A Wizard Did It: Difference between revisions

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[[File:MAGIC!2.jpg|link=Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|right]]

{{quote|'''Frink''': "Yes, over here, [...] in [[Xena: Warrior Princess|Episode BF12]], you were battling barbarians while riding a winged Appaloosa, yet in the very next scene, my dear, [[Headscratchers|you're clearly atop a winged Arabian! Please do explain it!]]

'''[[Xena: Warrior Princess|Lucy Lawless]]:''' Uh, yeah, well, whenever you notice something like that... [[Trope Namer|a wizard did it]].

'''Frink:''' Yes, alright, yes, in episode AG04-"

'''Lucy Lawless:''' Wizard!|''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', "[[Treehouse of Horror]] X"}}

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This explanation can also often bring some extra [[Fridge Logic]] into a story, when '''A Wizard Did It''' is given as an explanation and the wizard later fails in a situation in some way that could have easily been solved by [[Forgotten Phlebotinum|the wizard just doing what he apparently did before.]] This can also lead to [[Reed Richards Is Useless]] when you realize the possible, fantastic uses of that random magic trick nobody seems to care about.

Contrast [[Bellisario's Maxim]], [[MST3K Mantra]], [[Doing in the Wizard]], [[All Just a Dream]]. See also [[Plot-Sensitive Items]].

Contrast [[Bellisario's Maxim]], [[MST3K Mantra]], [[Doing In the Wizard]], [[All Just a Dream]]. See also [[Plot-Sensitive Items]].

Not to be confused with [[The Butler Did It]].

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* In a meta example from [[The Lord of the Rings]] films, during an interview director Peter Jackson praised the humility and amiability of Sir [[Ian McKellen]]. He recalled an example regarding the siege of Gondor, which is paraphrased:

{{quote|'''McKellen:''' ''Why doesn't Gandalf just use his magic to defeat them all?''

'''Jackson:''' ''The staff is out of [[Mana Meter|batteries]], and because of the war the alchemist's shop is closed and he can't get new ones.''

'''McKellen:''' ''Okay.'' }}

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== Tabletop Games ==

* In ''[[Warhammer ~~40000~~]]'' if something is off, it can easily be explained in-universe as being because the Warp did it. If not the Warp, then the C'Tan did it. If not the C'Tan, then the Eldar did it. (Being the wizards who did it is their [[Planet of Hats|hat]].) If not the Eldar, then the God-Emperor of Man did it. If none of the above did it, it was certainly [[Memetic Badass|Commissar Sebastian Yarrick]]'s fault. And even if any, all, or ''none'' of the above did it, [[The Chessmaster|Tzeentch]] either [[Xanatos Gambit|did it, arranged it, opposed it, or helped it]], and in most cases, he did ''[[Gambit Pileup|all of that at the same time.]]''

* In ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' if something is off, it can easily be explained in-universe as being because the Warp did it. If not the Warp, then the C'Tan did it. If not the C'Tan, then the Eldar did it. (Being the wizards who did it is their [[Planet of Hats|hat]].) If not the Eldar, then the God-Emperor of Man did it. If none of the above did it, it was certainly [[Memetic Badass|Commissar Sebastian Yarrick]]'s fault. And even if any, all, or ''none'' of the above did it, [[The Chessmaster|Tzeentch]] either [[Xanatos Gambit|did it, arranged it, opposed it, or helped it]], and in most cases, he did ''[[Gambit Pileup|all of that at the same time.]]''

** Tzeentch did it in normal ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'', too. He's been working carefully for ~40,000 years and it still doesn't make any damn sense. [[Go Mad ~~From~~ the Revelation|Making no damn sense]] is Tzeentch's [[Planet of Hats|hat]]. Everything Tzeentch does is part of some master plan of his. However, it's impossible to tell what this plan is actually ''for'', because its elements seem nonsensical, self-contradictory and—as befitting a Chaos God—utterly chaotic. It's possible it ''doesn't'' actually have an end goal—planning is part of his nature, but no-one said his plans have to make sense or actually accomplish anything.

** Tzeentch did it in normal ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'', too. He's been working carefully for ~40,000 years and it still doesn't make any damn sense. [[Go Mad from the Revelation|Making no damn sense]] is Tzeentch's [[Planet of Hats|hat]]. Everything Tzeentch does is part of some master plan of his. However, it's impossible to tell what this plan is actually ''for'', because its elements seem nonsensical, self-contradictory and—as befitting a Chaos God—utterly chaotic. It's possible it ''doesn't'' actually have an end goal—planning is part of his nature, but no-one said his plans have to make sense or actually accomplish anything.

** "The Tyranids ate it." Deep-fried Squat, anyone?

** When all else fails, [[Unreliable Narrator|the source of the story is lying or misremembering a detail]].

** [[Invoked Trope|Invoked]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLz6bTitUQE&feature=player_embedded here] to explain Dark Eldar technology

* Many bizarre, inexplicable, or just plain silly monsters from the early days of ''[[Dungeons ~~and~~ Dragons]]'' were said to be the product of wizards playing [[Evilutionary Biologist]] in their spare time. Even ''gnolls'' were initially reputed to be the result of A Wizard Did It. The classic example is the owlbear.

* Many bizarre, inexplicable, or just plain silly monsters from the early days of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' were said to be the product of wizards playing [[Evilutionary Biologist]] in their spare time. Even ''gnolls'' were initially reputed to be the result of A Wizard Did It. The classic example is the owlbear.

** Most of the more bizarre content in ''[[Spelljammer]]'' is explained by A Wizard Did It. Sometimes ''literally''. One sourcebook actually explains the sheer weirdness of the setting with "It's magic, and it ''knows'' it's magic."

* In ''[[Magic: The Gathering|Magic the Gathering]]'', YOU are the wizard that did it.

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