Tropes U - Z

  • Unobtanium: Destreum, invented by Starforce and stolen by Doctor Destroyer. From the description Starforce gives to Julie and Aida in 'Piranharecho', it appears to be based on carbon nanotubes. It's not only the strongest material known to the TASK FORCE universe, it can also conduct forcefields through it to make it even stronger.
  • Unstoppable Rage: Ladyhawk's death in the alternate timeline of "V'Han Returns" triggers this in Starforce. 30,000 deaths and the destruction of Dayton, OH later, PRIMUS and the Sentinels finally subdue him.
    • In "A Week at Davos", Ladyhawk sees Fiacho shoot Starforce and sees Starforce's body fall off the balcony they all are on. She then proceeds to go after Fiacho with an intensity that even he, a superpowered terrorist for over two decades, finds terrifying.
  • Unwanted Assistance: Spiritual Warrior does this to Starforce in 'Greatest Generation' when Starforce becomes the only voice of reason attempting to keep TASK FORCE from putting on a USO show at RAF Woodbridge
    • Cateran pulls this on Ted in 'What Happens in Vegas...' as Bob is attempting to defend his, um, modifications to the VIPER pulson rifle that took down Sargon
    • Ladyhawk does this to Starforce in 'Leap Day' when Captain Chronos reveals that the people of the Vale of Javangiri are worshipping Starforce because he is the son of their god.
    • It's noteworthy that in all instances, the object of the unwanted assistance replies with some variation of the line "You're not helping."
  • Viva Las Vegas: 'What Happens in Vegas...'
  • Warp That Aesop: Israeli women are oversexed (I'm looking at BOTH of you, Aida Lerner and Judith Shapiro...)
  • Weaponized Landmark: In 'Megaterak Raids Again', Starforce and Lt. Masahara turn the Tokyo Tower into an EMP gun to forcibly reboot Megaterak and save Tokyo.
    • In 'Reconnaissance In Force', the real-life TRESTLE EMP Simulator at Kirtland AFB, NM is used by Starforce to help catapult a nuclear bomb away from Albuquerque before it explodes.
  • Weird Historical War: If 'Greatest Generation' is to be believed, Nazis had developed rudimentary space-time travel, flying saucers, man-portable energy rifles, dimensional bazookas, and mecha by 1944. Good thing they were all present at one easily-destroyed location...
    • Don't forget that the British superhero Union Jack was a product of the United Kingdom's Super Soldier Programme...
    • The Champioins Universe's Haynesville Project also gets a shout-out, too.
    • In "Mechanon, Inc.", we find out that Union Jack and the United Kingdom's MI6 Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare were assisted by a centuries-old female vampire.
  • Weirdness Magnet: Chan Ishikawa back in Japan qualifies solely on its association with various superhumans and paranormal people such as Shina Arikawa, Cateran, and the Countess.
  • Westminster Chimes: Apparently a standard feature at Purdue University, based on what Bob sings in 'Kingom of Champions' at the top of the hour in downtown London:

    Starforce (singing softly and absently): "Purdue hates you, Purdue hates you, Purdue hates you, you hate it too..."
    Ladyhawk: "Nerd-boy? Behave."

  • Wham Episode: Oh, so many -- and all but one involving Doctor Destroyer:
    • 'The Battle of Detroit'
    • 'Return of the Destroyer'
    • 'Leap Day'
    • 'World War VIPER'
  • Wham Line: Yeah, there are a few...
    • Bob to Judith Shapiro in 'Extinction Event'

      Starforce: "Judith? What's its velocity at Earth orbit crossing?"
      Judith: "About 35,000 meters per second. Why?"
      Starforce (rapidly working numbers in his head, his face now white as a sheet): "Because 1989 FC is going to hit Earth with an energy equivalent of 2.5 GIGATONS at that time!"

    • Ted to Bob in 'The Legacy of Doctor Destroyer'

      Ranger: "We found the tissue samples for Albert Zerstoiten at Fort Detrick, exactly as... your hologram told you at the beginning of the week. Dr. Fuseli overnighted your samples to me, and I had three separate labs run the comparison." (beat, anguished expression) "They all came back with the same result."
      Ladyhawk (Danger Sense now going off): "Oh, my God..."
      Ranger: "Bob, I am so sorry. Albert Zerstoiten was your biological father."

    • alternate-timeline Starforce to Lady Blue in "V'Han Returns"

      Starforce: "Do you know how to start a firestorm, Tara?"
      (Tara wordlessly shakes her head)
      Starforce: "I do."

    • Captain Chronos to Ranger at the beginning of 'Leap Day'

      Ranger (beat): "Doctor Destroyer is making a *big* move with DEMON tomorrow in Mexico City..."
      Captain Chronos (interrupting): "That's not Doctor Destroyer."

    • Starforce to Doctor Destroyer at the climax of 'Leap Day'

      Dr. Destroyer: "Suppressing my teleportation web was a nice touch, but it means your suit's doing too much. By my calculations, your batteries will be drained in sixty seconds."
      Starforce: "A pity I only need to hold you for thirty-five."
      Dr. Destroyer (now noticing the increasing failures in his suit): "What have you DONE?!?"
      Starforce (coldly): "Because by MY calculations, that's how many seconds *you* have left to live."
      (stunned, shocked silence from the surviving heroes. Destroyer's armor, for lack of a better term, now appears to be visibly rusting in front of everyone)
      Starforce (continuing): "Do try to use them wisely."

    • Bob to Jocelyn during Olivia's party at the beginning of 'The Destroyer Wars'

      Starforce: "I'm your father."

    • The Cabal to Bob in 'A Week at Davos':

      Merlin: "A very high-value target is in attendance this year which justifies [Eurostar] ignoring the Danegeld that the World Economic Forum pays them to stay away."
      Starforce: "And who might THAT be?"
      Ranger: "You."

  • What Year Is This?: If Julie's Danger Sense is malfunctioning while she sleeps, this is usually one of the first questions out of her mouth when she wakes up. Bob eventually gets so used to it that he volunteers the date and time without asking once he realizes she's had an episode
    • In the epilogue of 'Force of Will', Starforce does this to Lady Blue to verify that the Varanyi have removed all memories of her being abducted and raped by Menton
  • The White House: Several scenes in 'Home of the Brave' and 'The First Dimensional War' take place here.
    • Once Julie is elected President, it takes over for Stately Dormyer Manor in-universe as the location for home scenes.
  • Why, Thank You, X!: Bob, not quite awake after staying up nearly two days straight defending the Earth from Istvatha V'Han, does this at the end of Chapter IV of "The First Dimensional War":

    (He pours himself a cup as the Varanyi gets out of the way, then walks through the Breakfast Nook into the Great Room. It is twilight; lights shimmer from across Lake Lewisville to the south and east. He locates Julie and sits down next to her, almost not registering the fact that Vikon is on another seat petting Merlyn)
    Starforce: "Hi, Vikon. Honey?"
    Ladyhawk: "Yes, dear?"
    Starforce: "Was I dreaming, or was there a Varanyi in the kitchen just now?"
    Sage: "Yes, there was."
    (Bob looks at Vikon and blinks a couple of times before realizing that he is actually there, too)
    Starforce: "Oh. Your Majesty..."

  • Wild Teen Party: Alpha bitch Marcy Hollister hijacks Lorelei Pierce's quiet video night get-together in 'Cliques' that Laura is attending and turns it into this trope.
  • World of Snark: For a series that isn't either a comedic or cynical deconstruction of superhero stories, you would be hard-pressed to count all the non-snarky characters on two hands.
  • Worthy Opponent: Clayton Stiles, VIPER's Nest Leader in the Dallas area between 'Reign of the Destroyer' and '72 Hours'
    • Biomaster certainly meets the qualifications for this trope before his heel-face turn in 'The Varanyi Civil War'
    • Heck, even Vikon in 'Reconnaissance In Force' meets those qualifications...
  • Write Back to the Future: While trapped in 1944 during 'Greatest Generation', Starforce writes a letter to Michael Renton detailing how and where TASK FORCE is to be retrieved back to 1986, with instructions that the letter is not to be delivered to Dr. Renton until 1986.
  • Wrong Time-Travel Savvy: Shadow Destroyer believes the Point of Divergence between his timeline and the TASK FORCE timeline to be TASK FORCE's trip to World War 2 at the very end of 'The Paradox of Doctor Destroyer'. Oops...
  • Your Costume Needs Work: Defied in 'Crowns of Krim' when Julie's date compliments her on how believable her Ladyhawk costume is.
    • Further defied by Ferris Drake in the same story on observing both Sage and Spiritual Warrior enter the party at the Museum.
    • Invoked in 'Resistance Is Futile' by an obnoxious Starforce cosplayer at GenCon 2011 who doesn't realize he's facing the real Starforce. It doesn't end so well for him.

      (A Starforce cosplayer blocks their progress through the Convention Center short of the escalator down to the ground floor)
      Ladyhawk: "Excuse us?"
      Cosplayer (to Bob): "Dude. Your Starforce battlesuit needs work."
      Starforce: "Excuse me?"
      Cosplayer: "That's a *very* poor imitation of his suit at the Battle of Detroit..."
      (Bob reaches a hand toward the obnoxious cosplayer. The cosplayer suddenly finds himself three feet in the air)
      Starforce: "Do tell."
      (Bob cuts his TK, and the obnoxious cosplayer finds himself on his butt in the middle of the throng)