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Starter Villain
- 168 statements
- 32 feature instances
- 1 referencing feature instances
| Starter Villain | type |
TVTItem | |
| Starter Villain | label |
Starter Villain | |
| Starter Villain | page |
StarterVillain | |
| Starter Villain | comment |
Starter Villain is a 2023 comedic science-fiction novel by John Scalzi.Charlie Fitzer is a former business journalist who is financially struggling as a substitute teacher. All he wants to do is take over running his local bar. Then he learns that his estranged rich uncle Jake just died and is asked by Jake's assistant Mathilda 'Til' Morrison to officiate at his funeral. Charlie quickly finds out that literally everyone else at the funeral is there to Make Sure He's Dead. Walking home after the funeral, Charlie finds his cats sitting out on the sidewalk ... and then the house explodes in a fireball.Uncle Jake was a supervillain. And now Charlie has no choice but to take over the family business.Despite the name, does not have much to do with Starter Villain. | |
| Starter Villain | fetched |
2023-11-30T11:19:33Z | |
| Starter Villain | parsed |
2023-11-30T11:19:33Z | |
| Starter Villain | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Starter Villain / int_12628662 | type |
The Call Knows Where You Live | |
| Starter Villain / int_12628662 | comment |
The Call Knows Where You Live: Charlie doesn't want to get involved with Jake's business. Then his house blows up. | |
| Starter Villain / int_12628662 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_12628662 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_12628662 | |
| Starter Villain / int_137f2d7 | type |
Card-Carrying Villain | |
| Starter Villain / int_137f2d7 | comment |
Card-Carrying Villain: Several. | |
| Starter Villain / int_137f2d7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_137f2d7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_137f2d7 | |
| Starter Villain / int_16995d90 | type |
Right-Hand Cat | |
| Starter Villain / int_16995d90 | comment |
Right-Hand Cat: Jake Baldwin and then Charlie have this literally with Hera, Persephone, and the other super-intelligent spy cats. The members of the Lombardy Convocation have adopted having pet cats as a deliberate appropriation of the aesthetic of Ernst Stavro Blofeld from James Bond. But they don't know that all but one of their cats are spies Jake and Til put in place. | |
| Starter Villain / int_16995d90 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_16995d90 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_16995d90 | |
| Starter Villain / int_16dd0b72 | type |
Make Sure He's Dead | |
| Starter Villain / int_16dd0b72 | comment |
Make Sure He's Dead: Jake Baldwin apparently had a history of Faking the Dead. So everyone who knew him sent someone to the funeral to make sure he was dead - including planning to stab the apparent corpse or inject air bubbles into its blood vessels. | |
| Starter Villain / int_16dd0b72 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_16dd0b72 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_16dd0b72 | |
| Starter Villain / int_18d15922 | type |
Title Drop | |
| Starter Villain / int_18d15922 | comment |
Title Drop: Near the end, and it's used as an insult to the protagonist, from someone who thinks himself a proper villain. | |
| Starter Villain / int_18d15922 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_18d15922 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_18d15922 | |
| Starter Villain / int_2222a43e | type |
Nebulous Evil Organisation | |
| Starter Villain / int_2222a43e | comment |
Nebulous Evil Organisation: The Lombardy Convocation. | |
| Starter Villain / int_2222a43e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_2222a43e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_2222a43e | |
| Starter Villain / int_22867424 | type |
Strike Episode | |
| Starter Villain / int_22867424 | comment |
Strike Episode: The first thing Charlie encounters when arriving at the island volcano base is the dolphins' picket line. At the climax of the story, he negotiates an end to the strike by recognizing their union and meeting their demands, then encourages them to unionize the antagonists' whales. | |
| Starter Villain / int_22867424 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_22867424 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_22867424 | |
| Starter Villain / int_2a090d00 | type |
Lampshade Hanging | |
| Starter Villain / int_2a090d00 | comment |
Lampshade Hanging: Throughout. Combined with World of Snark. | |
| Starter Villain / int_2a090d00 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_2a090d00 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_2a090d00 | |
| Starter Villain / int_3130e2c6 | type |
Uplifted Animal | |
| Starter Villain / int_3130e2c6 | comment |
Uplifted Animal: Uplifted cats act as Jake's surveillance and middle-management. The uplifted dolphins are labor and are unionized. Other villains have uplifted humpback whales working for them. | |
| Starter Villain / int_3130e2c6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_3130e2c6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_3130e2c6 | |
| Starter Villain / int_318a8a83 | type |
Initiation Ceremony | |
| Starter Villain / int_318a8a83 | comment |
Initiation Ceremony: The "Pitch and Pitch", where aspiring candidates for funding by the Lombardy Convocation are invited to make a sales pitch where they are subject to being immediately launched into a lake by any of the members. They agree to this because whoever gets thrown the furthest out gets a second chance to make a sale. | |
| Starter Villain / int_318a8a83 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_318a8a83 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_318a8a83 | |
| Starter Villain / int_35b429f3 | type |
Weird Trade Union | |
| Starter Villain / int_35b429f3 | comment |
Weird Trade Union: Of dolphins. And later of whales. | |
| Starter Villain / int_35b429f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_35b429f3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_35b429f3 | |
| Starter Villain / int_369a1bf6 | type |
Death Faked for You | |
| Starter Villain / int_369a1bf6 | comment |
Death Faked for You: Jake's people fake Charlie's death by setting his hotel on fire with a decoy body wearing his old clothes left inside. Til has it left a bit ambiguous since she understands that it may be convenient for Charlie to be alive again later. She also offers death faking as a service to the CIA and other organizations that want to give covert operatives extremely convincing covers. | |
| Starter Villain / int_369a1bf6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_369a1bf6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_369a1bf6 | |
| Starter Villain / int_382bdb6b | type |
Volcano Lair | |
| Starter Villain / int_382bdb6b | comment |
Volcano Lair: Quite a nice one, acquired by Jake Baldwin at a discount and with plenty of geothermal power. | |
| Starter Villain / int_382bdb6b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_382bdb6b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_382bdb6b | |
| Starter Villain / int_3c0a4666 | type |
Noodle Incident | |
| Starter Villain / int_3c0a4666 | comment |
Noodle Incident: Do not go swimming with angry dolphins. | |
| Starter Villain / int_3c0a4666 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_3c0a4666 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_3c0a4666 | |
| Starter Villain / int_50f66629 | type |
Crazy-Prepared | |
| Starter Villain / int_50f66629 | comment |
Crazy-Prepared: Jake Baldwin set up a cover identity for his nephew as soon as he was born and kept it updated. He also had him under continuous surveillance and set up a backup safe house for him just in case he was targeted by Jake's enemies. | |
| Starter Villain / int_50f66629 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_50f66629 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_50f66629 | |
| Starter Villain / int_5fb4ac87 | type |
Nazi Gold | |
| Starter Villain / int_5fb4ac87 | comment |
Nazi Gold: Charlie is told that Jake hid a large stash of valuables looted in WWII-era Europe and kept for decades by the Lombardy Convocation. After Dobrev is apparently killed; Charlie makes a deal to buy off the rest of the Lombardy Convocation's current members with it. But there is no stash, only empty crates. It was a set-up by Dobrev and Jake to get the Convocation's members to kill each other. | |
| Starter Villain / int_5fb4ac87 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_5fb4ac87 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_5fb4ac87 | |
| Starter Villain / int_6627695f | type |
Author Appeal | |
| Starter Villain / int_6627695f | comment |
Author Appeal: John Scalzi likes his pet cats. (In fact, the example names Til lists for cats are the names of his actual real-life cats.) | |
| Starter Villain / int_6627695f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_6627695f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_6627695f | |
| Starter Villain / int_7dbfa45b | type |
Spy Speak | |
| Starter Villain / int_7dbfa45b | comment |
Spy Speak: An extended conversation between Til and a CIA operative about a cat is revealed to be an elaborate Trust Password. | |
| Starter Villain / int_7dbfa45b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_7dbfa45b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_7dbfa45b | |
| Starter Villain / int_85f0f0fb | type |
World of Snark | |
| Starter Villain / int_85f0f0fb | comment |
World of Snark: As expected for a John Scalzi book. | |
| Starter Villain / int_85f0f0fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_85f0f0fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_85f0f0fb | |
| Starter Villain / int_87bb6874 | type |
Villain with Good Publicity | |
| Starter Villain / int_87bb6874 | comment |
Villain with Good Publicity: Deliberately cultivated by some members of the Lombardy Convocation. Jake Baldwin instead went with a strategy of 'villain with no publicity', such that news reports of his death are focused on how extremely boring of a billionaire he allegedly was. | |
| Starter Villain / int_87bb6874 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_87bb6874 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_87bb6874 | |
| Starter Villain / int_a6ec25e4 | type |
Protection Racket | |
| Starter Villain / int_a6ec25e4 | comment |
Protection Racket: One of the ways that Jake Baldwin made very large amounts of money. | |
| Starter Villain / int_a6ec25e4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_a6ec25e4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_a6ec25e4 | |
| Starter Villain / int_aaff69d0 | type |
Unexpected Successor | |
| Starter Villain / int_aaff69d0 | comment |
Unexpected Successor: All of Jake's enemies are trying to understand who Charlie is and what to do about him now that he is apparently in charge of an organization explicitly equated in power to several nation-states. That was all part of the plan. | |
| Starter Villain / int_aaff69d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_aaff69d0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_aaff69d0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_b1f18adb | type |
Ray Gun | |
| Starter Villain / int_b1f18adb | comment |
Ray Gun: One of Jake's businesses got paid to develop a prototype antisatellite laser weapon. Then they built a larger one, which all governments with large numbers of satellites pay them to not use. Charlie uses it to destroy a satellite the Lombardy Convocation is using to communicate with their spies around the island. | |
| Starter Villain / int_b1f18adb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_b1f18adb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_b1f18adb | |
| Starter Villain / int_b2463ea1 | type |
Intellectual Animal | |
| Starter Villain / int_b2463ea1 | comment |
Intellectual Animal: Hera is one of Charlie's pet cats. She is also a spy assigned by Jake to protect him and has a side business on her own as a real-estate investor, where she has accumulated a portfolio worth tens of millions of dollars in only a few years. She eventually buys Charlie the bar. | |
| Starter Villain / int_b2463ea1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_b2463ea1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_b2463ea1 | |
| Starter Villain / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
| Starter Villain / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: Many. Including James Bond, The Fugitive, and Indiana Jones. | |
| Starter Villain / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_c75df49a | |
| Starter Villain / int_db71d717 | type |
Thanatos Gambit | |
| Starter Villain / int_db71d717 | comment |
Thanatos Gambit: Jake knew he was dying and arranged with Dobrev to take the Lombardy Convocation down with him. | |
| Starter Villain / int_db71d717 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_db71d717 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_db71d717 | |
| Starter Villain / int_dc08c2bc | type |
Translator Collar | |
| Starter Villain / int_dc08c2bc | comment |
Translator Collar: Hera, Persephone, and the other spy cats communicate with their human colleagues using specialized keyboards connected to computer displays. The dolphins have a similar system controlled using underwater microphones. | |
| Starter Villain / int_dc08c2bc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_dc08c2bc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_dc08c2bc | |
| Starter Villain / int_e4f48a7f | type |
The "Fun" in "Funeral" | |
| Starter Villain / int_e4f48a7f | comment |
The "Fun" in "Funeral": The funeral director is quite amused at some of flower arrangements Charlie receives at the funeral home, which were sent by Jake's supervillain antagonists and celebrate the fact that he's dead in various obscene ways. The funeral director is less amused when one of the attendees tries to stab the body. | |
| Starter Villain / int_e4f48a7f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_e4f48a7f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_e4f48a7f | |
| Starter Villain / int_f64a9cf7 | type |
Earn Your Happy Ending | |
| Starter Villain / int_f64a9cf7 | comment |
Earn Your Happy Ending: Charlie does eventually get to quit and go run the bar; after a lot of people try to extort him, kill him, or frame him for murder. | |
| Starter Villain / int_f64a9cf7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_f64a9cf7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_f64a9cf7 | |
| Starter Villain / int_f9876f7e | type |
Faking the Dead | |
| Starter Villain / int_f9876f7e | comment |
Faking the Dead: Done by Jake Baldwin in the backstory. Done by Dobrev during the story. | |
| Starter Villain / int_f9876f7e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_f9876f7e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_f9876f7e | |
| Starter Villain / int_ff934825 | type |
Evil, Inc. | |
| Starter Villain / int_ff934825 | comment |
Evil, Inc.: Jake Baldwin officially made his money building parking garages. But he also owned a holding company responsible for a large network of corporations that do everything from anti satellite weapons to genetic engineering. | |
| Starter Villain / int_ff934825 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain / int_ff934825 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
Starter Villain / int_ff934825 | |
| Starter Villain / int_name | type |
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| Starter Villain / int_name | comment |
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| Starter Villain / int_name | featureApplicability |
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| Starter Villain / int_name | featureConfidence |
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| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
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| Starter Villain / int_name | itemName |
Starter Villain |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
| Starter Villain | hasFeature |
A Molten Date with Death / int_cd67c8b1 |
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Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.