Runaways (comics)/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Continuity Porn: Hey, did you know that during the 90s Rick Jones wrote a book called Sidekick? No? Well they did!
    • The fact that they brought in the good Green Goblin may also count.
    • Bringing in Ricochet from Slingers doubles. Considering how unpopular and unknown the title was, bringing him in was a bit risky, but ultimately worked.
  • Cousin Oliver: Klara. She is randomly found and recruited by the Runaways in 1907. Other than the occasional Deliberate Values Dissonance due to being a Fish Out of Temporal Water, she has little personality and little effect on subsequent storylines.
  • Ho Yay: Probably unintentional and not as blatant as the Les Yay (see below), but Chase and Victor have a few moments:

Chase: Vic's still got one member of his harem. And this one's got a big honkin' laser.

    • Then there's the time they had a heart-to-heart while Vic was naked...after Chase shrieked about how Victor's nudity was "gratuitous." And the time they danced together.
      • And his comment "You're an electric chair with legs! Only, you know, instead of four legs, you've got, uh...three."
  • Hollywood Pudgy: Gert, when drawn by anyone other than Adrian Alphona.
  • I Am Not Shazam: "Runaways" is NOT the name of the team. Their book is called Runaways because they are runaways. The kids themselves do not have an official team name, usually being referred to as either "The Pride's kids" or "Those kids in L.A." depending on the character. However, even some writers have forgotten that detail. They are once again referred to as the Runaways in the Avengers Academy tie-in with Avengers vs. X-Men.
    • Nico once refers to the group as the Children of the Damned while escaping the convenience store with Topher, though that name didn't stick either.
  • Idiot Plot: A fully Justified Trope in this case -- both the Runaways and the Pride make some very dumb mistakes because they're fighting their family.
  • Les Yay: Nico and Karolina's on-again off-again Unresolved Sexual Tension. Of course, Karolina is canonically gay and has expressed her feelings for Nico. Toned down when Xavin enters the picture but comes back full force after she's Put on a Bus while disguised as Karolina to answer for the crimes of Karolina's parents.
    • It is even hinted that Nico might have feelings for Karolina and is jealous of Xavin. She seems slightly disappointed to learn that they are still together upon their return to Earth. Nico later tries to undermine their relationship by asking if Xavin's female form is her True Self. She also confesses in a game of "Truth or Dare" that out of all the people she had kissed, Karolina was the best kisser.
  • Moral Dissonance: Nico's "The show must go on" spell that she cast on the Yorkes was a HUGE dick move, but the subject is dropped the very next panel and events move on without a word about it.
    • Nico's attitude in general was forgotten for awhile after. She was tortured and then showed up performing much more powerful spells and it was implied that the spell she cast on the Yorkes was a sign that she was developing a Dark Side. This was pretty much glossed over until the whole "Don't take the Staff of One from me" thing.
  • Only the Creator Does It Right: The post-Brian K. Vaughan stories have not been as well received.
  • Shipping: Honestly, what doesn't?
  • Squick: 12-year-old Klara is married to a middle-aged man when the kids find her.
    • And he abuses her. And when she says that she does not enjoy her "marital duties".
    • At one point, Klara comments that a psychotic supervillain holding a radio studio hostage reminds her of her husband. Molly doesn't miss the implications on that one.
  • Strangled by the Red String: Karolina and Xavin.
    • They are still teenagers.
  • They Just Didn't Care: When The Punisher appeared in Volume 8 it reeks of caricature. Whether it's better that way or not is a matter for debate.
  • Values Dissonance: To the characters in the comic, because they grew up a century apart. Karolina is shocked at abuse Klara deals with, while Klara freaks out when she sees Xavin (who chooses to be black in human guise and chooses to be a woman for Karolina) and Karolina kissing.
    • Speaking of Xavin, (s)he is a Proud Warrior Race Guy who doesn't seem to understand why the others think it's weird whenever she just randomly changes shape and gender.
      • Lampshaded when Xavin him/herself points out that the rest of the cast's discomfort with alien genderbending is little different from the prejudices that they have to deal with as the result of, for example, being a mutant or being gay.
      • Xavin also has a bit of a problem with seeing Victor as his equal, because his planet doesn't have robots that act like people (as opposed to the worlds in Marvel, where there are precedents for Ridiculously-Human Robots).
        • That and the fact that the Skrull's long time enemy, The Kree, often used combat robots.
    • Molly, meanwhile, completely misses the implications of Klara saying that she does not enjoy her "marital duties". ("He makes you do chores?")
  • Wangst: They're teenagers after all.
  • The Woobie: Everyone.