad Cop: Anyone and Bangladesh DuPree. It happens both intentionally and just because she acts as usual.
 * Good Is Not Dumb: Everyone thinks that just because Gilgamesh Wulfenbach never built a Death Ray and almost never screams at people or beats them up to get them under control, they can push him around and act like he's nothing. When he's finally pushed over the edge, he shows the entire world that yes, he does know how to build a Death Ray, and yes, he's perfectly capable of kicking the crap out of Europa to protect his father and not-girlfriend.
 * Good Is Not Nice: Gil; Agatha; Master Payne... Quite possibly Klaus.
 * Go Out with a Smile:
 * Grand Theft Me: attempts this on several occasions on different characters. How successful she is varies:
 * is able to shrug it of, thanks to her, later by sheer force of will.
 * She later succeeds at it fully with.
 * Her try with fails, because  brain was prepared with a trap for exactly that occasion.  now has a replica of  inside her mind and can sift through the thoughts and memories of it more or less at will.
 * Grappling Hook Pistol
 * Standard issue for Smoke Knights (seen here and here).
 * The Baron and Zola have one too.
 * Gratuitous French
 * Gil once started speaking French while delirious. Translated: "Excuse me sir, but where is the catastrophe?" Gil spent a lot of time in France when he was younger -- and he spent so much of that time coming to the rescue of danger-prone ditz Zola that it's just short of reflex for him to keep an eye out for disasters when she's around.
 * One exit door of Castle Heterodyne has the inscription "Fuyez les dangers de loisir" ("Flee the dangers of leisure") above the frame.
 * Gratuitous German
 * Jägermonster = hunter-monster, Geisterdamen = ghost ladies, Sturmvoraus = storm ahead, Wulfenbach = "Wolf's stream" (not strictly correct, but German is dialectual and it's a place/family name). Of course, since this story is apparently set in a 19th century Central Europe not totally unlike our own, this is more of a Translation Convention, since German actually would be the lingua franca of the setting.
 * Though according to the novels, the official language of the Wulfenbach Empire is actually Romanian.
 * There is one straight-up bit of gratuitous German when a Jäger uses "Jägermonstern" as a pseudo-German plural for his own kind. The German plural is in fact "Jägermonster", which of course sounds rather odd in English.
 * Note also the writing in the last panel of this page.
 * Holzfäller, the fake surname Gil used in Paris, translates as "lumberjack".
 * Sturmhalten, the home of the Sturmvoraus familiy (see above), literally means "to keep storm", a.k.a. Storm Keep. This matches with Mechanicsburg, burg being old germanic for "castle". Wulfenbach started as a smaller house, so their fortress is just Castle Wulfenbach.
 * Grave Robbing: In the best tradition of Frankenstein. There even are professionals.
 * Grievous Harm With a Body: WHAK! WHAK!
 * Gun Struggle
 * Hair-Raising Hare: The Weasel Queen's Lapinomorphs.
 * Happily Adopted: Agatha calls Punch and Judy her parents, in spite of knowing that they aren't her biological parents.
 * Happily Married: Master Payne and the countess. Also Balthazar's parents.
 * Happiness in Slavery: Fraulein Snaug is extremely devoted to Professor Mittelmind.
 * Hard On Soft Science: Yes, there are mad social scientists. They constantly complain that all of the funding goes to flashy clanks and death rays instead of social research. What kind we don't know, but a thousand orphans, a hedge maze, and cheese is involved.
 * The Hat Makes the Man
 * The helmet which allows Castle Heterodyne to possess the Seneschal.
 * In a "Trelawney Thorpe" short story, the crown of King Arthur, which allows Arthur to possess its wearer.
 * Haunted Technology: Castle Heterodyne is generally seen as this, and it suits Wulfenbach to let people believe it. The application of Clarke's Third Law effectively makes it so; even characters familiar with the machinery refer to the rooms as "alive".
 * Head-Tiltingly Kinky: When Agatha is working in the traveling Heterodyne Circus as the psychic Madame Olga.

"Von Pinn: I teach restraint.
 * Heart Symbol: Bangladesh DuPree, of all people, gets a huge one when she meets.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend
 * Agatha about Gil. All the time. She uses the actual phrase here.
 * A consequence of it can be seen here with Violetta.
 * They are her... er... her experimental subjects! Honest.
 * Othar and... Gil!?
 * Hell-Bent for Leather: Von Pinn, and how. Lampshaded.

DuPree: Oh, so your dressmaker's an A+ student then."

"Gil: What about this one? It looks like a toaster.
 * Hellish Horse: The aptly-named Monster Horse Beastie.
 * Hero Antagonist: Othar, plus or minus a little serial murder.
 * Heroic BSOD: SHOWTIME!
 * Heroic Comedic Sociopath
 * Bangladesh DuPree
 * Castle Heterodyne
 * Most of the Jägers....
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Hilariously defied while in Castle Heterodyne.
 * Herr Doktor: A large portion of the Sparks.
 * Hidden Badass: Higgs; Wooster; Tarvek (to Gil); Zola, with Obfuscating Stupidity; and Sanaa.
 * Hidden Depths
 * The Jägers, who at first appeared to be little more than comic relief and have since been revealed to have more layers than an onion. It's even been lampshaded in canon.
 * Given what he will do for those he cares for, one wonders if Tarvek might have avoided the worse of his family heritage.
 * Hidden Elf Village: The Lost Kingdom of Skifander, where Zeetha comes from. Notably, it's lost to her as well, as she has no idea how she got to Europa.
 * Hidden Weapons
 * His and Hers: Parodied here and here.
 * Hobbes Was Right: You can't uphold a democracy with power-hungry Mad Scientists running around.
 * Holding Out for A Hero / Stay in The Kitchen: Othar tried to keep his sister "safe" at home. But it turns out that in this world the concept of "safety" is even more volatile.
 * Homicide Machines: Virtually every piece of advanced technology can be used as a dangerous weapon no matter what it was meant for originally.

Agatha: Well, it is a toaster. Sort of.

Gil: Sort of?

Agatha: Oh, yes. It could toast the whole town."

"Carson von Mekhan: Sure, the Heterodynes were dangerous lunatics-- but they became our dangerous lunatics!"
 * Honest Advisor
 * Baron Wulfenbach says early on that he would rather his men criticize him rather than fear him too much to tell him important information -- in fact, the first time we see him, he's testing Gil to see if he'll tell him he's wrong. It's one of the many signs that he's not your average Evil Overlord.
 * Gil and Agatha seem to prefer advisors like this as well.
 * Horrifying the Horror: The mere mention of Barry Heterodyne's name is enough to make the Other shit a brick.
 * Hostage Situation: Gil volunteers for one. Agatha doesn't want it.
 * Hot Scientist: Hot Mad Scientists. Many of them. And apparently the better they are, the hotter they get.
 * How Dare You Die On Me!: Agatha's reaction when it looks like is dying. It helps.
 * Hulk Speak: Snoz, quite appropriately, has a mild case of this.
 * Humongous Mecha: Walking Battleships.
 * Hunter of His Own Kind: Othar Tryggvassen (Gentleman Adventurer!).
 * Hyde Plays Jekyll
 * Hyperspace Mallet: Not actually a mallet, but just about every other gadget that a well-equipped Mad Scientist might require.
 * Lampshaded on a paper doll page.
 * A real mallet!
 * Hypocritical Humor
 * Gil tells Agatha her bedside manner needs work. Turns out his isn't so great either.
 * Zola makes a crack about Agatha's butt being big?
 * Gil...
 * I Am Who?
 * I Am X, Son of Y: "I am Zeetha, Daughter of Chump! Yes, I know what it means in your language."
 * I Can Still Fight: Repeatedly.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each volume of the print collection is titled "Agatha Heterodyne and the Noun Phrase", where the noun phrase in question refers to some person, place, or thing that does indeed appear in that volume, but is never actually referred to by that name.
 * If I Had a Nickel: Violetta's done the math.
 * Ignored Confession: Invoked. No, no, the stairway's just echo-y.
 * The Igor
 * Basically the entire populace of Mechanicsburg.

"Othar: ...and that MUSIC! WHAT is that MUSIC?!"
 * Moloch von Zinzer stands out because, like the natives of Mechanicsburg, he's a natural minion, but unlike the Mechanicsburgers, he has a certain amount of insight into Spark psychology, and can use this to get them back on target when they inevitably get sidetracked.
 * I Just Want to Be Normal: Said by Agatha, in the beginning. Othar thinks the entire idea is hilarious.
 * I'm a Humanitarian: "Snapper" Boikov and "Jack A'Horned" -- prisoners in the Castle Heterodyne.
 * Implacable People
 * Higgs and.
 * The Jägermonsters. It still hasn't been established what it would take to kill one of them, and they are amongst clanks as shock troops -- Baron Klaus shows particular respect toward them. When Maxim, Dimo and Oggie are introduced, they'd been hanging in nooses for days, casually observing and commenting on the town. It's implied that Othar conned them into getting into the nooses voluntarily.
 * Improvised Weapon
 * Wrenches seem to be used as cudgels a lot.
 * And now, a book on the use of improvised weaponry has been used as an improvised weapon.
 * Incessant Music Madness: In the (psychological) torture chamber.

"Professor Tiktoffen: Huh. I wondered where that went on Tuesdays."
 * Indy Escape: The Rolling Fun Ball of Death.

""Great. Now the crowd is trapped by the stalagmites while the flaming monster advances.""
 * Indy Ploy: Often. Klaus seems to be almost the only character who plans more than fifteen minutes ahead.
 * I Need a Freaking Drink: 2007 April 18, Panel #7.
 * I Need to Go Iron My Dog: Diaz and Mittelmind use up all the good excuses.
 * Infernal Retaliation: Here.

"General Zog: Sir -- dere iz a time to twit nancy-boy feetsmen und a time to crush bogs."
 * In My Language, That Sounds Like...: Zeetha, daughter of Chump. And, yes, she knows what it means in our language.
 * Insistent Terminology: By the fandom, often by the characters, and even by the website itself.
 * "Othar Tryggvassen! GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER!"
 * In The Rant rather than the comic itself, hyperlinks are always "elegant and finely-crafted".
 * It's a GASLAMP FANTASY, not Steampunk.
 * Gilgamesh is "very" insistent that the little Heterodyne generator is "not" a lamp.
 * Instant Sedation: C-Gas, D-Gas and Ichor of Somnia.
 * Instrument of Murder: Sleipnir O'Hara's "Hot Pipes".
 * Interservice Rivalry: Jägerkin (as a part of being "perfect soldiers") got it straight -- they deem themselves better than anyone else and eager to make a point, but shut up when a real action is in sight:

"Agatha: I believe another forty-five point three seconds, and I would have exploded or something.
 * In the Blood: Sparkiness is usually hereditary. Spark styles of invention too.

Castle Heterodyne: ... or something. Under the circir/circumstances I/I am forced to admit that yo/you are most most likely oneoneone of the family...

Agatha: Oh, yeah... I have got to try that again!

Castle Heterodyne: yesss... most likely, in/in/indeed."

""SCHTOP! Hyu horr'ble monster-y ting of Evil!""
 * In the Future We Still Have Roombas: Agathas self-replicating clanks.
 * In the Hood: Subverted because the guards looking for Agatha recognize it for the obvious disguise that it is. Doubly subverted because the heroes expected as much.
 * In the Name of The Moon:

""... Ve iz Jägerkin charged by the ancient contract--""
 * Although that was an intentional delivery of a Large Ham as well...
 * And a beautiful example of Buffy-Speak.
 * And a message Hidden in Plain Sight.

"Agatha: We're just going to kill you, and then you'll be fine!
 * Ironic Echo
 * Agatha quoting Moloch von Zinzer back at himself here demonstrating that the tables have indeed turned.
 * Zola echoing Agatha's sarcastic party plans virtually word-for-word (albeit in a very different tone) as Obfuscating Stupidity.
 * And Agatha describing Tarvek to Gil with the last three words being the same she used describing Gil to Tarvek.
 * Is That What They're Calling It Now?
 * It Got Worse: The entire Castle Heterodyne arc is stuffed to the gills with this trope. Just trust us on this one.
 * It Makes Sense in Context:

(later...)

Gil: I've changed my mind! Let's just kill him!

Agatha: Stop it. We're going to kill him properly."


 * It Was a Gift: Agatha's ring.
 * I Want Grandkids
 * Oh, Castle Heterodyne.
 * Also, Oggie to the storyteller (his great-great grandson).
 * I Was Never Here: Lucrezia to Vrin, here.
 * Jade-Colored Glasses: Some would say every Spark should get a pair.
 * Jerkass: Several. Merlot is prominent among them, but there are others.
 * Jigsaw Puzzle Plot: And how! Chekhov's Guns that were put on the mantle in books 1, 2, and 3 are being taken off and fired years later. Gil and Tarvek also indulge in some Lampshade Hanging when they discuss a bunch of convoluted noodle incidents.