View source for The Adjectival Superhero

{{trope}}
{{quote|'''Mrs. Chandler:''' My! Marlo wasn't exaggerating. I see... green skin... amazing!
'''Hulk:''' No. [[The Amazing Spider-Man|Spider-Man is amazing]]. I'm incredible.
|''[[Hulk|The Incredible Hulk]]'' #417}}

{{quote|''"Of all the descriptive names of all the things people say when they hear a hero in action, The Amazing Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, The Invincible Iron Man, the only descriptive word for this guy is '[[Memetic Mutation|The God-damn Batman!]]'" ''
|'''SF Debris''' on ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' }}

A [[Comic Book]] [[Naming Conventions|Naming Convention]] - sort of - with roots in the [[Silver Age]]. The superhero's name is preceded by some sort of silly, over-the-top adjective. Usually in the actual book's title even if rarely used in the story.

Keep in mind that not just any descriptors qualify for the trope - "New Trope-Man" is too simple, but "All-New, All-Different Trope-Man" can be sufficiently over-the-top. Now mostly used in the modern day either due to the [[Grandfather Clause]] or as a deliberate homage to the [[Silver Age]]. If the superhero gets a movie, expect the descriptor to be used at least once.

Comes from the same era as [[Something Person]] names and [[Superhero Sobriquets]], and often provides [[Alliteration]]. Replace a team's name with the number of members, and you have [[The Notable Numeral]]. Also compare other name and title tropes involving adjectives, [[Adjective Noun Fred]] and [[The Magnificent]]. Contrast the [[Dark Age of Supernames]]. See also [[The Fantastic Trope of Wonderous Titles]].

Not to be confused with [[The Adjectival Man]], where the adjective is the main part of the character's "name". In this trope, the adjective is just thrown in for the heck of it.

{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Especially in the 70s and 80s, there was a trend to give hyperbolic name to [[Humongous Mecha]] series. Example: ''[[Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh]]'', which translates literally into [[Boring Invincible Hero|"Absolutely Invincible Thundergod-King"]]. The 90s largely replace it with [[Word Salad Title]], such as ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''.
** ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'', as a [[Reconstruction]] of the [[Super Robot]] genre, would be a callback to this - the protagonists' main mecha is the Gurren Lagann, and "Tengen Toppa" means "Heaven-Piercing". However, the two most powerful mecha the heroes use are actually called the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, being the size of a galaxy and ''a hundred times bigger'' respectively.
* [[Dragonball Z|The Great Saiyaman!]]

== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Marvel Comics is the king of this:
** The ''Amazing''/''Spectacular''/''Sensational'' [[Spider-Man]], although Spidey himself prefers "''Friendly Neighborhood'' Spider-Man" (which eventually became a short-lived Spidey title). He may well have been the [[Trope Codifier]] for this, as his first appearance was in ''Amazing Fantasy'', which was soon after [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad|canceled, and replaced]] on the newsstands with ''Amazing Spider-Man''.
*** [[Spider-Girl]] also eventually inherited ''Amazing'' and later ''Spectacular'' from her dad.
*** Also seen: the [[Dark Avengers]]' [[Costume Copycat]] is the ''Sinister'' Spider-Man.
*** What do you get when Spidey regularly teams up with Avengers and other superheroes? A series called The ''Avenging'' Spider-Man!
*** When [[Brown Bag Mask|improvising a mask out of a paper bag]], he became the ''Amazing'' or the ''Bombastic'' Bag-Man.
*** After joining the Future Foundation (formerly known as the [[Fantastic Four]]), he's the ''Fantastic'' Spider-Man.
** [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] has ''Uncanny'', ''Astonishing'', and (briefly) ''[[Xtreme Kool Letterz|X-Treme]]''.
** In general, when a franchise has multiple books, some of them will have adjectives in their titles and one won't; this one is usually given the [[Fan Nickname]] "The ''Adjectiveless'' ________".
*** Marvel also uses "All-New, All-Different" from time to time. It originated with a roster overhaul for the X-Men, and is now a go-to phrase to hype up [[Retool|ReTools]] and relaunches.
** The ''Invincible'' [[Iron Man]]
** The ''Incredible'' [[Incredible Hulk|Hulk]]. This one actually transferred to two television shows and a movie.
*** Lampshaded by [[Peter David]] (who else?) in a story where the Hulk meets [[Sidekick|Rick Jones]]' mother-in-law. When she exclaims "Green skin! Amazing!" he replies "No, ''Spider-Man'' is amazing. ''I'm'' [[Insistent Terminology|incredible]]!"
*** There was also ''Rampaging'' Hulk, but honestly nobody cares.
*** When [[Incredible Hercules|Hercules]] took over Hulk's book, he gained the ''Incredible'' moniker.
** The ''Savage''/''Sensational'' [[She Hulk]]
*** The titles are currently being used to differentiate between multiple She-Hulks: The "Sensational" She-Hulk is Banner's cousin Jennifer Walters; while the "Savage" She-Hulk is Lyra, the Hulk's daughter from an alternate future.
** The ''Mighty'' [[The Mighty Thor|Thor]]
** The ''Immortal'' [[Immortal Iron Fist|Iron Fist]]
** The ''Astonishing'' [[Ant-Man]]
*** This adjective serves as a reference to the fact the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, made his first appearance in the anthology comic ''Tales To Astonish''.
*** The latest Ant-Man was a complete [[Jerkass]], so his series was titled The ''Irredeemable'' Ant-Man.
** There's a D- or E-list joke hero called the ''Fabulous'' Frog-Man.
*** Who eventually gained a sidekick in the ''Tenacious'' Tadpole.
** ''The Craptacular B-Sides'', a lesser-known Marvel team.
** The [[Fantastic Four]] (itself a [[The Notable Numeral|Notable Numeral]]) has the ''Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed'' Thing.
** When [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]] split, the pro-registration team became the ''Mighty'' Avengers. (There have been other "_____ Avengers" teams, but none with titles quite overblown enough for the trope.)
** ''[[Ghost Rider]]'' villain the Orb insists on being known as the ''All-New'' Orb.
** Averted with [[Doctor Strange]], who uses [[Superhero Sobriquets]] instead, but his enemies often fit this trope (the ''Dread'' Dormammu, the ''Unrelenting'' Umar).
** Marvel even [[Self-Deprecation|made fun of themselves]] for this trope back in the '60s with ''Not Brand Echh''. For example, their [[Hulk|muscular green guy in ripped pants]] was the ''Inedible'' Bulk. You [[Bratty Half-Pint|whippersnappers]] might have seen him in ''[[Nextwave]]''.
** The ''Awesome'' [[The Awesome Slapstick|Slapstick]].
* Thanks to ''[[All-Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder]]'' and [[Memetic Mutation]], DC finally has one: "the ''Goddamn'' Batman".
* ''[[The Savage Dragon]]''. Yes, contrary to popular belief, Officer Dragon lacks a first name and [[I Am Not Shazam|does not go by "Savage" in-story]].
** And fellow Image character ''[[The Astounding Wolf Man]]''.
* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures]]'' spinoff The ''Mighty'' Mutanimals.
* As a superhero parody, ''[[normalman]]'' has been called the ''Unconvinceable'' normalman and the ''Excruciatingly Average'' normalman.
* Back in 2006, DC busted out The ''All-New'' Atom! Sadly, they brought back the original Atom not long after, and the all-new one got left by the roadside.
* The ''Incredible'' Popeman. Not as serious as the other examples, obviously.
* The ''Terrific'' Whatzit, DC's first [[Funny Animal]] superhero (named "Whatzit" since he was a turtle who in his superhero identity didn't wear his shell, making it harder to tell what species he was), a turtle with the powers/costume of the [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] Flash (and Johnny Quick's flying/strength abilities).
* DC's [[New 52]] reboot includes The ''Savage'' [[Hawkman]].

== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[The Talented Mr. Ripley]]''
* ''[[The Incredible Mr. Limpet]]''
* ''[[The Amazing Mr. Blunden]]'' (the children's book it was based on, originally titled ''The Ghosts'', was republished under this title too).

== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[Fantastic Mr. Fox]]''
* ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]''

== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* The ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers|Mighty Morphin']]'' [[Power Rangers]].
** Borderline, as it's sort of the team's proper name (at least compared to all the ''other'' [[Power Rangers]] teams there have been since then). However the original show was supposed to be one season, so it counts.
* The ''Big Bad'' [[Beetleborgs]].
* Discussed in the episode of ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' "The Hofstadter Isotope" since Penny knows that her nephew wants a Spider-Man comic book for his birthday but is unfamiliar with the adjectival system.

== [[Music]] ==
* An [[S Club 7]] song refers to the band as "The ''One and Only Wonderful'' S Club"
* The ''Sensational'' Alex Harvey Band
* The ''Mighty Mighty'' Bosstones. Their earliest compilation appearances credited them as just The Bosstones (which is still something fans call them for short), but it turned out there had already been a group called The Bosstones in the 50's.

== [[Theater]] ==
* The ''Unsinkable'' Molly Brown

== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[City of Heroes]]'', starting at level 15, you can choose an adjective title for your character. At 25, you can add a second adjective (or just choose from a separate list). [http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Titles The complete list of titles is here.]

== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[Girl Genius]]'' has "the ''[[Determinator|Unstoppable]]'' Higgs".
* Parodied with "The ''Mundane'' Spider-Man" in [http://www.savagechickens.com/2011/09/the-mundane-spider-man.html this] ''[[Savage Chickens]]''.

== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The episode of [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] where Michelangelo adopts a superhero identity is called "The ''Unconvincing'' Turtle Titan".
* The ''Infamous'' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yaj8SYXMLA8 Paper Doll Man!]
* ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PrLVgR6J84 The Mighty Hercules]''
* The Great and Powerful [[Third Person Person|Trixie]] from the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' episode "[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S1/E06 Boast Busters|Boast Busters]]."
** And don't forget "[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S2/E08 The Mysterious Mare Do Well|The Mysterious Mare Do Well]]."
* Briefly invoked at the beginning of [[Spectacular Spider Man]], though it's rarely used after that.
* [[Ultimate Spider-Man]], on the other hand, is known to abuse of this trope in-Universe. Pretty ironical considering the serie has nothing to do with the comic book of the same name and said comic never had Spidey referring to himself that way.

== Other ==
* Several college sports teams, like the ''Fighting'' Illini and the ''Fighting'' Irish.
** And on [[The Simpsons]], the ''Fighting'' Hellfish!
** And on ''[[The Colbert Report]]'', whenever Colbert does his "Better Know A (Congressional) District" segment the district is called "The ''Fighting'' Xth".
* In the ''[[League of Intergalactic Cosmic Champions]]'' is The ''Amazing'' Quantum Man.
* The ''Fabulous'' Hudson Hornet, from NASCAR in the '50s but more would probably know it from being referenced in ''[[Cars]]''.
* ''[http://jlandl.blogspot.se/2011/07/and-now-dear-reader-you-must-open-your.html The Pervasive Simon-man and Unbreakable Indie Girl]'' is a story about a duo of crimefighters who apparently have read their Marvel comics.

{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:All the Tropes Superhero Team]]
[[Category:Naming Conventions]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adjectival Superhero, The}}