PS238: Difference between revisions

Basically concerned with the general, superpowered going-ons of a school filled with superpowered children (most of whom are the children of [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo|Lawyer Friendly Cameos]] of various well-known [[Marvel Universe|Marvel]] and [[The DCU|DC]] heroes), ''PS238'' follows a small core cast of about ten to twelve kids, with plenty more who make cameos. The closest thing the series has to a protagonist is Tyler Marlocke, the notably only non-superpowered student on campus.

 

 

----

 

 

* [[Absurdly Powerful Student Council]]: Despite the fact that they could eventually end up with one that consists of absurdly powerful people, this is averted. When Tyler got elected Class President, the faculty had yet to figure out what responsibilities the Class President was supposed to have. So far, said duties have consisted entirely of participating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. {{spoiler|And then he was deposed.}}

* [[Academy of Evil]]: Praetorian Academy.

* [[Action Survivor]]: Tyler. {{spoiler|Although, as time goes by, he is slowly approaching [[Badass Normal]]. He's already running toward danger of his own volition.}}

* [[Aliens Steal Cattle]]: [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05302008/ Save the cows! The aliens are a-comin'!]

* [[Alternate Aesop Interpretation]]: [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/2014-05-25/ Why not?]

** When {{spoiler|Zodon}}'s parents said it would be better if he didn't have his power, he got them <s>wished into a cornfield</s> dragged into one of these. This version of him was an orphan, and the place had no metahumans, so it kind of ended to everyone's relief.

* [[And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt]]: "[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/07082011/ Do I get a ''free T-shirt'' if I do it a ''third'' time?]" Also, [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/08012011/ this].

* [[Appropriated Appellation]]: Julie claimed her "[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/08262009/ 84]" as the superhero name [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05262014/ because] this way the number belongs to her and not she to the number. Little did she know ''what'' this can start...

* [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]: Cecil and Alec with "aliens". It's common knowledge that Atlas and Solar Crusader are extraterrestrials and superheroes, but Cecil used to ignore the part about metahumans and Alec used to ignore the part about aliens, until they were pulled into this mess all the way.

** The Revenant, Tyler's mentor (who bears a [[Captain Ersatz|striking resemblance]] to [[Batman]]/MoonKnight, right down to most powered heroes not trusting him or thinking he's crazy).

** Tyler himself can be considered a [[Badass Normal]] in training. (A time-travel storyline offers a glimpse of his adult self in which he's Revenant's partner.)

* [[Bastard Understudy]]: There are whole [[Master Apprentice Chain]]s. The von Fogg kids, of course, but also that "Ajax" boy - he [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/06302014/ already] got good brains and patience, while the Headmaster encourages him to continue improving in this direction.

* [[Battle in the Center of the Mind]]: Beryl got one on her hands when she tried to control the wrong sort of people.

* [[Beehive Barrier]]: When {{spoiler|Aurora's "ghost"}} attacks Ambriel, her [[Deflector Shield]] is briefly visible as a geodesic crystalline dome.

* [[Bullying a Dragon]]: Taylor's clone has a point:

{{quote|...because anyone who'd ''rob'' a ''bank'' in a town full of superheroes has ''got'' to be ''crazy''. }}

* [[Butt Monkey]]

** Zodon. He ''deserves'' it.

* [[Cape Snag]]: "[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/02272012/ PS 238 reminds you:] sliding doors, elevators and flush toilets can ruin your day if you aren't careful."

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: ''PS238'' is ''made out of'' this trope. Two of the more outstanding examples are [[Superman|Atlas]] and [[Green Lantern|Emerald Gauntlet]], although both have developed points of distinction from the originals as the series progresses. Also [[Batman|that guy roaming at night]], summoning whom [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05182007/ involves using a searchlight]. Among the students, there's also [[The Sandman|"Murphy"]], the "Prince of Daydreams" (whose older sister is often mentioned in passing...), and [[Doctor Doom|Victor VonFogg]], heir of the VonFogg family of supervillains.

* [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check]]: The Crystal Skull, an ex-supervillain, after getting beaten by - and chatting with - Revenant, turned his intellect to taking money from people legally, and runs one of the higher-class casinos in Las Vegas.

* [[Deconstructor Fleet]]: Of the superhero genre.

* [[Didn't Think This Through]]: Even super-geniuses step in this if they are not careful. Zodon suffers from this e.g. when he made himself a chair with [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/07202007/ voice controlled gadgets], but no security on that, despite being busy cracking the school's security measures. So one doesn't even need an actual replay attack, simply [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/07302007/ repeat what he said] and watch the fun. He's lucky Victor didn't get the wind of it right away.

* [[Does Not Know His Own Strength]]: A few. Also, [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/10302009/ wearing full armor is advised if you're going to compliment impulsive super-heroines.]

* [[Down in the Dumps]]: Angela's dad used to run a junk yard. And [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05052008/ took the best junk to the new place.] It's glorious. And then they go to {{spoiler|her personal orbital}} junknyard.

* [[Drool Hello]]: When Malphast [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/06202008/ accidentally summon a tentacled thing], it naturally drools on Tyler.

* [[Equivalent Exchange]]: {{spoiler|The basis of Toby's [[Reality Warper]] powers. Doing things much more complicated than flight creates an after-effect to balance out what he did, for better or worse.}}

* [[Exposition Beam]]: Tyler learns of {{spoiler|Principal Cranston's backstory when his headband is damaged by reliving his memories}}.

* [[Expy]]: Almost every character who is not an outright [[Captain Ersatz]] is an expy of a known superhero comics archetype without blatantly referencing any one single comics character. An example would be Herschel Clay, {{spoiler|who turns out to be an expy of [[Iron Man]].}}

* [[Fantastic Measurement System]]: The "Omega" scale. And the [[Magnificent Bastard|Vetinari]] [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/07072014/ scale].

* [[Fantastic Racism]]: {{spoiler|Argonians look down on everyone who does not have [[Flying Brick]] powers. Normal humans are treated as an serfs, other metahumans as outright threats.}}

* [[Fate Worse Than Death]]: Zodon [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/09132013/ manages to convince] a [[Flying Brick]] pushover Forak, to guard a dimensional portal while he's on the other side with some of the other kids. The threats he makes are spoken of only in whispers, but Forak is terrified enough to even stand against the [[Creepy Child]] Alexandria Von Fogg when she shows up to disrupt matters. Towards the end, Hershel convince him to tell him what was said. Turns out that Zodon threatened to {{spoiler|delete all his Achievements}} if he didn't do as he was told. Terrifying!

* [[Flying Brick]]: Firedrake eventually [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/2014-12-01/ calls this setup by name].

** Julie, one of the current PS238 students, is [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/08262009/ number 84]. She took a habit of approaching every other FISS for mutual commiseration for a while, then leaned over the other side and grew enough of confidence to [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/06172011/ wear the number openly on her cape] and not be shy of the "[[Stock Super Powers|Standard]] Superhero [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05092014/ Stereotype]". Then she got ''fans'' for this.

* [[Follow in My Footsteps]]: Tyler is expected to do this, despite the fact that he didn't inherit his parent's superpowers. Ron feels pressure of this nature as well.

* [[For Great Justice]]: "To the cafeteria... for Justice!"

** Flea, who is probably a collective [[Captain Ersatz]] of similar characters [[Deadpool]] and [[Ambush Bug]]. (He also has elements of [[Spider-Man]], [[The Tick (animation)|The Tick]], and the most recent [[Blue Beetle]] -- there's a whole big arthropod-themed hero mashup going on here.)

** Also [[Rubber Man|Poly Mer]]: "If I inflate myself, I can make a fart noise that lasts for an hour!" Or, "[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/04082011/ what gum?]"

* [[Gas Leak Coverup]]: [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/01032007/ here].

* [[Genre Savvy]]: Many of the heroes and the villains. One even [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/10242011/ notes] at one point that he '''has''' read the [[Evil Overlord List]].

* [[Good Angel, Bad Angel]]: Comes in [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/09162011/ internal] and [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/11282011/ external] versions.

* [[Good News, Bad News]]: [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/08012011/ Sometimes] it takes a mental effort.

{{quote|'''Miss Kyle''': Well... [[And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt|I got you a ''T-shirt'']]...

'''Principal Cranston''': That ''bad'', huh? }}

* [[Harmless Villain]]: Zodon. He ''would'' count as [[Not So Harmless]] as he has both a will and potential to cause a lot of carnage, but either [[Butt Monkey|events conspire]] to keep his malicious acts in check, or he's more interested in humiliation than harm. Victor Von Fogg probably counts for this as well.

* [[Her Codename Was Mary Sue]]: When the pupils are reading their creative writing assignments, Dylan's story features a very handsome and powerful version of himself defeating Victor's father and saving the world, while his rival Jenny is completely useless. It ends abruptly when Jenny and Victor sets his essay on fire.

* [[Humongous Mecha]]: Angie's Junk-bot.

* [[Hurl It Into the Sun]]: Issue #40 revolves around an installation that uses this method of disposing of dangerous super-gadgets.

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/09162009/ Victor is above scavenging], that's for peasants! (see also the next page)

* [[Implied Love Interest]]: Julie "84" Fenster to Tyler. Though, as both of them are eleven, it's more like "implied childhood crush".

* [[Ironic Echo Cut]]: "[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/12302013/ ''Nobody'' steps on my lines like that!]"

* [[Is This Thing Still On?]]: Doctor Von Fogg's pre-recorded gloating in issue #10.

* [[Landslide Election]]: Tyler becomes Class President in one of these, despite the fact that he wasn't running. This is because nobody in the class liked either of the actual candidates, so they voted for him as a write-in candidate.

* [[Laughably Evil]]: Zodon and Von Fogg again.

* [[Love Across Battlelines]] / [[Maligned Mixed Marriage]]: Malphast's parents, a [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/07072010/ demon] and an [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/07142010/ angel] who have kept their relationship, and particularly the fact that it has issue, secret because they expect unpleasant consequences if they're found out. Fortunately for Malphast, at least some of the higher beings in both camps seem to be annoyed with belligerent angels and demons themselves, but think of Malphast is a curiosity... as long as he doesn't upset the balance too much. His parents ''still'' play their usual game, just in a more amiable way than most of their peers.

* [[Magnetic Medium]]

** {{spoiler|Cecil, the conspiracy theorist who thinks the PS238 kids are (all) aliens, turns out to be able to sense metahumans. This being the series that it is, he gets what he sees, which sparks the conspiracy theories, presumably because he gets some sort of "otherness" feeling when the sense goes off. Notably, he doesn't seem to recognize Prospero, the ''actual alien'' - most likely because he's a ''normal'' alien and not a meta-alien.}}

* [[The Masquerade]]: The presence of PS238.

* [[Most Common Superpower]]: Averted. The first character who could probably conform to this trope is revealed to have had "work" done to look that way. Then again, most of the cast is grade-school age. Some metahuman ladies (such as Spell Syrin, Blockbuster or Phlogiston) have easily-to-flaunt figures, but they are not an embassy from Planet Of Extra Large Bras either.

* [[Mugging the Monster]]: The school bullies above ground have the bad habit of picking on the wrong metahumans. Zodon [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/01222007/ doesn't even bother to do anything], just mocks them.

* [[My Friends and Zoidberg]]:

{{quote|'''Tyler:''' ...he says if he sees me at school again, he'll splat my friends. Oh, and Zodon, too.}}

* [[Nanomachines]]: Often used for self-repairing materials (from walls to [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/06172011/ clothes]), and sometimes by supercomputers for "assimilation" of prospective new hardware. Also, {{spoiler|the "ghost" of Aurora.}}

* [[Our Ghosts Are Different]]

* [[Out, Damned Spot!]]: An amusing version. One guy stole the prototype of PS238 (as in, the initial nanobot-based construction kit) from Clay's "dangerous junk" warehouse. There's [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/12202013/ a little embarrassing problem] with its self-repair system, however...

{{quote|Plaques that read "PS238" have to be removed from the walls [...] every month, so it wasn't a ''big'' leap to figure out where the place had come from. }}

* [[Papa Wolf]]: You do not kidnap the daughter of Mister Extraordinary (the first recorded metahuman). He will rip your car apart then beat you over the head with the largest part left.

* [[Paper-Thin Disguise]]: In the ''PS238'' universe, a simple mask can fool your best friends and family into thinking you're a completely different person. Tyler is highly worried by the implications this has. Notably, it only seems to work on people who are part of the whole "superhero" shtick -- even teachers and super-intellects are fooled by it, but Cecil isn't.

** Contact inhibitors are mass produced for medical (to prevent patients with seizures or delusions from being able to pulverize the ambulance, for one) and security uses.

** {{spoiler|Cranston's headband}} is also supposed to be one of these, but it doesn't work completely -- he can still lift pens and push buttons while wearing it. (Telekinetically, that is -- his hands work just fine either way.)

* [[Preemptive Apology]]: Victor apologizes before {{spoiler|alternate Zodon}} for [[There Was a Door|his wall]].

* [[Psychic Static]]: The Revenant is fond of using [[The Alan Parsons Project]] music. He specifically mentions "Sirius", the instrumental lead-in to "[[Paranoia Fuel|Eye in the Sky]]", which featured the repeated line "[[Telepathy|I can read your mind]]". (And the album, also called ''Eye in the Sky'', had a mystic symbol on the album cover which looks suspiciously similar to the Revenant's [[Chest Insignia]].)

** Moon Shadow subverts it by being a normal human with a secret identity to hide who he is from the supers.

* [[Serious Business]]: Foursquare.

* [[Shout-Out]]: Apart from all the superhero homages, there are also homages to non-superhero comics, including:

** Zodon's human disguise makes him look like a character from ''[[The Far Side]]''.

** ''[[It's a Good Life]]'' ("[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/12122006/ what we call 'wish you into the cornfield' syndrome]")

** ''[[Matrix]]'' - [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/11302011/ it runs on trapped organic matter!]

* [[Slobs Versus Snobs]]: Zodon vs. Victor.

* [[The Slow Path]]: Zodon takes it to get back to the present day from ~10,000 years ago, [[Human Popsicle]] style.

* [[Smug Super]]: All over the place.

{{quote|'''Phlogiston''': Don't ''any'' of you know what "narcissistic sociopath" means? }}

* [[Special Guest]]: In a very bizarre but hilarious situation, [[Wil Wheaton]] guest stars in the comic about superpower career day, as the representative of meta-humans who go into the Entertainment industry. In the ''PS238'' universe, he not only played Wesley but single-handedly used his psychokinetic superpowers to do most of the special effects for ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', which apparently helped cancel out some of his character being [[Creator's Pet]]s in this universe. Zodon still hates him, though.

* [[Sticky Situation]]: Centurion armor carries a glue-spitter that can stop even [[Flying Brick]]s and suchlike.

* [[Stranger in a Strange School]]: Tyler doesn't pretend to be anything else, but between the fact that both his parents are legendary superheroes and the school being a constant [[Weirdness Magnet]], he has no choice but to become an [[Action Survivor]] in order to, well, survive. Currently in training to become [[Badass Normal]].

* [[Suddenly Fluent in Gibberish]]: Angie [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05022008/ can somehow understand] what Prospero is saying. Nobody knows how.

* [[Super-Hero School]]: Naturally, [[Captain Obvious|the eponymous school]].

* [[Super Registration Act]]: Averted. None is enforced, though many superheroes choose to anyhow. One of the early comics, a mock advertisement, indicates that [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/12102006/ "full disclosure gains access to scholarships, grants, and placement assistance"].

* [[Supernatural Elite]]: Argosian nobility are [[Flying Brick]]s.

* [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]: Zodon, after being caught red-handed cheating at blackjack.

{{quote|'''Zodon:''' I'm not doing anything suspicious that can be ''proven'' within a hundred decimal places!}}

* [[Too Much Information]]: '''[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05282007/ I get it]'''. You can stop talking now. [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/06042007/ EEEEEEWWWW!]

* [[Transforming Mecha]]: Prospero's spaceship.

{{quote|'''Zodon:''' I'm going '''{{smallcaps|caroling}}''' ape'''{{smallcaps|beans}}'''!}}

* [[We Can Rule Together]]: [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05122014/ Victor once offered this], but Zodon is well aware of the implied ''sudden but inevitable betrayal'' part - "it ''dosn't'' fly with ''me''".

[[Category:Embellished Webcomics]]

[[Category:PS238]]