Spy Boy

Spy Boy is a comic book series created in 1999 by writer Peter David and artists Pop Mhan and Norman Lee, and published by Dark Horse Comics.

The series centers around Alex Fleming, an ordinary teenage boy who is secretly part of a project to create the world's most deadly and effective secret agent. Unfortunately, while the world's various spy agencies are after him for reasons of their own, Alex himself is unaware of his super-ruthless sleeper personna. The adventures start when Alex's Spyboy identity is activated, throwing Spyboy into various death-defying situations around the world while Alex struggles to maintain relevance against his super-capable alter ego.

The basic idea for Spy Boy came from Dark Horse, who hired Peter David to develop the concept, including the cast and their back-stories. David has lamented that the ideas he had for the series' run were not completed, as Dark Horse did not continue with it.

A crossover 3-issue miniseries, Spy Boy / Young Justice, was published in 2002. Also Spy Boy: Final Exam, a 4-issue spin-off limited series by the same authors, was published in 2004.

Tropes used in Spy Boy include:

Abnormal Ammo: Spy Boy's gun, the Magnum Opus, fires a variety of these.
Armor Piercing Discourse: Butch give an epic one to both Anita and Gila at the end of the Confidential arc.
Art Shift: During the middle of the Marispan affair (or the beginning of the Bet Your Life arc) the art changes from anime-style to something out of Mike Mignola's mind and back again.
Banana In the Tailpipe: Messed with in one of the early issues, where Bombshell stops a (moving) car of bad guys by tossing what appears to be a lit cigarette into the tailpipe. The car blows up several blocks later. Considering that Bombshell is an explosives expert, however, it's not quite as far-fetched.
Becoming the Mask: This is literally with Anita, for her mask became her permanent face after the Time Skip
Because You Were Nice to Me: For Butch, it doesn't matter if Anita is her mother or not, she's the only person who ever gave a crap about him and he loves her deeply and the reason of why he is self-defined best friend with Alex.
Betty and Veronica: Spygirl and Bombshell. Even their fake identities in Alex's high school parody this.
Changeling Fantasy: Alex wishes at the beginning for one to escape his crappy school life until he realize how brutal the espionage world really is. For Butch it's to escape the living hell that is his family life... it never truly sticks.
Children Raise You: According to Rita Moody.
Cool Bike: The Spy Cycle
Cliff Hanger: The final exam ends with Spyboy incriminated as a terrorist, Anita discovered, the agency and the echelon hunting down Spyboy, and Lori showing she was a spy all along and offering a very dubious offer while suffering an existential crisis. It is either the most epic or the most sadistic ending you would ever see.
Darker and Edgier: Don't let the design and quirky humor fool you, this a very bloody and violent adaptation to the usual teenager spy theme.
Dead Person Impersonation: Spygirl during the Spyboy Manga affair and Alex's mother to Butch's mother.
Deep-Cover Agent: Both Anita and Lori are discovered or otherwise lose their fake identities at the end.
Disproportionate Retribution: Even Schweitzer finds a little absurd the reaction of his father to the Class president's campaign: hire a hitman to take both Alex and his ex-girlfriend.
Distaff Counterpart: SpyGirl.
Doting Parent: Rita Moody truly believes that Butch is the kindest person you could ever met.
Elaborate Underground Base: Spy Boy had a modest one of these hidden out in the woods.
Even Evil Has Standards: Say what you will about Gila's ruthlessness, but she has a soft spot for orphans and broke into tears hearing Butch's family life.
Evil Matriarch: Butch's mom was a physical and emotional abuser.
Evil Parents Want Good Kids
Executive Meddling
Fake Memories: Spygirl #2
Fire-Forged Friends
Fun with Acronyms: The opposing spy teams are named S.H.I.R.T.S and S.K.I.N.S. The good guys occasionally team with their oriental counterparts, M.A.N.G.A.
Good Feels Good: Butch and Anita, both times.
Government Agency of Fiction: S.H.I.R.T.S for United States and M.A.N.G.A for Japan.
Happily Adopted: Butch doesn't care Anita is not his real mother; she is the only person who has ever gave a crap about him.
Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Amusingly enough, in the comic book crossover between Spy Boy and Young Justice, Robin actually asks Spy Boy's team if they indeed took the Stormtrooper Marksmanship course — never realizing that HE was also displaying Stormtrooper level of accuracy.
Innocent Fanservice Girl: Spygirl can be found giving constantly bra and panty shots.
Just for Pun: As with much of David's work, Spy Boy is littered with wordplay.
- Madam Imadam, who works for an organisation known as the Palindrome
- Annie Mae, Japanese techno-mage-something
- REMbrandt, the artist of dreams
The Load: This seems to be Butch's place.
Mama Bear: Rita Moody would go to any lengths to protect Butch. Even more epic because she is in fact Anita Fleming, Alex's mother and she literally sacrificed her face, identity and contacts to keep protecting him.
The Mafia: Schweitzer's father seems to have connections. How far and how big is let vague during the Butch affair but is clearly a nobody compared to the power gila can muster.
Manchurian Agent: Alex is a good version.
Manga Adaption: SpyBoy: The Manga Affair. Notable for being drawn in a more traditional Anime artstyle than when compared to the original comic.
Missing Mom: Alex mom was killed during a mission, forcing the Fleming family to lay low for more than a decade.
Mr. Smith: In this world most cover names go with Girl, Guy, Dude and in one case Main Man
Noodle Incident: Apparently Bombshell managed to reunite with her parents during the Time Skip.
No One Could Survive That: Spygirl didn't
Older Than They Look: Annie Mae is probably over eighty but she looks and had quirks like a 5 year old girl.
The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: Is never truly revealed what the echelon truly is or what are his goals.
Parental Abandonment: Alex suffer from the "Mommy Dead Syndrome", doubly so because her mother is actually next to him... deeply caring for his Vitriolic Best Buds Butch
Paper-Thin Disguise: Spyguy disguises himself as a substitute teacher named "Guy Mcguffin"
Pants-Positive Safety: Behold the cover of Spy Boy #3!
Play-Along Prisoner: It never works.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Butch gives a unintended one to her deceased mother at the end of Confidential.
Rose-Haired Girl: SpyGirl
Rogue Agent: Seems to be a possible future for Alex
Seductive Spy: Bombshell's fake identity is Martha Hari.
Ship Sinking: Bombshell and Alex after the Time Skip.
Shout-Out: Spy Boy's civilian identity is Alex Fleming, a nod to James Bond's creator Ian Fleming. Continuing the theme, his father's first name is Sean (after Sean Connery).
- To the Powerpuff Girls of all things in one issue.
Split Personality: Spy Boy himself is an artificial persona buried inside a normal high school student named Alex (arguably making him a Badass Normal Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can). Or, possibly, Alex is an artificial persona created to provide Spy Boy with a perfect cover. This is one of the main ethical questions explored by the series, in its more serious moments.
Spy Couple
Spy Glasses: Alex's goggles.
Spy Tux Reveal
Spy-Versus-Spy
Surveillance as the Plot Demands: Either it gets more silly or more awesome every single time.
Teen Superspy
Time Skip: 1 year in Final Exam.
Totally Not a Spy: Guy Mcguffin.
Two-Person Love Triangle: Alex is attracted to Bombshell, but she's only interested in Spy Boy. Becomes a double Two-Person Love Triangle when Spy Girl shows up and decides Alex. Too bad Spy Boy is the only one interested.
Unreliable Narrator: It resulted that the first meeting with Spy Girl in #10 was a complete fabrication by M.A.N.G.A.
Un Installment: The series skips issue number 13, but the miniseries The MANGA Affair published later contains issues 13.1, 13.2 and 13.3.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Butch's relationship with Alex, Spy Girl and Bombshell.
- Bombshell and Spygirl are literally two breaths from killing each other most of the time.
What Happened to the Mouse?: BQ and Taketmatesa are never see or heard again after beeing hit by a Wave in the Marispan casino.
We Have Reserves: This seems the default reaction to all the enemies of Spyboy, sending henchmen to their death without blinking and eye and the response of M.A.N.G.A to Spygirl demise
Widget Nation: While the rest of the world of Spyboy is quite... colorful, the mission of Japan is flatout bizarre. Three words Giant Iron Chef Mecha