Playing With / Three Plus Two

Following

Basic Trope: The Team starts out as a Power Trio, but two more characters join to form a quintet, often a Five-Man Band.

• Straight: The main team of heroes is a Power Trio consisting of The Hero Adam, The Smart Guy Peter, and The Big Guy David. They are sometimes joined by Adam's best friend, Larry, and another "friend", Rita, thereby forming a Five-Man Band. Adam, Larry, and Rita are a classic Love Triangle.
• Exaggerated:
  • The Five-Man Band often separates into individuals.
  • They don't always split into the same two groups. In one episode, the Power Trio is Adam, Peter, and Rita; in the next, it's Peter, Larry, and David.
  • Adam, Peter, and David are the main heroes, but there are dozens of others who come and go.
  • It's a Geodesic Cast with several Three Plus Two groups.
• Downplayed: Larry and Rita only occasionally accompany Adam, Peter, and David.
• Justified:
  • Adam, Peter, and David have few (if any) commitments, while Larry and Rita are employed, in school, or otherwise unavailable some of the time.
  • Larry and Rita were POWs at Camp Blauhoff when it was liberated by Adam, Peter and David, not wanting to just sit on the side lines they promptly joined the squadron in their trek to liberate other POW Camps.
• Inverted:
  • Adam, Peter, and David are sometimes unavailable to help Larry and Rita defeat Emperor Evulz.
  • At first, Adam and Rita are a Battle Couple; then they enlist three friends - Peter, David, and Larry - to make The Team a Five-Man Band.
  • The evil Five-Man Band is divided into a Power Trio and a duo.
• Subverted: Larry and Rita claim that they are "too busy" to come with the heroes this time ... but only this time.
• Double Subverted: They are "too busy" again later on; Larry lied and Rita misunderstood.
• Parodied: ???
• Zig Zagged: Adam, Peter, and David form a Power Trio, while Adam, Larry, and Rita form another. Naturally, Adam is The Leader of both trios as well as the Five-Man Band as a whole.
• Averted:
  • The heroes always fight together.
  • There are several heroes, but each always fights alone.
  • There are two or more teams trying to defeat Emperor Evulz for different reasons, but they never join up.
  • There is only one hero.
• Lampshaded:
  • "It's just the three of us today, but sometimes we have Larry and Rita with us."
  • Emperor Evulz: "Why don't the so-called heroes stick together?"
• Invoked: The group decides to start splitting at times just to confuse Emperor Evulz.
• Exploited: Rita needs time to herself, so she takes full advantage of times when Larry is too busy to show.
• Defied: Rather than risk defeat, Adam vows not to fight without all of his friends.
• Discussed: "Some groups of friends don't stick together, but we do."
• Conversed: "What happened to Adam's girlfriend and sidekick? Sometimes they just vanish."
• Implied: Larry and Rita are entirely absent from some episodes, with no explanation.
• Played For Laughs: Adam can never keep track of whether Larry and Rita are present. (As in, "What? They snuck out on us again?")
• Played For Drama: Emperor Evulz kills the heroes one by one while they are apart.
• Deconstructed: The new additions to the team disrupt their usual flow, and accusations of favoritism and being replaced are common. Ultimately, the Five-Man Band does not work as effectively as the regular trio.
• Reconstructed: Adam seeks out opportunities to build bonds between the old and new members so they can work together effectively.