The Cape (TV series)/Playing With

Basic Trope: The classical superhero archetype.
 * Straight: Bob Byrant, a noble, heroic individual, gains superpowers which he uses to battle crime and evil as the superhero Stupendousness Man, whilst wearing a distinctive costume to maintain a Secret Identity.
 * Exaggerated: Bob is The Messiah, the powers he gains make him essentially a God, the enemies he fights are Complete Monsters and his costume is amazingly garish.
 * Justified: "Bob was an avid comic book reader when he was a kid, so when he got superpowers he knew instantly that he was going to use them to become a superhero like the ones he used to read about."
 * "The world needs a hero, and I have the power to be one. If not me, then who?"
 * Inverted: Bob gains superpowers, but decides to use them for his own personal advantage (or even to become a villain).
 * Alternatively: The Nineties Anti-Hero.
 * Subverted: On the outside Bob appears to be a noble and heroic superhero, but he's actually corrupt, cowardly and hypocritical.
 * Double Subverted: On the outside Bob appears to be a noble and heroic superhero, but he's actually corrupt, cowardly and hypocritical -- but he eventually has a change of heart and begins to genuinely use his powers for noble and heroic purposes.
 * Alternatively: Bob uses his powers, gadgets or training to make himself a symbol of fear and chaos: a Super-Villain. But it turns out that the only reason Bob became a super-villain was to force society to improve.
 * Parodied: Bob tries to use his superpowers to help people and do the right thing, but he's hopelessly incompetent and ends up doing more harm than good.
 * Alternatively: Bob would have been a perfect superhero in the 1950s, but his values are completely out of date and no one takes him seriously.
 * Deconstructed: Bob's ideals and values are overly idealistic and out of place in the real world he finds himself in. He often find himself struggling
 * Reconstructed: Bob's ideals and values are overly idealistic and out of place in the real world he finds himself in, and his powers cannot solve every problem he encounters. However, he nevertheless manages to overcome these problems to make the world a better place.
 * There are some problems Bob can't fix. He accepts that and concentrates on helping out in the ways he can. Just because he can't stop government corruption and religious turmoil is no reason not to foil bank robberies and defend the world from alien armadas.
 * "You don't get it. My values are unrealistic, lofty and dated, yes. But they hold me to a standard. A standard you could never meet, Darkguy."
 * Averted: Bob might have superpowers, but he chooses not to use them.
 * Enforced: Bob's the Cape because the producers are consciously attempting to attract an audience only vaguely familiar with classic superhero conventions.
 * Alternatively, the writing team makes Bob a noble figure bringing hope to a dark world as a backlash against the Nineties Anti-Hero.
 * Lampshaded: "This guy acts like he just stepped out of a comic book!"
 * Invoked: "I shall use these powers for good, to help and protect the innocent! I shall become a superhero!"
 * Bob is given powers in an attempt to make him a better person, and it works.
 * Bob has no powers, nor any major resources, but when his family become the victims of crime, he takes on a colourful costume and a cheesy moniker to go walking the streets and confronting muggers and thieves.
 * Defied: "Just because I have these powers doesn't mean I'm a superhero! I can't be expected to deal with all of this!"
 * Discussed: ???
 * Conversed: "I wish I was a superhero..."

Back to The Cape