Earth-19/Tropes

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This is a list of all tropes, including themes, motifs, symbols, running gags, memes, and more in Earth-19. A trope is "a conceptual figure of speech, a storytelling shorthand for a concept that the audience will recognize and understand instantly." Because it doesn't deserve its own page, and is slightly relevant here, shipping is also included on this page.

This box is used to indicate spoilers.

Key

This list in incomplete, but currently sufficient.

• Averted: Means that the trope is not present. Averted tropes are not listed here unless there is a case where a trope that is present in one case is averted in others (example), or if is a surprising aversion of the trope (example).
• Downplayed: Means that the trope is not emphasized to the same scale that is usually is: example.
• Exaggerated: Means that the trope is heavily emphasized more than is usually is: no examples yet.
• Inverted: Means that the opposite of the trope applies: example.
• Justified: Means that the trope has a specific explanation as to why it exists within the universe: example.
• Lampshaded: Means that the trope is discussed by the parties it affects. It does not have to be explicitly stated that it is a trope: example.
• Parodied: Means that the trope is twisted for comical effect: no examples yet.
• Subverted: Means that the trope partially applies, but not exactly: example.
  • Double Subversion: Means that the trope is almost subverted, but then not subverted: no examples yet.

Tropes

This list is by no means complete, and it may never be.

• Academy of Evil: The Villains' Academy.
• Aerith and Bob: Some of the recruits' names are normal like Rob, Brian, and Will, but others are unusual, like Paper, Sci, and Bink. Lampshaded by Rob in the first episode:
  • [Rob]: My name's Rob, but ah... Water and Paper? What kinds of names are those?
• Air-Vent Passageway: Paper and the other members of his group at the Southern Plumber Prison use this to get to their secret meeting room.

• All Your Base Are Belong To Us: Averted on countless occasions in the first season, then heavily exaggerated in the third season. Lampshaded like most instances of this trope.
• Aliens in Cardiff: Three of the domes for the grid are placed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Novosibirsk, Russia, and Canberra, Australia. The fourth is placed in Washington, D.C., so this is an aversion. It's also justified as the Grid needs to be spread out around the entire planet in order to function.
• Alien Invasion: After being discovered in the second season, the Salimorians finally begin their invasion of Earth in the first episode of Season 3. This is the All-Out Attack form of an invasion.

• Aliens Speaking English: Self-explanatory. Averted with the aliens that actually speak in their native tongues.
  • A possible justification for this is that the Plumbers' badges may automatically translate spoken messages to the native language of the owner. This, however, is proven false in And Then There Were None when Paper, Sci, and Toon travel in Budapest, Paris, and Moscow and are unable to understand Hungarian, among other languages.
• Altum Videtur: The series loves this one.
  • The Solvens Tenebrae Vestibulum.
  • The Mare Glacies and Mare Ignis.
  • The Gigatellum.
• And the Adventure Continues: The ending of Final Exam, Part 3, when The Haven arrives on Earth.

• Animesque: Not obvious because the series isn't actually animated, but that's the intention, especially by Generations.
• Archnemesis Dad: Rigon to Sci. Not an instance of Luke I Am Your Father because the information is known to the son from the beginning.

• Arc Number: 19 appears ever where, from timestamps, to the universe number, to periodically in other places.
  • Parodied in Final Exam, Part 2 when Dovano states that the death toll from the Nikon'ali invasion if 19,019,019 people across the galaxy.

• Artificial Gravity: The Haven has it.

• As Long as it Sounds Foreign:
  • Basically all of the alien planet, species, and character names.
  • Sigara is the new name for Jakarta.
  • Makoru and Suzko, Japanese members of the Servants of the Dragon.

• Badass Princess: Polarys.
• Bad Future:
  • In the part of Insight that takes place in 2038, Paper and Toon are the only members left in the team. Just before taking a time-machine back to 2014, Sci arrives and wishes them good luck. After they leave, Sci finds Brian and asks him they he betrayed the team, but Brian gives a Non-Answer and simply knocks Sci unconscious.
  • In the Generations episode Project Rhodes, Paper finally arrives back in 2013, but things have changed. He meets up with Brian and observes a graveyard containing the graves of all the members of the team except for himself, Sci, Toon and Brian. While mourning, Brian captures him, too, and proclaims that the plan can proceed.

• The Bay Guy Wins: At the end of season two, the Elite become just that. Subverted due to it not being the end of their plan.

• Batman Gambit:
  • When Lotin fakes the death of Hornbok he expects him to then use his survival as a means of trickery, when in reality Lotin knew that he was dead. Also a Xanatos Gambit because if Hornbok didn't try to trick Lotin thereafter, he would've stayed in jail.
  • When Sci impersonates Altor to figure out if Damian Walker has a copy of the Solvens Tenebrae Vestibulum, he reasons that Damian would not lie if he knew his life was in danger. Also an Impersonation Gambit.

• Battle Couple:
  • Towards, the end of the first season of Generations, Paper and Polarys start to become one.
  • To an extent, Sci and Kali are one as well, but they're the Beta Couple.
• Beta Couple: Sci and Kali
• Big Bad: Lotin.

• Bigger Bad: Rigon.

• Cardboard Prison: Most of the Plumbers' prisons are examples of this trope.
• Changing of the Guard: Generations, though subverted due to the original team still playing a major role. Not to be confused with the episode titled Changing of the Guard.
• Contrived Coincidence: The entire November 15 Arc. Zig Zagged between subverted due to The Elite actually planning for all of the events to occur that day, even though other events occurred that weren't planned, and exaggerated, due to the shear number of things that happened.

• Cosmic Keystone: Rigon's crystals. Also a plot coupon.

• Cosmopolitan Council: The Elite. Also an example of The Omniscient Council of Vagueness. Not an example of The Smurfette Principle.

• Dark Secret: Sci has one, being the son of Rigon.

• Darker and Edgier: Heavily downplayed. This was the original goal of Generations.
• The Dragon:
  • Virton becomes this to Lotin immediately upon his introduction. Like most Dragons, he commits a Heel Face Turn in Man in the Mirror.
  • Dexis and Damian Walker become Lotin's new Dragons in Generations, but the former is ultimately discarded.

• The End of the World as We Know It: July 14, 2014 is threatened to be the day that Rigon will return and begin his conquest of the galaxy. The end is ultimately averted.

• Evil Versus Evil: Subverted with Rigon Vs The Elite. While Rigon ulimately does not care for The Elite, he is not completely against them as he wants them to succeed in freeing him.
• Faking the Dead: Part of Lotin's Batman Gambit. He appears to kill Hornbok.

• Fictional United Nations:
  • The Galactic Peace Council and the Plumbers.
  • Averted on Earth with the actual United Nations.
• Final Exam Finale: Surprising aversion. Despite its name, the three-part series finale of the original series is not one of these.
• Floating Continent: Fractal City is one of these.
• Four is Death: Inverted. The four crystals of Rigon, when used, lead to immortality in addition to other benefits.

• Give Him a Normal Life: Sci's mother sends him to an orphanage for this purpose.

• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Mostly in the first season of the original series, but also at times later on, the episodes are all named after school phrases such as "Pop Quiz", "Mid Term", and "Final Exam".
• Impersonation Gambit: In Life, the Universe, and Everything, Sci impersonates Altor to figure out if Damian Walker has a copy of the Solvens Tenebrae Vestibulum. Also a Batman Gambit.

• In Name Only: The Plumbers. Enforced by the source material.
• I Need You Stronger: Lotin brings the original team to the Academy to train them himself so that they become his main opposition. This is the entire basis of the original series.

• Istanbul Not Constantinople: Many of the cities on Earth-19 are renamed.
  • Atlanta is Newport.
  • Baltimore is Fellson City.
  • Chicago is Midnight City.
  • Denver is Center City.
  • Helena is Northwater.
  • Houston is Arington.
  • Jakarta is Sigara. Also an example of As Long as it Sounds Foreign.
  • Vancouver is Oceanside.
  • Averted with the existence of New York City, Washington D.C., Seattle, Paris, Budapest, Moscow, Canberra.
  • Zig Zagged with Oakwood being London. In some cases, London is referred to as Oakwood, but in other cases, Oakwood is stated to be a suburb of London.
• Kid Hero: The original team throughout the events of the original series, and the new team in Generations. Slightly averted because some of the members aren't exactly kids.
• Kid Hero All Grown Up: The original team by the time of Generations.
• Monumental Damage: The Seattle Space Needle, the St. Louis Arch, and the Washington Monument in Prelude to Destruction.
• Magic Map: The map of the Terra Solar System, Galvan Prime, and the center of the Milky Way.
• Myth Arc: The Elite tries to become just that, and the Plumbers try to stop them.

• The Name is Bond, James Bond: Lotin introduces himself to the team in this way.
  • [Lotin]: My name is Lotin. Magister Lotin.
• On Ice: Plumbers on Ice.
• The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: The Elite. Also an example of a Cosmopolitan Council. Not an example of The Illuminati because it was neither founded by humans nor founded at the beginning of human society.

• Parental Abandonment: Several cases of it.
  • Sci's father originally abandons him because of his evil plans. His mother later abandons him so that he can live a normal life.
  • Paper's parents are forced to abandon him when they are killed by Lotin.
  • When he was 12, Ray's parents died in a car crash.

• Plot Coupon:
  • Rigon's crystals]]. Also an example of Cosmic Keystones.
  • Invoked by the team when they cut the Sword of Rigon into pieces and scatter them across the galaxy, only to need to track them down again.

• Plot Immunity: When the Elite are imprisoned, it's very obvious that it won't be for long.

• Plot-Triggering Death: There are two instances of this, one being a pair of deaths:
  • Dillius. Once he dies, Lotin can proceed with bringing the recruits to the Academy.
  • Paper's parents. Their death causes Paper to want to join the Plumbers.

• Prophecy Twist: Though he is destined to help Rigon take his revenge on the galaxy, he ends up going against the prophecy by escaping from his father's prison dimension and then helping defeat his father. Subverted due to the lack of clarity as to what the prophecy actually entailed.

• Put on a Bus:
  • Invoked by the Genre Savvy Lotin as part of one of his Xanatos Gambits when he imprisons the Phantom so that he won't be able to interfere with his plans, but such that he will be available for later use.
  • This happens to Ivada in Life, the Universe, and Everything when he becomes the commander of the Haven. Also a subversion of http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BusCrash Bus Crash], as Ivada survives.

• Recycled IN SPACE!: The entire series is a spin-off of Young Justice.
• Reports of my Death were Greatly Exaggerated: Quickly taken care of with the Sages.

• Satanic Archetype: Rigon.

• Screw Destiny: From when it is first revealed that Sci is the Child of Darkness, he goes against his destiny to join Rigon's side and help him accomplish his plan. Subverted with a prophecy twist when Sci goes into Rigon's prison so that Rigon can be freed, but then Sci escapes.

• The Smurfette Principle:
  • Enforced by the team due to the lack of female users on the wiki, then subverted as the series moves on and the team expands.
  • Subverted by The Elite, but the men still outnumber the women 5 to 2.

• Sorting Algorithm of Evil: As the series goes on, the villains that the team faces, leading up to the Big Bad and then the Bigger Bad, get stronger and stronger. Slightly subverted at the beginning of Generations when the story starts focusing on a new, inexperienced team.
• Spoiler Title: The Second Guardian.

• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: While the main characters are team, it is clear that some members are more important than others. This is eventually justified by the existence of a book of prophecy.

• Stranger in a Familiar Land: Paper, after arriving back in 2038 after time-travelling to 2014, is surprised at everything that has changed.

• Theme Naming: A lot of it.
  • The Sages are all named after emotions or things that can be felt: Joy, Grief, Hope, Fear, Rage, Love, and Hate.
  • Stellar Name: Aldabarbaria, Betelgusia, and Polluni are all named after stars, as are all of the members of the Betelgusian and Pollunian royal families. No members of the Aldabarbarian royal family have ever been seen, but it is possible that they are also named after stars.
  • Religious and Mythological Theme Naming:
    • Many Salimorians have names derived from Egyptian gods: Ra'ol Set, Horus Set, Isis, Amon Set. Thebes is not a Salimorian, but he is also named after an Ancient Egyptian city.
    • Athena shares her name with the Greek goddess.
    • Arthur shares his name with the King of the Knights of the Round Table.
    • Lucifer shares his name with an, albeit incorrect, alias of the devil in Christianity.
    • All of the cities on the Haven are named after the in-universe Veloan deities.
• They Copied it, so it Sucks: The series can be viewed as a copy of Young Justice, though as the series went on, it distanced itself from that series. Also an example of Recycled IN SPACE!
• Threshold Guardians: The Sages. Paper needs to pass all of their trials in order to become the fulfilled Guardian of the Child of Darkness and defeat Rigon. Not a full example of The Hero's Journey because there is no symbolic death.

• Time Skip: An eighteen month time skip occurs between seasons 1 and 2 of the original series, a one month time skip occurs between seasons 2 and 3, and a twelve year time skip occurs between the original series and Generations.
• Tomes of Prophecy and Fate: Downplayed with the Solvens Tenebrae Vestibulum.

• United Space of America: The Rotolysian Court as seen in Deception. Justified as the reason why the Plumbers chose the Rotolysians to prosecute the Elite.

• Villain by Default: Thebes, Abbaddon, and Hathus Set.
• Xanatos Gambit:
  • Lotin is the master of this gambit:
    • When he fakes the death of Hornbok, he can either stay in jail or try to trick using his secret survival, both of which would benefit Lotin in the end. Also a Batman Gambit because Lotin is relying on what he expects is going to happen.
    • He uses another when he imprisons the Phantom: if the Phantom becomes necessary for his later plans, he will know exactly where he is to free him. If he is unable to free him alone, he can let entice someone else into freeing him. If the Phantom ends up not being necessary, he will remain imprisoned.

Shipping

It's not really shipping if the most pairings that any character is in one, unless you count ships that haven't "sailed." That's when it gets interesting...