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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"You look like you're going to spend your life having one epiphany after another, always thinking you've finally figured out what's holding you back, and how you can finally be productive and creative and turn your life around. But nothing will ever change. That cycle of mediocrity isn't due to some obstacle. It's who you '''are'''. The thing standing in the way of your dreams... is that the person having them is '''you'''."''|''[[
When one character gives a talk to another that does or is meant to somehow break down the recipient or gain a psychological advantage over them by claiming uncomfortable things that they can't deny.
Also known as a [[Breaking Speech]] or [[Breaking Lecture]].<ref>Mainly so that there's a term that can handily replace "[[Hannibal Lecture]]" where editors have used that incorrectly; see below for the difference</ref>
This is often achieved by a kind of [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]], telling the other character how pathetic they are or perhaps how guilty of something terrible, perhaps [[Not So Different]] from someone unpalatable, but there are other ways of breaking someone down by talking. You could for example instead deconstruct the world, other characters, or their relationship with the victim.
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See also: [[To the Pain]], [[Talking Your Way Out]], [[Just Between You and Me]], [[And Then What?]], [[Verbal Judo]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Dragonball Z]]'', Goku of all people manages to do this to [[Complete Monster|Frieza]] during their battle on Namek. After having ascended to the level of a Super Saiyan and smacking around the now fully-powered Big Bad, he abruptly decides that their battle is done. When a shocked Frieza demands to know what he means by that, Goku's response makes the killer of the Saiyan race and former #1 fighter in the universe (at least at the time) go through a mini-breakdown:
{{quote|
* Frieza is seething in anger, shocked and enraged at Goku's words*
'''Goku:''' It would be meaningless to fight you now; you're too scared and ashamed. [[Cruel Mercy|Live with the shock. Keep it bottled up inside of you...silently.]] }}
* Fate, [[The Woobie]] of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', received one of these from [[Big Bad|Jail Scaglietti]] of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS|Striker S]]'', who mentioned how [[Action Mom|her adopting children]] that became [[Child Soldiers]] that love her made her no different from [[Mad Scientist|Jail himself]] or from her [[Evil Matriarch]] of a mother. Thankfully, [[You Are Not Alone|her children snapped her out of it by declaring how they're the ones who chose their path and that all Fate did was raise them to be strong-willed enough to do so]]. [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Fate proceeds to kick ass all over Jail and his Numbers]]. [[Crowning Music of Awesome|To the tune of Nana Mizuki's "Pray," no less]].
* In ''[[Code Geass]]'', Mao {{spoiler|uses a [[Breaking Speech]] ''and'' his Geass-induced psychic powers to perform [[More Than Mind Control]] on Shirley Fenette. She's so badly damaged that Lelouch must erase himself from her memories via Geass.}}
** Mao tries this again {{spoiler|to avoid arrest by Suzaku a couple episodes later, [[Mind Rape|violating his sanity]] by reading his mind and taunting him with such knowledge. With Shirley's [[More Than Mind Control]] and Nunnally's hostage situation still fresh in his mind and Mao's visor knocked off by Suzaku prior to the [[Mind Rape]], Lelouch had a clear shot to Geass Mao into a [[Fate Worse Than Death]].}}
{{quote|
'''Lelouch''': ''Mao!'' *activates Geass*
'''Mao''': SHIT!
'''Lelouch''': '''''{{spoiler|NEVER SPEAK AGAIN!}}''''' }}
* In ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'', this is one of Johan Liebert's specialities. He actually drives people to suicide with it.
* ''[[Persona 4: The Animation]]'' has quite a few of these. The Shadows do this to their hosts, but Shadow Mitsuo gives one to Yu {{spoiler|inside the [[Lotus Eater Machine]]}}:
{{quote|
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' has quite a lot of these, actually.
** #66, {{spoiler|Barry The Chopper}}, makes 14 year old Alphonse Elric question his own existence with one of these by telling him that Ed might have faked Al's memories and that Alphonse Elric NEVER existed. How he gets out of his funk varies between the versions:
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*** In the manga and ''Brotherhood'', it's only after Winry [[Wrench Whack|hits Al with a wrench]] and points out that no one would sacrifice an arm for a fake brother that Al figures out that he's the real Al.
** Then we got Envy, master of this. {{spoiler|Until Mustang and Ed [[Shut UP, Hannibal|return]] [[Talking the Monster to Death|the favor]].}}
** And Solf J. Kimblee. He actually delivers a Breaking Speech with a rare ''positive'' benefit (an [[Inversion]]?) -- during the Ishbalan genocide, both Roy and Riza were telling themselves that they really didn't have any choice but to take part in war crimes. Kimblee utterly shreds those ideas apart ("When you shoot a man, do you not feel even the slightest bit of pride for a job well done?"), forcing them to take responsibility and realize that they're [[Not So Different]]. The end result is Roy and Riza plotting to take down the military government to prevent such a genocide from ever happening again.
*** What's interesting is that Kimblee is a very smart psychopath with a flair for messing with people's heads and an apparent gift for considering himself the rational one in any given collision of philosophies. And he also comes out in the same speech with gem lines like:
{{quote|
'''Kimblee:''' (later on {{spoiler|while fighting Alphonse, he questions why Alphonse doesn't simply use the Philosopher's Stone to get his original body back, and following Al's response?}}) I see. So if you can discover an exception to the rule, you can effectively rewrite the laws of nature as we understand them. Is that how it's supposed to go? Because there is another possibility you know... you '''don't''' get get your bodies back and you '''don't''' save everyone. That could certainly happen. }}
** Pride later gives Edward one during their brief fight. It didn't [[Shut UP, Hannibal|end]] [[Curb Stomp Battle|well]] for Pride though.
** Father deals [https://web.archive.org/web/20111209074826/http://video.adultswim.com/fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood/hohenheims-struggle.html a rather vicious one] in the [[Recap Episode]] of ''Brotherhood'', which has a healthy dose of [[Mind Screw]].
** In the first anime, episode #49, Dante attempts this on Edward by stating that the law of equivalancy is 'a lie meant to comfort the oppressed and make children do their lessons'. She seems very determined to prove her point , even going so far as threatening to kill a helpless infant to demonstrate to him that even the most strenuous efforts (in this case, the infant crying for help) can get you nothing in return
*** The truly impressive thing about this is that Dante basically takes the idea of [[Equivalent Exchange]] and deconstructs it, revealing that while impressive and accurate in theory, the law of [[Equivalent Exchange]] is very flawed, especially when one attempts to apply it outside of Alchemy. While someone may put in everything they've got to achieve something, what they receive will not always be of equal value to what has been given. Ed rejects this view instead of letting it get to him.
** When Ed confronts Tucker on how the latter could {{spoiler|use his own wife and daughter for his chimera experiments}}, Tuckers claims it was for [[Not So Different|the same reasons that Ed and Al dabbled in human transmutation to resurrect their mother.]]
* Pain from ''[[Naruto]]'' gets in on this and uses it on Naruto. {{spoiler|It works.}}
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** The granddaddy of Saito's lectures comes against Usui, where he delivers no less than three during their [[Duel to the Death]]. The final one is given with a dying Usui is pinned to the wall by Satio's sword and Saito proceeds to give him a classic [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]].
** As [[Anti-Hero]] to Kenshin's [[The Hero]], the one that comes closest to being an actual [[Hannibal Lecture]] is his first one, against Kenshin: the Rurouni, past master at [[Talking the Monster to Death]], starts in on Saitou...and gets ''owned''. [[Let's You and Him Fight|So]] [[The Rival|they]] [[Duel to the Death|duel]].
** He may be a master at it, but he's not above receiving as well: Right before Sano goes to Kyoto, they fight. Again, Saito wins but at the very end of the fight, after Saito call him a chick, he gets something like this:
{{quote|
* In ''[[Bleach]]'', during [[The Reveal]], Aizen delivers a several chapter long lecture to Ichigo, completely paralyzing him. Until Komamura attacks Aizen in a rage at his betrayal.
** Aizen's response: cut off Komamura, then continue, until everyone shows up. But by then, he already finished all he said.
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* In an inversion, it's ''[[The Hero|Amuro]]'' giving one to [[Big Bad|Char]] during the events of [[Chars Counterattack]], waxing on about how philosophers and idealists with plans to change the world become disillusioned when things don't change as quickly as they'd like them to. It, along with [[Curb Stomp Battle|the fight that followed it]] were meant to be the final nails in the rivalry between the two by showing Amuro had surpassed Char in nearly every way.
** Another inversion is in [[Hokuto no Ken]], where Fudoh delivers one to Raoh so crushing that it [[Villain Decay|destroys his confidence for the rest of the series]]. Also probably the only Breaking Speech that doubles as a [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]]. Blame Raoh for explicitly telling Fudoh beforehand that he was using Fudoh a tune-up fight so that Raoh could work the fear out of his system, vaccination-style. Like Fudoh wasn't going to take advantage of that overconfidence?
* ''[[Durarara!!]]'': Izaya delivers one to Kida in the third arc.
* In chapter 74 of ''[[Soul Eater]]'' the Envy Chapter of the Book of Eibon delivers a harsh one to {{spoiler|Maka}}. It's enough to reduce her to tears.
* This seems to be a popular tactic among demons in general in ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'', but particularly with the [[Big Bad]], Aion. Two notable examples are in the manga, when two demons corner Chrono in a dark warehouse and proceed to rattle off a list of his crimes, and in the anime with Aion's first appearance, where he lectures ''everyone'' as a supernatural fog rolls in.
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* In ''[[Slayers|Slayers NEXT]]'', Gaav questions Amelia when she attempts to attack him. Amelia stops for some seconds, confused by his words, so Gaav attacks her instead and {{spoiler|Zelgadis}} is badly injured when he performs a [[Diving Save]] and shields Amelia with his own body.
* In episode 37 of ''[[Gundam Seed]]'', Fllay Allster manages to get a gun on [[Big Bad]] Rau Le Creuset. Instead of disarming her, he proceeds to deliver a downright vicious Breaking Lecture that pretty much destroys her will to fight. To wit:
{{quote|
** And then the [[Stockholm Syndrome]] kicks in, and Flay starts thinking of Rau like a father, even though by that point she's still a Coordinator-hating racist who hates them for killing the father that Rau is a sort-of stand-in for in her mind. This is mostly because she is stuck in a hostile environment, surrounded by enemies, and it is only Rau's protection that is keeping her alive.
* Kyuutarou Ooba from ''[[Kemonozume]]'' uses a Breaking Lecture as a last gambit after being decapitated, dismembered and finally eaten alive, flying the protagonist into the freezing depths of outer space while scolding him on believing that there's any goodness in humanity. The protagonist replies with his last ounce of consciousness by screaming a denial and ripping off Ooba's wings, sending them both plummeting back down to earth.
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* The Marvel Comics character Karnak has refined his powers to the point where he can do this. At first his power was just sensing the weak point in objects so he (or his stronger ally Gorgon) can smash it. Now he find personality flaws and verbally destroy an opponent.
* Emma Frost of the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' is incredibly good at this. A great example of this can be found when after finding Kimura sneaking around the X-Mansion getting ready to kill X-23, Emma goes up to her and says...
{{quote|
'''Kimura:''' Why are you telling me this?
'''Emma:''' Because today you go back to being the victim. [[Mind Rape|It's a shame that the people that perfected your body didn't do enough to safeguard your mind...]] }}
* Pretty much every one of [[Batman]]'s enemies has tried it. As an action hero, he's immune, but some writers have played it as the villain being right. In [[Batman: The Animated Series|the animated series]], [[The Joker]], master manipulator that he is, convinces a meek psychoanalyst named Harlene Quinzel to go crazy and fall in love with him; she becomes Harley Quinn. During the [[Montages|montage]] [[Flash Back]] that gives this backstory, they even trade
▲* Pretty much every one of [[Batman]]'s enemies has tried it. As an action hero, he's immune, but some writers have played it as the villain being right. In [[Batman: The Animated Series|the animated series]], [[The Joker]], master manipulator that he is, convinces a meek psychoanalyst named Harlene Quinzel to go crazy and fall in love with him; she becomes Harley Quinn. During the [[Montages|montage]] [[Flash Back]] that gives this backstory, they even trade places -- he in the chair, she on the couch -- in several of the analysis scenes.
** In the one shot comic ''Mad Love'' as well as the episode of [[Batman: The Animated Series]] based on it, Batman does this to the Joker, manipulating him into {{spoiler|freeing him from Harley Quinn's otherwise inescapable trap}} then taunting him about {{spoiler|how she'd come closer to killing him than the Joker had ever managed.}}
** Joker also gives Batman one in ''[[The Killing Joke]],'' in which his plot is to drive Commissioner Gordon insane the same way he was. When Batman shows up to stop him, Joker gives him a long speech about how Batman is just as crazy as Joker is, and how the world is too hopelessly absurd for anyone to stay sane in. Batman powers through it, and, noting that Gordon was not driven mad, says that maybe Joker was the only one who couldn't take it. However, at the end, it becomes clear that Batman finds at least some truth in Joker's notion that they were both insane or, at least, absurd beings.
** Neatly subverted in Brian Azzarello's ''[[Joker]]'' graphic novel, in which the Joker tries this on Batman - only to have Batman not only demolish it, but turn it into a devastating taunt right back ''with just three words'':
{{quote|
'''Batman''': {{spoiler|To ''mock'' you.}} }}
* In the "Elseworlds" (out-of-continuity) comic from DC, ''[[Superman: Red Son]]'', where Superman's pod landed in the Soviet Union instead of the United States, Lex Luthor does this to Superman [[Magnificent Bastard|with one sentence. Written down. And tucked into Lois Luthor (nee Lane)'s coat pocket]]. Stalingrad, which was shrunk and put in a "bottle" instead of Kandor, haunts Superman. Luthor, the president of the US, {{spoiler|takes advantage of this fact by questioning Superman's "perfect" totalitarian rule of most of Earth, with the single written sentence, "Why don't you just put the whole world in a bottle, Superman?" He has Lois put the note in her pocket and, when his [[Xanatos Roulette|plan finally spurs Superman to come to the White House personally]], she is to ask Superman to use his X-ray vision to read the note.}} Superman very nearly breaks down in despair.
* A recent issue of ''[[Superman]]'' features a supervillain, Atlas, attempting to deliver such a lecture to ''Krypto the Superdog'', after having delivered an almighty smackdown to Superman and caused him to temporarily withdraw, leaving Krypto the only one left to make a stand. Unfortunately for Atlas it doesn't work, for the same reason that it probably wouldn't work if you tried to verbally undermine a dog's sense of self-confidence with a lecture in real life.
* In ''Eternals'' (or at least the [[Neil Gaiman]] revival), there is a character whose power is the ability to know just what to say to make a certain person break. When he first discovers this power, he manages to make a cop attempting to keep him in an embassy for questioning pass out with just a few words.
{{quote|
'''Lady Cop:''' * faints*
'''Druig:''' ''Interesting.'' }}
* More than one villain has tried this on [[The Punisher]]. Emphasis on ''[[Shut UP, Hannibal|tried]]''.
* In ''[[Global Frequency]]'' #8 Miranda Zero is kidnapped by a terrorist who tries to do this to her. She does it right back to him with rather more success.
{{quote|
* ''[[Sin City]]'': Poor John Hartigan gets it twice. The first time comes from Senator Roark who explains that Hartigan will be framed for his son's crimes and there is not a thing he can do about it. The second is from Detective Liebowitcz who chides him on being a clean cop. Both of these lectures are so that Hartigan will sign a confession... which he doesn't.
* In ''[[V for Vendetta]]'', V does it to Lewis Prothero with elaborate props, reminding him of his role at the Larkhill concentration camp, revealing that he, V, was the man from room five, and finishing up by {{spoiler|driving him insane by burning up his precious collection of dolls in the ovens in his replica of the camp.}}
* [[Moon Knight]] villain "The Profile" is a [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|profiler]] who uses his mutant [[Sherlock Scan|observation]] powers to instantly size people up. He is also a [[Jerkass]] who likes to give Breaking Speeches to people for fun.
{{quote|
* In the ''[[My Little Pony:
==
▲* In the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' fanfic [http://www.fimfiction.net/story/16112/Whispers Whispers], Celestia tries this repeatedly through her fight with Nightmare Moon - appealing to memories of their childhood and such. At the end of the fight, she delivers a big lecture on the Elements of Harmony and the virtues they represent.
* Dr. Hannibal Lecter from ''[[The Silence of the Lambs]]'', especially as played by [[Anthony Hopkins]] in the [[Film of the Book]], is clearly the [[Trope Codifier]] for this whole trope; as [[Hannibal Lecture]], the [[Sub-Trope]] named after him, [[Missing Supertrope|has been attracting examples of Break Them by Talking of all sorts, far beyond the limits of the definition actually given to Hannibal Lecture, since long before Break Them by Talking was launched.]]
* ''[[Collateral]]'' is basically one long speech like this by assassin Vincent to his hostage Max {{spoiler|which backfires epically towards the end}}.
* ''[[The Dark Knight]]'': [[The Joker]] here excels at these speeches; some are [[Hannibal Lecture
** The cop who guards him after his [[Hannibal Lecture
{{quote|
** The Joker also makes a nihilistic speech to the scarred, disillusioned and currently helpless Harvey Dent about how chaotic the world is that convinces Dent to do a [[Face Heel Turn]] and become {{spoiler|Two-Face}}.
* [[Richard Nixon]] attempts to do this to his interviewer in ''[[Frost/Nixon]]'' with a late night phone call, but as his drunken ramblings progress, all his [[Not So Different]] lines only end up revealing how broken and full of self-loathing he is. Frost doesn't even need to say [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]
* Agent Smith ''[[The Matrix]]'' films.
** His speech to Morpheus in the first movie is the most memorable:
{{quote|
** He delivers another one in the third movie as he watches Neo struggling to get back up after a royal thrashing - except Neo is barely listening to him and it just shows how ''Smith's'' mental state [[Villainous Breakdown|is crumbling]].
{{quote|
** Neo responds with a [[Shut UP, Hannibal]].
{{quote|
* In ''[[Serenity]]'' (the ''[[Firefly]]'' film), The Operative likes to do this to people he is about to kill, crossing it with [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] by explaining to people what their 'sin' is. This goes poorly when he tries it on {{[[[The Determinator]] Mal Reynolds}}
{{quote|
'''Mal''': "[[Shut UP, Hannibal|Aw, hell. I'm a fan of all seven]]." [''headbutt''] "[[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner|But right now, I'm gonna have to go with wrath!]]" }}
* ''[[Star Wars]]'':
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* Loki, [[Big Bad]] of ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'', uses this against the heroes constantly, in keeping with his comic and mythological characterizations. {{spoiler|The heroes seem to be aware of this, as he's muzzled when they capture him at the end.}}
▲== Literature ==
* The murderer X in [[Agatha Christie]]'s ''Curtain'' is very good at this, manages to manipulate people using seeming simple but manipulative comments, gesture and words, to provokes his target to murder their source of hatred. However, he didn't like to kill directly himself, instead enjoying the process of their target murders.
* A heroic example appears in ''[[
{{quote|
'''Teatime''': [[I Take Offense to That Last One|I]] ''[[I Take Offense to That Last One|didn't!]]'' }}
* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'':
** Saruman, using his enchanted voice, can persuade unsuspecting enemies to join and serve him -- ''even after they defeat him in war''. In the chapter "The Voice of Saruman" in ''The Two Towers,'' Saruman gives the speech to all of his triumphant enemies, and all are swayed by the power of his voice; likewise, the Riders of Rohan are wholly overcome by it, while Pippin is particularly shamed.
** Grima Wormtongue is a student of Saruman's, and uses similar non-magical techniques on Theoden to render him helpless and hopeless against Saruman, and on Eowyn in order to break her resolve and drive her to desperation.
* In ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', Glaurung [[The Dragon|father of dragons]] delivered one combined neatly with a [[Mind Screw]] to Túrin having paralyzed him with his hypnotic glare until he "saw himself as in a mirror misshapen by malice, and loathed that which he saw".
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* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: In the book ''Under The Radar'', the Prophet Harold Evanrod tries to tell his followers of the pedophile polygamist sect Heaven On Earth, "You see, this is the Devil at work! I told you the people on the outside would try to drive us away from our homes and our religion because they don't understand it. They will be forever damned, and there will be no salvation for any of them. I want you all to be strong because we will prevail." However, the Vigilantes give an effective [[Shut UP, Hannibal]] response to that.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[ER]]'':
** Pratt gave one of these to two teenagers who unintentionally shot a six-year-old girl when trying to get someone else. He specifically had them brought to the emergency room where they could actually see the little girl, lying unconscious on the table, covered in blood, and he [[Scare'Em Straight|brutally mentioned]] all the organs in her body that were damaged because of what they did.
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* A [[Monster of the Week]] in ''[[Samurai Sentai Shinkenger]]'' named Zuboshimeshi has this as a superpower. He's able to search the minds of his victims and find the one word that is most hurtful to them, then turning the pain it causes them into an attack.
* In ''[[Leverage]]'', "The Experimental Job", a [[Breaking Speech]] by an interrogator is turned around into a [[Hannibal Lecture]]. A career CIA interrogator tries to break Eliot by getting him to talk about how many people Eliot has killed. Eliot convinces the CIA man that he's killed far more, and remembers far more details, and that it already haunts him far more, than the CIA man could possibly have imagined or could possibly invoke. The CIA man is so shaken that he ends the day's session right then and there.
* At times, Frank Pembleton from ''[[Homicide: Life
* In a dazzling display of self-loathing, ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' ({{spoiler|well, technically it's the guy who shot him, but it's all a hallucination, so...}}) manages to do this to himself:
{{quote|
'''House''': This doesn't make any sense.
'''Moriarty''': And even if I'm wrong, you're still miserable. Did you really think that your life's purpose was to sacrifice yourself and get nothing in return? No. [As he speaks, we see House in a car with Moriarty's wife who supposedly killed herself because House told her about her husband's cheating. The car is in a smoke-filled garage.] You believe there is no purpose to anything. Even the lives you save, you dismiss. You take the one decent thing in your life, and you taint it, strip it of all meaning. You're miserable for nothing. I don't know why you'd want to live. [In the car, [[Death Seeker|House closes his eyes, proving Moriarty right]]. And then we return to the hospital.]
'''House''': [quietly and [[Manly Tears|genuinely upset]]] I'm sorry. }}
* In ''[[Justified (TV series)|Justified]]'', Donovan storms into Duffy's trailer and threatens to kill Quarles for murdering his friend Brady. Quarles talks down Donovan by telling him about how {{spoiler|his father forced him into prostitution as a young man, and how Theo Tonin adopted him. Donovan lowers his gun, and a tearful Quarles embraces him as he starts crying. Unfortunately, we see Donovan bound and gagged in Quarles' bathroom at the end of the episode, suggesting that Quarles plans to torture and kill him just as he did Brady.}}
* As he seems to have a neon sign on his forehead saying "SELF-LOATHING WOOBIE WITH DADDY ISSUES", Dean from ''[[Supernatural]]'' tends to get this done to him a lot. The Crossroads Demon (twice), The Yellow-Eyed Demon (twice), Sam whenever he's under the influence... The list goes on.
** A good example of a [[Hannibal Lecture]] in ''Supernatural'' is the torture/interrogation scene with Dean and Alistair. Supposedly, Dean is extracting information on "who is killing the angels," but not only does Alistair have no idea, he strings Dean along and gives him a thorough mindfuck in between bouts of being eviscerated. The power dynamic in this scene goes back and forth like no other, between Dean relishing Alistair's pain and Alistair breaking Dean down.
** The scene in ''My Bloody Valentine'' when he corners Famine in a diner is one of the most painful examples on the show:
{{quote|
'''Dean:''' I like to think it's because of my strength of character.
'''Famine:''' I disagree. Yes. I see. That's one deep, dark ''nothing'' you've got there, Dean. You can't fill it, can you? Not with food, nor drink; not even with sex. Oh, you can smirk and joke and lie to your brother, lie to yourself, but not to me. I can see inside you, Dean. I can see how broken you are, how defeated; you can't win and you know it, but you just keep trying, just keep going through the motions. You're not hungry, Dean, because inside you're already dead. }}
** The best came from Lucifer in the late season 5 episode "Hammer of the Gods" in a speech to Mercury.
{{quote|
** Done by several Leviathans in 7.06 "Slash Fiction". Bobby mostly shrugs off his double's taunts, but Sam gets hit hard by Leviathan!Dean's revelation.
▲== Professional Wrestling ==
* [[Shawn Michaels]] was a regular recipient of these speeches, particularly in the later parts of his career once he turned perma-face, but he usually interrupted them with [[Shut UP, Hannibal|Sweet Chin Music]]. Occasionally, after knocking his lecturer out cold, he'd deliver his own over their unconscious (or at least stunned) body. (Of course, if it's done to someone unconscious, it can't really qualify for the trope.) He was particularly fond of doing this to [[Chris Jericho]].
** Back in his heel days, he used to hand them out himself like party favors. Even as a face, he'd break them out occasionally, and he's the one guy pretty much ever who could get away with throwing them at [[The Undertaker]].
* Vin Gerard performed a number of these on Shane
** Then inverted when Vin tries the same thing on Jigsaw, who had removed his mask elsewhere and hadn't been seen in Chikara for a year. Vin said that he'd never seen the boys in the back as angry at anyone as they were at Jigsaw ("No matter what I did, ''I'' never had to buy a ticket!") and there was no way to get back on their good side - Jigsaw might as well join the UnStable. Jigsaw responded with superkicks.
* [[Chris Jericho]]. Back in 2008 and early 2009 when everyone took his heel character completely seriously, Jericho would do this weekly. They rarely worked, but they were awesome.
* [[CM Punk]] in his Straight Edge persona. He is so awesome that he can actually give these while he's in the middle of a match.
== [[Radio]] ==▼
▲== Radio ==
* Brilliantly used in ''That Mitchell and Webb Sound'', a radio programme. In multiple segments, Webb's character insults a woman's dress sense, weight or intelligence, eventually turning into a full-blown [[Breaking Speech]]. When the woman has been reduced to a wreck, Webb asks for a date, to cheer the woman up.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
▲== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* On the (very) few occasions when the Dark Powers of [[Ravenloft]] have apparently communicated directly to anyone, it's been to do this to a potential darklord, delivered in familiar voices. Strahd heard the voices of Tatyana and Sergei taunting him, while Azalin heard the voices of his son and his mentor in wizardry.
* ''[[New World of Darkness]]'' sourcebook ''Slasher'' (which deals with [[Slasher
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'':
** In the sequence of mysterious dreams in the first game, the sinister presence lurking behind the [[Player Character]]'s soul makes itself known and tries to bend them to its will, sometimes in words but just as often in images. The last dream ends with the equivalent of a [[World of Cardboard Speech]], where the protagonist recognises they can control their own fate.
** In ''BG II: Shadows of Amn'', there is a similar but less focused sequence of dreams where {{spoiler|something that looks like the [[Big Bad]]}} lectures you.
{{quote|
** Turns out though that it isn't quite what it seems. By the point the lecturer is replaced by {{spoiler|your sister}} you'll have figured out the origin though...
{{quote|
** In ''BG II: Throne of Bhaal'', this is done by some wraiths to both the protagonist and their possible love interest by taking the forms of their lost loved ones and making hurtful accusations. It's a ploy to make the victims break down and become easy prey.
* Before the final battle in ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]: Hordes of the Underdark'', [[Big Bad]] {{spoiler|Mephistopheles}} does this to {{spoiler|each of your party members in turn}}, turning them to his side unless you can talk them back out of it.
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* In ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', as you progress through the questline to create Shadowmourne, a legendary weapon to match the [[Big Bad|The Lich King's]] own, he whispers to you about how you and he both harvest souls for your own ends, he too once sought a weapon of great power, how he commands powers beyond you, et cetera.
* Archer in the visual novel [[Fate/stay night]] ''hammers'' Shirou. And considering {{spoiler|Archer IS Shirou from the future}}, he knows ''exactly'' how to reduce him to complete [[Heroic BSOD]].
{{quote|
[[Shut UP, Hannibal|"....Shut up."]] }}
** The worst part about Archer's speech is that, unlike the modified version above, halfway through it {{spoiler|he starts to talk about himself, using "I" instead of "you."}}
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* AM from ''[[I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream]]'' does this to his captives at the beginning of the game.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* A [[Sociopathic Hero|"good"]] version appears in ''[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0192.html this]'' ''[[Darths and Droids]]'', though it is used by one protagonist convincing another to [[Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him|destroy the Trade Federation ship]].
* ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'':
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** Xykon, often, just after having handed his opponents their asses. Also to Roy in trying to make Roy accept a mulligan, but Roy [[Shut UP, Hannibal|throws it right back in his face]] with a [[World of Cardboard Speech]]. {{spoiler|Xykon kills him for it.}}
** {{spoiler|Right-Eye}} gives one to Redcloak in ''[[Start of Darkness]]'', when the latter claims to have spent his life on The Plan.
{{quote|
'''Redcloak:''' Oh, so now you've gained some insight on the universe by letting your body and mind deteriorate?
{{spoiler|'''Right-Eye:'''}} YES! When you're faced with your own mortality, you have no choice but to consider what's best for the next generation. And this deal with Xykon is killing our spirit as fast as it's killing our bodies. You don't know what it is you're trying to better, because you don't know what it's like not to serve an undead overlord, or a petty spiteful god.
'''Redcloak:''' ...What did you just say to me?
{{spoiler|'''Right-Eye:'''}} Come on. You have to realize that the Dark One doen't care about us. Why else would he let you throw goblin lives away on this plan?
'''Redcloak:''' Throw away lives? How dare you?! Every goblin that has died since I've been high priest has been to further The Plan! Their deaths were a necessary sacrifice! They were NOT my fault!
{{spoiler|'''Right-Eye:'''}} Wait... that's it, isn't it? It's all about whose fault it is... If I kill Xykon now, then it was all a waste. You ordered goblins to their deaths believing in the Plan- so if we abandon it now, then you were wrong. You let them die for nothing. You're willing to [[Sunk Cost Fallacy|throw good lives after bad]] so that you don't have to admit that we were wrong to work with Xykon in the first place, much less help him cheat death. }}
** Redcloak receives another one shortly after this from Xykon, saying that {{spoiler|he let Redcloak kill his brother so he would never betray Xykon. If he did, he would have killed his brother for nothing, and he's too much of a coward to face that.}}
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* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'':
** In "Oceans Unmoving", Bun-bun does this to Calix [[You Fight Like a Cow|while duelling]] (and beating) him, explaining to him how he doomed his own people by encouraging them to mutiny on a high-tech ship they were subsequently unable to steer. Also [[Lampshaded]]:
{{quote|
** In "A Time for Healing", the zombie Jane gives Gwynn a [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] at least bordering on this about how annoying and shallow she finds her and how someone like her couldn't use real magic. Unfortunately for Jane, her last taunts makes Gwynn angry enough that she's finally able to show that yes, she does have access to about a hundred times more powerful magic than Jane does.
** In "bROKEN", Bun-bun traps Oasis in a sauna and, after berating her for stupidity, starts verbally tormenting her with images of her "beloved" with another woman. It ends up almost as badly for him as in Jane's case.
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** And [http://xkcd.com/1027/ later], by the same character, when someone tries "negging: you belittle chicks to undermine their self-confidence so they'll be more vulnerable and seek your approval" on her. [[Alt Text]]: "Son, don't try to play 'make you feel bad' with the Michael Jordan of making you feel bad."
* In ''[[Goblins]]'', when Dellyn figures out that Thaco has taken levels as though he were a [[Player Character]], he calls it the 'most perverse thing he's ever heard of', and points out that by doing so, Thaco has admitted that goblins will always be inferior to humans.
* A subversion occurs in this strip of ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20131011030735/http://www.itswalky.com/d/20031214.html It's Walky]'', in which the main
* Hunter Ravenwood of ''[[Suicide for Hire]]'' sometimes does this to people who annoy him.
{{quote|
* This is a ''power'' of Thrawn, demon of half-truths, from ''Shades'' – whenever somebody gets caught in his tentacles, he can see victim's dearest ideals and describe them through dark, twisted point of view. The worst part? What he says is ''always'' at least [[From a Certain Point of View|partly true]].
* ''[[Cuanta Vida]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20131023004845/http://tf2.skyscrapersoup.com/2011/03/24/136-sympathy-for-the-devil/ page 136]. {{spoiler|Rojo attempted to backstab Bleu, and for his efforts he received a broken nose and a vicious beating from Jeremy's crutch. While lying defenseless on the ground, Rojo attempts to appeal to Bleu's pacifistic nature:}} "Put down the gun...How many people have you {{spoiler|killed}} today? Too many, right? Why add another?" Too bad [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?|it]] [[Boom! Headshot!|didn't]] [[Gory Discretion Shot|work]].
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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** In the episode "A Better World", the [[Mirror Universe]] President Lex Luthor uses one of these on his version of Superman. It partially succeeds. Superman does indeed break down as a result...[[Kill It with Fire|just not in the way Luthor wanted]].
** In the same episode, Batman also pulls one of these...{{spoiler|on ''himself''.}}
*** And he won. When you think about it, {{spoiler|Lord!Batman}} manages to win the first one ({{spoiler|"We created a world where no eight year old boy will ever lose his parents... because of some punk with a gun."}}) and Batman does this later while driving in the Batmobile ({{spoiler|"They'd love it here, Mom and Dad. They would be so proud of you."}}).
*** The commentary states that the scene was created by one half of the production team debating the other from Batman's point of view. And to actually keep the viewer in the dark, neither {{spoiler|Batman}} nor {{spoiler|Lord!Batman faced the audience while talking, thus allowing a one sided conversation that either Batman could have been winning until the reveal.}}
** In the ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' episode "Divided We Fall", several of the robotic [[Evil Knockoff|evil knockoffs]] created by {{spoiler|[[Fan Nickname|Brainithor]] (Lex Luthor merged with Brainiac)}} use this technique. It works against [[Superman]] due to his fears of being [[Not So Different]] from his [[Alternate Universe]] [[Evil Counterpart]], but Evil Flash has what might be the least successful attempt in history:
{{quote|
'''[[Flash]]''': Says you! I've got a seat at the big conference table. I'm gonna paint my logo on it! ''[punches through Evil Flash's chest]'' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}P88Iz3N4cfs&feature{{=}}plcp watch it here] }}
* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'':
** In "The Return of Harmony", the especially vicious [[Faux Affably Evil]] villain Discord corrupts each of the main ponies to keep them from using the Elements of Harmony that they represent against him. Ultimately he just brainwashes each of them with magic (aside from Twilight Sparkle), but he also takes the trouble to break each down before that, usually by talking. In Applejack's case, he manipulates her to doubt the value of honesty (her element) by showing her a terrible "[[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy|truth]]" that she can't accept, before turning her into a liar. For Pinkie Pie (laughter), he makes her think her friends laugh ''at'' her all the time, before turning her unhappy and hostile. Fluttershy (kindness) is the only one on whom his speech doesn't work, because she's too trusting, and accepting of her own flaws... So he just zaps her into being cruel anyway.
{{quote|
'''Fluttershy''': Not at all! I ''am'' weak and helpless, and I appreciate their understanding. }}
** In "Putting Your Hoof Down", of all ponies to deliver one, {{spoiler|Fluttershy}} does it to {{spoiler|both Pinkie Pie and Rarity, calling their interests frivolous and driving them both to tears.}} Yikes.
* ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]'': Lord Shen, when Po confronts him in the foundry and demands to know what he knows about his past. Shen uses short hurtful claims in the lines of "You parents abandoned you" to distract Po and gain the upper hand between attacks.
* Megatron tries this on Optimus Primal in their climactic battle in the final episode of ''[[Beast Wars]]''. He even quotes scripture from the Covenant of Primus (a book of actually truthful prophecies) to prove that Optimus would fail. Then Optimus turns it against him in an epic [[Shut UP, Hannibal]] moment.
{{quote|
'''Optimus''': "Finish the quote, Megatron! 'NOR WOULD HE SURRENDER!'" }}
* In the ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' episode "The Voice in the Night" Korra challenges [[Big Bad]] Amon to a one-on-one duel, only to be ambushed by his army of [[Power Nullifier|Chi]]-[[The Paralyzer|blockers]]. With her restrained, Amon reaches out threateningly, only to take her by the chin, and announce that while he could [[De-Power|strip her of her]] [[Elemental Powers]] and kill her then and there, he [[You Will Be Spared|won't]], because she'll merely [[Can't Kill You - Still Need You|become a martyr]] for her cause. He tells her she'll get her duel when the time is right before knocking her out. When her [[The Mentor|mentor]] Tenzin comes to rescue her, she breaks down [[Cry Into Chest|crying into his chest]].
* In the ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' movie ''Return of the Joker,'' Terry McGinnis (the new Batman) achieves his [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] by successfully pulling a Breaking Speech ''on the Joker.'' Check it out on the quotes page, it is epic. Earlier in the film, the Joker gives a brief one to the original Batman, calling him "a little boy in a playsuit, crying for mommy and daddy".
* Mojo Jojo has a very nice one in his final battle with [[The Powerpuff Girls]] in [[The Movie]], though it eventually becomes an equally as epic [[Shut UP, Hannibal]] (see [[Break Them by Talking/Quotes]]).
== [[Real Life]] ==
* A series of independent experiments carried out by a sadistic Harvard psychology professor in the 1960s could be counted as an extreme (and, as it turned out, extremely unfortunate) real-life example of Breaking Them by Talking. University students were instructed to write an essay summarizing their personal philosophy on life and underlying principles, then went into a room expecting to debate philosophy with a fellow student. They instead faced an interrogation by a far more experienced opponent, whose sole purpose was to attack and ridicule their beliefs at length. Since one of the main goals of the experiment was to induce stress and upset the subject as much as possible, it's not surprising that many students came out feeling traumatized. One of them eventually went completely over the edge (for this reason or some other) and became the Unabomber
** The professor had worked with the CIA in developing a test that tested pilots' wills, preventing them from possibly being brainwashed if captured. He decided to "fine tune" his technique using students as test subjects, but really, the guy was a sadist who got off on this sort of thing. WNYC's Radio Lab covered this story in one of their pieces titled "Oops"; you can hear it [https://web.archive.org/web/20091020022650/http://www.wnyc.org/flashplayer/player.html#/play/%2Fstream%2Fxspf%2F155556 here starting at 4:20].
* A favorite technique of many [[Troll
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