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PS238: Difference between revisions
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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.
Needless to say, the series thrives on [[Superhero]]-related tropes, and indeed, [[Troperiffic|tropes in general]]. Several characters are openly [[Genre Savvy]], including Tyler at times -- though he would probably prefer if those tropes ''weren't'' there.
Originally a print comic, Aaron has followed the example of [[Girl Genius|the Foglios]] and released it as a webcomic, but the free online version is still well behind the print-version. Recently, a licensed [[Role Playing Game]] using the ''[[Champions|Hero System]]'' has been published.
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* [[Bad Bad Acting]]: When Zodon sarcastically "acts" to keep up the illusion of being a normal child: "Oh, ow, ow, ow. My innards. I fear I shall never recover." Cue [[Face Palm]] from Ms. Kyle.
* [[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.
* [[Batter Up]]: The supervillain The Sinister Shortstop was armed with a baseball bat that caused whatever was hit with it to explode. It recently came into the hands of one of PS238's students, who's held onto it because it complements her existing powers, which are entirely defensive. With gleeful enthusiasm, especially as she doesn't need to care about silly things like shrapnel.
* [[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.
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* [[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.
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* [[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.
** The Flea did this deliberately - {{spoiler|[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/04152011/ dropped a lightbulb] when caught by a Centurion hiding above his friends
* [[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}}.
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** Deconstructed as being a [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/02182011/ F.I.S.S.] ([http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05072010/ flight, invulnerability, strength and speed]) is not exctly glorious fate. This package is "[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05262014/ the most common of the uncommon]", various forms of [[Super Toughness]], [[Flight]] or [[Not Quite Flight]] are even more common... and for the rest there are [[Jet Pack]]s and [[Powered Armor]], thanks to [[Super Intelligence|meta-engineers]]. Thus F.I.S.S. heroes are often considered "super [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/09292014/ grunts]" and just [[You Are Number Six|given a number]].
** 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.
** Further deconstructed when {{spoiler|Earth makes contact with Argos. [[Supernatural Elite|Flying bricks rule the planet in noble houses]] with normal people (called "softies") as an oppressed underclass. All other superpowers are referred to as "ferals" and are implied to have been culled from the Argonian gene pool long ago}}. Also, it turned out that{{spoiler|''all'' FISS are vulnerable to Argonite radiation}}.
* [[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!"
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** 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]].
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* [[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.
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* [[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.
* [[Murder Simulator]]: Inverted:
{{quote|'''Iron Czar''': My own ''nephew'' would rather play with [[Grand Theft Auto|Grand T'eft Auto]] den go out und steal ''real'' t'ings. }}
* [[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.}}
* [[Neural Implanting]]: Counts as a crash course, but [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/01082007/ is no substitute for real-world experience].
* [[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.
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** 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]].)
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** Moon Shadow subverts it by being a normal human with a secret identity to hide who he is from the supers.
* [[Serious Business]]: Foursquare.
* [[She Is Not My Girlfriend]]: [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/11162011/ No one listens, Tyler].
* [[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]]''.
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* [[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.
* [[Trophy Room]]: [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/11182011/ Both "Powers" and "Nuclear"] families.
* [[Turbine Blender]]: Captain Clarinet has [[Anxiety Dreams]] of [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/01092007/ this happening to him] if he flies. That is, until [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/01202007/ Zodon points out] that as a [[Flying Brick]] ''he'd'' be the one blending the turbines. (It doesn't make him feel better, mostly because Zodon goes on to describe what happens to the people on the plane.)
* [[Unusual Euphemism]] (mixed with [[Tongue-Tied]]): Whenever Zodon tries to cuss, the chip in his head causes him to say a random innocuous word instead. If he goes on a [[Cluster F-Bomb|rant-length obscenity crawl]], it switches into "Showtunes Mode"... "[[Oklahoma]]", for example. Or "[[Man of La Mancha]]"... Or "[[The Music Man]]". [[Lampshaded]] by Victor VonFogg once.[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/09162009/ "And you swear like a G-rated sailor."]
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