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iBoy

 iBoy
type
TVTItem
 iBoy
label
iBoy
 iBoy
page
IBoy
 iBoy
comment
iBoy, the not completely realistic but awesome story of a boy called Tom Harvey who has an iPhone dropped on his head from a 30-floor council flat and develops superpowers from the pieces lodged in his brain. These powers include: control over electricity, access to the entire internet just by the power of thought (as well as the phone lines), somehow the knowledge to hack anything on the internet and listen in on anyone's conversations and electric force-fields.The same person who threw the iPhone was also involved in gang-raping Tom's childhood friend Lucy and Tom sets out to take revenge on the attackers but soon learns that nothing good comes from getting involved with gangsters...Notable for being literature for older teens but exploring some incredibly dark themes, as well as realisticly exploring the psychological effects of developing super-powers.In 2017, Netflix made a film adaption.
 iBoy
fetched
2024-04-03T11:00:11Z
 iBoy
parsed
2024-04-03T11:00:12Z
 iBoy
processingComment
Dropped link to AdaptationalDyeJob: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 iBoy
processingComment
Dropped link to AdaptationalNameChange: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 iBoy
processingComment
Dropped link to AdaptationalPersonalityChange: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 iBoy
processingUnknown
AdaptationalDyeJob
 iBoy
processingUnknown
AdaptationalNameChange
 iBoy
processingUnknown
AdaptationalPersonalityChange
 iBoy
isPartOf
DBTropes
 iBoy / int_113480b7
type
Canon Foreigner
 iBoy / int_113480b7
comment
Canon Foreigner: The film gives Tom another friend named Danny, though he's later revealed to be a Composite Character of Davey, Tom's Evil Former Friend, and the girl who filmed Lucy's rape.
 iBoy / int_113480b7
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_113480b7
featureConfidence
1.0
 iBoy
hasFeature
iBoy / int_113480b7
 iBoy / int_14beeefd
type
Darker and Edgier
 iBoy / int_14beeefd
comment
Darker and Edgier: Than your average teen superhero origin story. Tom lives in a very violent gang-ridden neighborhood, and the event that sets off his quest for revenge is his love interest getting raped.
 iBoy / int_14beeefd
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_14beeefd
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_14beeefd
 iBoy / int_171e14be
type
London Gangster
 iBoy / int_171e14be
comment
London Gangster
 iBoy / int_171e14be
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1.0
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_171e14be
 iBoy / int_1c8e096e
type
Childhood Friend Romance
 iBoy / int_1c8e096e
comment
Childhood Friend Romance: It seems like it would've been a pretty straight example until Lucy was raped, Tom got super-powers and inadvertantly made Lucy fall in love with his online iBoy persona...
 iBoy / int_1c8e096e
featureApplicability
1.0
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_1c8e096e
 iBoy / int_309b8806
type
Cursed with Awesome
 iBoy / int_309b8806
comment
Cursed with Awesome: Well, the tagline for the book is "His powers are his curse".
 iBoy / int_309b8806
featureApplicability
1.0
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_309b8806
 iBoy / int_3ed23024
type
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome
 iBoy / int_3ed23024
comment
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: How does the Big Bad find out Tom is the one attacking members of his gang? Because the name iBoy comes from an insult said to him just a few weeks earlier by someone who who works for Ellman and knows Ben. When Ben and Lucy first see Tom as iBoy, Ben mistakenly hears it as eBay but while telling those people helps them make a connection. The reality is that on an estate, someone like Tom would be relatively well known and therefore it wouldn't be that difficult to make a connection.
 iBoy / int_3ed23024
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1.0
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1.0
 iBoy
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iBoy / int_3ed23024
 iBoy / int_4a0821b4
type
Archnemesis Dad
 iBoy / int_4a0821b4
comment
Archnemesis Dad: Subverted. While it's not confirmed to be true, Ellman does explain how it's possible he's Tom's father, since if he's to be believed she tended to Really Get Around.
 iBoy / int_4a0821b4
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-0.3
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_4a0821b4
 iBoy / int_588d766f
type
BlackAndGreyMorality
 iBoy / int_588d766f
comment
Black-and-Grey Morality: Tom is definitely fighting vile criminals who feel no regret over what they've done, but he comes to realise that he isn't doing it to make the world a better place. He's doing it to make himself feel better because he couldn't do anything to save Lucy, who would prefer to move on with her life, and as the book goes on he does start to realise that he doesn't actually have a proper plan. He can also be pretty violent when using his powers and causes serious harm to what are still just teenagers.
 iBoy / int_588d766f
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1.0
 iBoy / int_588d766f
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_588d766f
 iBoy / int_59907e4f
type
Police Are Useless
 iBoy / int_59907e4f
comment
Police Are Useless: Somewhat(?) justified in that they're dealing with gang-members, a lot of which are only minors.
 iBoy / int_59907e4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_59907e4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 iBoy
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iBoy / int_59907e4f
 iBoy / int_5f861d0f
type
Only Friend
 iBoy / int_5f861d0f
comment
Only Friend: Lucy was this for Tom, though the film gives him a friend named Danny who becomes his Evil Former Friend.
 iBoy / int_5f861d0f
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_5f861d0f
featureConfidence
1.0
 iBoy
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iBoy / int_5f861d0f
 iBoy / int_62434fe2
type
Sanity Slippage
 iBoy / int_62434fe2
comment
Tom's Sanity Slippage is absent in the film.
 iBoy / int_62434fe2
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_62434fe2
 iBoy / int_657bb751
type
The Yardies
 iBoy / int_657bb751
comment
The Yardies: The professional British gangsters are mainly black or Pakistani, although they're led by a white London Gangster.
 iBoy / int_657bb751
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_657bb751
featureConfidence
1.0
 iBoy
hasFeature
iBoy / int_657bb751
 iBoy / int_72455542
type
Adaptational Intelligence
 iBoy / int_72455542
comment
Tom is presented as being less of a loner and a bit more willing to interact with others, as well as being much smarter at least academically. He's also more traditionally heroic, as opposed to the brutal and violent antihero of the book who struggled with controlling his actions.
 iBoy / int_72455542
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_72455542
featureConfidence
1.0
 iBoy
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iBoy / int_72455542
 iBoy / int_82a64c4b
type
Adaptational Nice Guy
 iBoy / int_82a64c4b
comment
Adaptational Nice Guy: Tom's Sanity Slippage is absent in the film. While still a villain, the Big Bad Ellman is changed from a violent psychopath to an Affably Evil gang leader in the film. As a result, he's far more civil when interacting with Tom and while mockingly suggests he could be his dad, doesn't come up with a story about murdering his mum just to mess with Tom while also being less sexist as he's more respectful towards Lucy and doesn't try to rape her. Also while it's very downplayed, the teens who raped Lucy do show at least some guilt over what they did and are uncomfortable being around her, especially when she reminds them of how they've known each other since they were little kids.
 iBoy / int_82a64c4b
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_82a64c4b
featureConfidence
1.0
 iBoy
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iBoy / int_82a64c4b
 iBoy / int_8739b21
type
Technopath
 iBoy / int_8739b21
comment
Technopath: Tom becomes this courtesy of his accident that left a piece of phone stuck in his brain. He's initially only able to "see" electrical signals and telecommunicatons through Extreme Graphical Representation, but he's able to hack into any network, operate cars, and even explode things.
 iBoy / int_8739b21
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_8739b21
featureConfidence
1.0
 iBoy
hasFeature
iBoy / int_8739b21
 iBoy / int_970c790a
type
Big Bad
 iBoy / int_970c790a
comment
Big Bad: Gang life seems to run on there being bigger and bigger bads as the chain of command goes higher but... Howard Ellman.
 iBoy / int_970c790a
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_970c790a
featureConfidence
1.0
 iBoy
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iBoy / int_970c790a
 iBoy / int_ba46585b
type
Adaptational Backstory Change
 iBoy / int_ba46585b
comment
Adaptational Backstory Change: A minor one, but Tom's mum died when he was two in the film instead of when he was six months old. It's also established that he was aware of her being a drug addict, while this was something his gran hid from him.
 iBoy / int_ba46585b
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_ba46585b
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_ba46585b
 iBoy / int_c3c3c608
type
Evil Former Friend
 iBoy / int_c3c3c608
comment
Evil Former Friend: Tom used to be friends with Davey, but they drifted apart when Davey started getting involved with the gangs. The film turns Canon Foreigner Danny into one after he betrayed Tom for money, seemingly ending up in charge after Tom got rid of Ellman and most of the higher ups.
 iBoy / int_c3c3c608
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1.0
 iBoy / int_c3c3c608
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_c3c3c608
 iBoy / int_c90bcc4d
type
Piecemeal Funds Transfer
 iBoy / int_c90bcc4d
comment
Piecemeal Funds Transfer: Justified in the film adaptation, as the funds transfer needs to be done in small pieces in order to not attract attention.
 iBoy / int_c90bcc4d
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_c90bcc4d
featureConfidence
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_c90bcc4d
 iBoy / int_d08595d3
type
Broken Bird
 iBoy / int_d08595d3
comment
Broken Bird: Lucy, although she gets a little better as the story goes on.
 iBoy / int_d08595d3
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_d08595d3
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_d08595d3
 iBoy / int_d0f0a80d
type
One-Word Title
 iBoy / int_d0f0a80d
comment
One-Word Title: Also a Portmantitle because it's a compound word, possibly.
 iBoy / int_d0f0a80d
featureApplicability
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featureConfidence
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_d0f0a80d
 iBoy / int_d2b59903
type
Cool Old Lady
 iBoy / int_d2b59903
comment
Cool Old Lady: Tom's grandmother who raised him when his mother died, although she is only in her 50s.
 iBoy / int_d2b59903
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_d2b59903
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_d2b59903
 iBoy / int_d500b978
type
Adaptational Wimp
 iBoy / int_d500b978
comment
Adaptational Wimp: In the film Tom loses his Shock and Awe powers and ability to disguise himself. Though the ending has him create an electrical pulse to defeat Ellman.
 iBoy / int_d500b978
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_d500b978
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_d500b978
 iBoy / int_f33ff01c
type
Adaptational Context Change
 iBoy / int_f33ff01c
comment
Adaptational Context Change: The film changes the context of Tom's presence during Lucy's rape: in the book he was waking when Davey threw the iPhone at his head from Lucy's flat window, while the film has him actually walk in during the rape and being chased until he got shot. This makes Tom feel guilty, since he feels he should have done something to help Lucy instead of just running, despite everyone telling him what he did was the right thing to do.
 iBoy / int_f33ff01c
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_f33ff01c
featureConfidence
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_f33ff01c
 iBoy / int_f64a9cf7
type
Earn Your Happy Ending
 iBoy / int_f64a9cf7
comment
Earn Your Happy Ending: Tom is able to bring all the gangsters to justice, Lucy is able to overcome her trauma, and the movie ends with them sealing their status as an Official Couple with a Big Damn Kiss.
 iBoy / int_f64a9cf7
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_f64a9cf7
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_f64a9cf7
 iBoy / int_fcc1378e
type
Pop-Up Texting
 iBoy / int_fcc1378e
comment
Pop-Up Texting: Played with. Anytime Tom texts someone the message will show up like this for the viewer, but this is because he's actually got the ability to see electrical signals. He doesn't even have to use his hands.
 iBoy / int_fcc1378e
featureApplicability
1.0
 iBoy / int_fcc1378e
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_fcc1378e
 iBoy / int_name
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ItemName
 iBoy / int_name
comment
 iBoy / int_name
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 iBoy / int_name
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 iBoy
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iBoy / int_name
 iBoy / int_name
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iBoy

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 iBoy
hasFeature
English Literature / int_1360c830
 iBoy
hasFeature
Films of 2015–2019 / int_1360c830
 iBoy
hasFeature
Piecemeal Funds Transfer / int_1360c830
 iBoy
hasFeature
Pop-Up Texting / int_1360c830
 iBoy
hasFeature
Technopath / int_1360c830