Armor-Piercing Question: Difference between revisions

{{quote|'''Detective Del Spooner:''' You are [[Just a Machine|a machine. An ''imitation'' of life]]. [[Creative Sterility|Can a robot write a symphony? Can a robot turn a canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?]]

'''Sonny:''' ...Can you?

[[Older Than Feudalism|Ever since]] [[Socrates]], the power of the question to [[Epiphanic Prison|provoke insight]] has been well acknowledged. This sometimes translates into people using a continued line of questioning to upset or enlighten other characters. Among the most powerful forms of this is finding a single question, formulating it so the answer forces your target to face something difficult to admit, and keep pounding it.

{{examples}}

* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in ''[[Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo]]'' when Leopard asks "Do you humans understand what you are?" and gleefully comments how this question always [[Logic Bomb|short-circuits]] a human mind.

* [[Stepford Smiler]] Seta Soujirou, while fighting ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'', was already starting to suffer from a [[Villainous Breakdown]], is muttering that Kenshin wasn't around to protect Soujirou when it mattered. Kenshin destroys what's left of Soujirou's cool with one question: "Is it too late to start over?"

* In episode 7 of ''[[Hell Girl]]'', when budding actress {{spoiler|Ayaka}} is banished to Hell, she says that through acting, she can become anybody. Hone Onna promptly asks her: "So...is there a real you in there?"

* ''[[Superman: Red Son]]'': {{spoiler|"Why don't you put the whole world in a bottle, Superman?"}} [[Lex Luthor]] sends this in a letter rather than saying it. This question ''brings Superman to his knees''.

* ''[[X-Men|House of M]]'' leadup ("What would you have me do?"). The Avengers are coming to kill the Scarlet Witch because she is destroying reality. Quicksilver confronts Magneto about it. Magneto asks the question. Quicksilver repeats the information. Magneto repeats the question.

* In ''[[Serenity Rose]]'', this is done three times in as many pages when we're shown excerpts from the documentary "American Gothic"; The creator of a trashy, unoriginal comic is asked how many goth comics he's actually read after he continually derides them, the bassist of a goth/punk band is asked whether every fashion statement has to be political after she repeatedly rails against teenage girls who only subscribe to the lifestyle superficially, and nihilistic maniac superstar Rivet Hed is simply told straight up that "In the 16th century, they burned people like you at the stake."

{{quote|'''Pillinger''': ''I don't know.''

'''Tony''': ''Me neither.'' }}

* Butch gives an epic one to {{spoiler|both Anita and Gila at the end of the Confidential arc}} in ''[[Spy Boy]]''.

* In [[Birds of Prey]], the Question once managed to get Huntress (whose [[Berserk Button]] is crooked cops) to back down by boiling the entire sorry socioeconomic underpinning of Gotham City's hellholishness down to one simple question: "Do you know how much an honest cop makes in Gotham before taxes?"

* In ''[[The Sandman]]'', [[Dream Weaver|Morpheus]] asks one of these. [[Archangel Lucifer]], having surrounded Morpheus with the [[Legions of Hell]] and intending to trap him, claims that Morpheus is powerless as dreams have no power in Hell. Morpheus asks him, and the assembled demons, what use there would be for Hell if those in it could not dream of Heaven. The demons disperse and Lucifer is forced to let him go.

* In ''[[Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality]]'', the Sorting Hat tries to deliver one to Harry: "What happens if you fail?" But even though it goes on to ''spell out the answer'', Harry still refuses to hear it.

* Used by a therapist in chapter 11 of the ''[[Ranma ½]]'' fanfic ''[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6037059/1/Decode Decode]''. Note that unlike most examples this was done to help him.

'''L''': But before you became a God, you were just a man. As a man, you have died, and now you are a God. So I am asking Light-kun what it is like to die. }}

* Asked by one of the characters in ''[[Oldboy]]'' ''to himself'': "Now, what joy will I have to live for?"

* ''[[I Heart Huckabees]]'': "How am I not myself?" Notable in that it is an Armor-Piercing Question to the person who asked it in the first place, completely unintentionally unhinging his ''entire life''.

** It almost literally becomes an Armor Piercing Question, when Fox asks Wesley this by beating the crap out of him. Made even more explicit because when his formerly aimless, smug demeanor is broken, he finally answers the question. And when he finally answers the question we begin to see him actually master the skills he's being forced to learn and become the badass we was meant to be.

* It's not actually a question, but it does fit. In the ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]'', Padme's [[Bodyguard Crush]], Captain Typho, searching for her murderer then finding him and getting utterly curbstomped, manages to stop Darth Vader cold by telling him "I know you killed Padme." He still gets killed after the pause, but he's comforted by the knowledge that he hurt the Dark Lord. Though, not knowing the actual events, he never knows why - his investigation basically went: Padme was killed with the Force, Skywalker was supposed to be bodyguarding her, Skywalker was killed shortly before her, Vader appeared after that, therefore Vader killed them both.

* When Zedd is describing Seekers in ''[[Sword of Truth|Wizard's First Rule]]'', he references this trope, saying that a truly great Seeker could bring even a king to his knees by asking a question.

* In the fifth [[Temeraire]] book, ''Victory of Eagles'', Napoleon has invaded Britain. [[To Be Lawful or Good|Laurence]], who technically committed treason at the end of the last book by saving the dragons of Europe from biological genocide, is given a stay of execution because the Admiralty needs someone to ferret out pockets of French troops - [[War Is Hell|and he has orders to take no prisoners]]. It's dirty, dishonorable, and depressing, but he obeys until [[The Unfettered|Tharkay]] arrives, sees his plans for the next attack, and plainly asks, "''What are you doing?''" It prompts a small breakdown from Laurence, and a frank assessment of what he is prepared to take responsibility for.

* In one of the most emotional episodes of ''[[Scrubs]]'', Dr. Cox is headed to his son's birthday party and is talking to his best friend, Ben. In the middle of the conversation, the camera switches so that Cox's face is in the foreground, and J.D. walks up to him and asks him what he's talking about. When Cox gives him the expected answer (the topic of the conversation), J.D. waits a [[beat]] and asks "Where do you think we are?" {{spoiler|The camera then switches back to where Ben was, except he is no longer there. They were headed to Ben's funeral the entire time.}}

** In "My Fifteen Seconds", Jill Tracy is back at the hospital for unexplained poisoning. Every time Cox and J.D. talk with her, she behaves in her typical over-the-top and frivolous way. It's only later that the two doctors understand {{spoiler|she had tried to kill herself.}} They rush back to the hospital and the question "How have things been going recently?" finally prompts her to tell the truth.

{{quote|'''The Doctor:''' The concept is simply staggering! Pointless, but staggering!

'''The Captain:''' I'm gratified that you appreciate it.

'''The Captain:''' [[Large Ham|Devil storms, Doctor!]] It is ''not'' a toy!

'''The Doctor:''' '''''THEN WHAT'S IT FOR?!''''' What are you doing? What could ''possibly'' be worth all this?! }}

{{quote|"You gon' help, huh? You gonna look out for me? You gonna look out for me, Sergeant Carver? You mean it? You gonna look out for me? You promise?! You got my back, huh?!"}}

* Cal Lightman of ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]'' uses this ''all the time'' to get a reaction he can read off of someone.

** Funnily enough, the same question actually gives her the same reaction ''twice''. First in the future hearing it from Jesse, then again in the present from Ellison.

* Emily delivers an Armour Piercing ''Line'' to Naomi in ''[[Skins]]'' during the Katie And Emily episode. Naomi is running away from their relationship (again) until three words stop her dead in her tracks - and bring her straight back for a lot of kissing against the lockers.

{{quote|'''Picard:''' A single Data, and forgive me, Commander, is a curiosity: a wonder, even. But thousands of Datas, isn't that becoming a race?'' And won't we be judged by how we treat that race?"'' Now tell me, Commander, what is Data?

'''Maddox:''' I don't understand.

{{quote|{{spoiler|If abortion is murder, then no matter how you feel about Mary Donovan, aren't you guilty of the murder of her unborn child?}}}}

** Another episode involving the killing of an abortion clinic doctor had Jack McCoy questioning the man who had arranged the murder. The defendant was trying to use justifiable homicide as a defense (that he had to protect all those unborn children by having this woman killed). McCoy pierces his armor by asking why then, if he was so sure it was right and justified and necessary, he hadn't done the deed himself instead of just arranging the murder? The man is forced to admit that he believes ''any killing'' is morally wrong and thus couldn't go through with it himself, destroying his own defense completely.

* ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' has [[Constantly Curious]] Ellie Spicer ask Tim Curry's character (a serial killer) why he kills people. Subverted when he replies that the best question would not be why he kills people, but why he doesn't kill all of them.

* ''[[The Prisoner]]'' episode "The General" shows Number Six defeating a highly advanced computer by [[Logic Bomb]]ing it with a question which he is certain its predictive and logic circuits will not be equipped to answer: "'''Why?'''"

{{quote|'''Prisoner''':It's insoluble, for man or machine.}}

* Argentinian cartoonist ''[[Quino]]'' made a strip about a man showing to his grandson his collection of books:

{{quote|'''Man:''' By reading all these books I learned who were the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Babylonians, Incas, Mayas...

* In one ''[[Bloom County]]'' strip, Oliver Wendell Jones takes Binkley and Opus on a [[Mind Screw]] journey contemplating the nature of the universe, all the while asking "Why?" As the trip gets more and more out of control and Oliver keeps asking why everything is the way it is, Opus gets fed up and asks "Well, WHY NOT!?" which metaphorically brings Oliver back down to Earth.

* On the July 11th, 2011 edition of ''[[WWE Raw]]'', [[John Cena]] delivers one to [[CM Punk]]. Punk had spent the entire promo [[Moving the Goalposts]] while talking over his contract to renew with the WWE and trying to win over the audience in the process. Cena comes out and hits Punk with a [[Kirk Summation]], pointing out how big of a [[Hypocrite]] Punk is before asking him this question; if you love the WWE universe so much, why are you trying to leave the WWE? Punk, who'd been in full [[Magnificent Bastard]] mode all night, [[Villainous Breakdown|gets furious]] and tries to lay the blame on Cena, but the fact he'd just been offered the very things he'd been complaining about Cena having and ''more'' but still hadn't gotten enough to stay in the WWE renders him unable to effectively answer this.

* In ''[[Mage: The Awakening]]'' there is a spell called "The Inescapable Question" which has the capacity to cause ''any'' question to cause the hearer to stop and ponder its meaning and answer (it is noted that particularly savvy mages can get the effect by simply asking "Why?").

** ''[[Hunter: The Vigil]]'': vampires around the world will crap their pants upon receiving a piece of paper, or an SMS, or an email, or a phone call, that asks "Who is Cain?" This isn't necessarily because of the significance of Cain; it's because it means the Cainite Heresy is coming for them.

** [[The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya|Tuesday is red.]]

* ''[[The Crucible]]'' - "Is Your Husband a Lecher?" Repeated a few times.

* "Now tell me, how do you take religion?" Asked by Gretchen to [[Faust]], in [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]'s version. Having made a [[Deal with the Devil]], he has a hard time answering it. Became so influential that "Gretchenfrage" [[Trope Namer|entered the German vocabulary.]]

* In ''[[Tales of Graces]]'', Asbel's biggest [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] comes when he asks "[[And Then What?]]" to the villain. {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]] Lambda}} is ranting about how [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|humans are evil]], and how he's going to [[Kill'Em All]]. Asbel promptly turns this into an Armor-Piercing Question by asking "[[Deconstruction|Okay, then what? If you kill everybody, you'll be totally alone, and you and everything in the entire world will die. You really want that?]]" The [[Big Bad]] is silent for a [[Beat]], then basically throws a tantrum and begins the final boss battle proper.

* [[BioShock (series)|"In the end what separates a man from a slave?"]]<ref>A man chooses. A slave obeys. (It turns out the [[Player Character]] has been conditioned in their childhood so they really haven't really been choosing along the way...)</ref>

* In ''[[Sengoku Basara]]: Samurai Heroes'', Motonari ends up asking [[Misanthrope Supreme]] Yoshitsugu about whether his stated goal of bringing misery to all humans includes bringing misery to Yoshitsugu's [[Morality Pet]], Mitsunari. Yoshitsugu, who hadn't even considered the thought of having a human he does ''not'' hate up to that point, gets completely stumped.

* ''[[RuneScape]]'' has one from the finale of the goblin quests. The god of war has possessed your friend, Zanik. During the fight, she can regenerate indefinitely thanks to said god's power. At one point, she says she has to kill you because humans are the enemy. The player asks her: "but am ''I'', ''your'' enemy?"

* In ''[[Star Wars]]: [[The Force Unleashed]]'', Juno Eclipse asks Starkiller why he defied his master Darth Vader and saved her. Starkiller awkwardly answers that he needed her to fly his ship, but she retorts that they both know that isn't true. This foreshadows that Starkiller has feelings for Juno, and that he is slowly becoming a hero instead of Darth Vader's servant.

* In ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' [[Spirit Advisor|Hallucination/ghost]] [[Guile Hero|Shojo]] sets [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath|Belkar]] up for his [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] with the question, "What are you?".

{{quote|[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0610.html "Is that all you are? A race and a class? Another forgettable mix-and-match player character? If you die, will another halfling ranger just happen to show up to take your place? Then what ARE you?"]}}

'''P-Bird''': How many rational people have you met? }}

* In his phone call to the director of ''[[My Pet Monster]]'', [[The Nostalgia Critic]]'s self-loathing starts to seep in when he gets asked why he's in his twenties and is still watching kid movies.

* ''[http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com/2007/04/why-do-atheists-believe-in-religion.html Why do atheists believe in religion?]'' So you think it's nonsensical belief - okay, but then why separate it from all other subsets of nonsensical beliefs, like shapeshifting reptilian aliens or big words (Freedom, Equality, etc)? It's not practical, because there's nothing you can pin on a belief of this type that you couldn't pin on some outside it (Marxists alone already have covered most of the claimed outrages). But if there's no practical difference between very generic types of beliefs, then why bother so much about just this one subset and try to set some [[Special Pleading]] against it in stone, rather than build a longer hedge to be on the safe side?

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' ("Who are you angry at?") Delivered by Azula and her friends to Zuko in "The Beach".

** Also: "Then I have a question for you... what are you gonna do when you face my father?"

{{quote|'''Kilowog:''' We know what you're fighting against, kid, but what are you fighting ''for''?}}

* Jeremy Paxman on BBC's ''[[Newsnight]]'', interviewing then-Home Secretary Michael Howard on 13 May 1997, about a supposed confrontation he'd had with Derek Lewis, then-head of the Prison Service, about the possible dismissal of the governor of Parkhurst Prison. "Did you threaten to overrule him?" was asked ''fourteen times in succession'', and each time Howard never actually said whether or not he ''threatened'' to overrule Lewis—just that he didn't, and that was what mattered ("The question isn't whether I threatened to do it, it's..." "But ''did'' you threaten to overrule him?"). Of course, it's slightly averted in that Lewis successfully stonewalled throughout, meaning the question didn't actually get through the armor. Still, Paxman definitely comes off better for his persistence.

** In 2003, Paxman told Howard that he had only gone after the question so thoroughly because the next item on the show wasn't ready in time. After Paxman asked him about it one more time in 2004, Howard, at that point leader of the Conservative party, supposedly laughed it off and said he hadn't. Of course, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act in 2005 didn't corroborate Howard's answer and in fact probably suggested that Howard lied (he did at one point ''ask'' the higher authorities if he could overrule Lewis).

*** Conversely, a person who can easily give a bald-faced lie has an advantage, as people don't expect that.

*** And because "no comment" can make it sound like you have something to hide. After all, if the Giver were truly innocent of what he is being accused of he would just say so, right?

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJtjqLUHYoY This "man on the street" interview video] clearly demonstrates an armor-piercing, mind-blowing line of questioning: 1. Do gay people choose to be gay? 2. When did you choose to be straight?

** Possible response: "Yes. Straight is the default. Gay is an aberrant choice."