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Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Difference between revisions
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** Recently, Patti has been revealed to be quite the skilled fighter when not acting as a Weapon for Kid. She takes down numerous opponents in hand-to-hand combat training, and is very...enthusiastic at a firing range.
** The Death Scythe Tezca Tlipoca initially seems clinically incapable of acting serious, and makes a fool of himself on a regular basis. {{spoiler|Then he fakes his own death, tracks someone halfway across the world, and holds his own against one of the more powerful villains.}}
** Spirit Albarn absolutely is everything he appears to be: womanizing, juvenile, and a miserable failure as both a husband and a father. It's just that he also happens to be one of the most powerful (arguably THE most powerful) Death Scythe in existence, the weapon of Lord Death himself, and one half of the DWMA's designated ass-kicking duo.
* In ''[[Soul Eater Not]]'', Meme is introduced as a typical big-breasted [[The Ditz|ditz]] character. Then we find out that she can beat people up ''in her sleep.''
* Yuri in ''[[Kyo Kara Maoh!|Kyo Kara Maoh]]!'' acts this way whenever his Demon King side gets activated, and although he won't kill his enemies he usually succeeds in scaring the crap out of them.
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** Ryōga at least is the main character's [[The Rival|rival]], and as such has to be just slightly weaker than him. Being slightly weaker than the main character pretty much requires that he be stronger than everyone else, he is portrayed as enormously strong and makes the [[Made of Iron]] characters look to be [[Made of Plasticine]]. Of course, Ryōga IS a bit of an idiot and a rather nice guy when not being overly paranoid, so this might still qualify.
*** It is generally thought by fans that Ryōga is physically stronger than Ranma (though the manga does not explicitly show this, it is possible that Ranma just has better control of his strength than Ryoga does), however Ranma is faster, better trained, and better at working out how to overcome any given opponent.
** Also from ''[[Ranma ½|[[Ranma
** Happosai also qualifies. Most of the time he's just a [[Jerkass]] [[Dirty Old Man]] who makes life miserable for everyone by his petty acts. However, he is also the most powerful character in the series capable of defeating both Ranma and Cologne with ease. Fortunately, he rarely gets really dangerous, [[Weaksauce Weakness|and can be quickly distracted and taken out by throwing womens underwear in his direction.]]
* Probably the biggest [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]] ever, Tsuna Sawada of ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]''. He kicks ultimate ass when in Dying Will Mode.
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** And then of course we have Maes Hughes, who is usually a [[The Ditz|ditz]] who obsesses over his family at every possible moment, until we find out that he's really a [[Badass]] [[Knife Nut]] who has [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] and figures stuff out way before anyone else.
*** Like, maybe {{spoiler|the entire plotline for the second half of the series? About twenty episodes before there's even a clue?}} Of, course, this is also an example of {{spoiler|[[Too Cool to Live]], because, well, he's [[Too Cool to Live]]}}.
** Ling Yao is introduced as a [[Funny Foreigner]] who constantly collapses in the streets out of hunger, weasels his way into getting a free meal, jokes around, and sends his bodyguards to do his fighting while he runs away. It isn't too long before the audience learns he's an excellent fighter himself, has strong beliefs, and is very driven by his goals. Of course, very early on there were hints that there was much more to him that meets the eye, particularly due to any time he opened his [[Eyes Always Shut|often shut eyes]].
* Nyu/Lucy in ''[[Elfen Lied]]'' has this in the form of a [[Split Personality]], triggered through trauma or imminent danger. Nyu is [[Cute Mute|cute, affectionate, and utterly harmless]] -- but Lucy [[Ax Crazy|hates all of humanity and cuts people in half with her mind]], {{[[[What the Hell, Hero?]] no matter if those people were just innocent civilians}}.
** Well, that's more of a Crouching [[The Woobie|Woobie]] Hidden [[Complete Monster|Monster]].
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** I think {{spoiler|diving in magma in an unprotected Eva or knifing an Angel with guts torn open}} still qualifies him - no Yui-sama there.
** What? No taking on Zeruel siglehandly and almost winning, even with only one arm? He was only stopped that time because the power went down. Besides, if At-Fields are true to series cannon, they are generated from the pilots (or dummy plugs). Guess what makes berserk EVA 01 undamageable.
** Misato Katsuragi qualifies, as well. At home, she's a slovenly [[Bottle Fairy]], but on the job, she's an extremely daring and competent strategist.
* ''[[Bleach]]'' Orihime is an unaggressive [[Cloudcuckoolander]], but when someone she cares about is seriously threatened and no one else can do the job she uses her powers to scarily strong effect. A good example occurs when she and Ishida have first entered Soul Society. They decide to blend in and disguise themselves as shinigami. Ishida is just about to come up with a plan when Orihime simply dives out of hiding, beats up two shinigami with her ''black belt-level karate skills'' and promptly reverts right back to passive [[Cloudcuckoolander]] mode, leaving Ishida in a state of shock over what he'd just witnessed.
** The vast majority of the time, Nel is a weird, annoying, and frankly stupid toddler. However, when Nnoitra almost kills ichigo, she {{spoiler|reveals herself as the former 3rd Espada, and [[Bleach/Awesome|turns the tables on the situation in seconds. She reverts back to her daft personality when the fight is over and eventually even ends up back in child-form.]]}}
** This also applies for Nel's friends {{spoiler|(and fraccion)}} Pesche and Dondochakka. They act ridiculous most of the time, but when Nel needs their help {{spoiler|they nearly defeat the 8th Espada to reach her. Szayel admits they would have succeeded if they had fought him seriously from the beginning.}}
** Wonderweiss Margera is a [[Cloudcuckoolander]] at very best. Then he's revealed as being capable of rescuing the top three espada from their captain opponents and even Aizen from Yamamoto's prison and so completely outspeeding Ukitake he one-hits him {{spoiler|before then being revealed as the one thing capable of sealing the strongest zanpakutou in existence, Yamamoto's sword.}}
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* [[Celebrity Resemblance|Rasputin]] in the ''[[Corto Maltese]]'' series. He's a [[Foil]] to the title character and a [[Heroic Sociopath]] sidekick. Totally unpredictable, too.
* [[Squirrel Girl]], hands down. Cute. Fuzzy. Talks to squirrels. Lips taste like hazelnuts. Defeated [[Doctor Doom]], The Mandarin, Giganto, MODOK, [[Thanos]], Terrax, Bug-Eyed Voice, Bi-Beast, [[Deadpool]], Pluto, Fin Fang Foom, Baron Mordo, Korvac, and Ego the Living Planet...
** Somewhat related is the Fabulous Frog-Man. Fat, clumsy, untrained, and with no idea what he's doing, he's proven time and again capable of taking on the most nefarious villains and coming out on top. Usually by virtue of sheer luck or coincidence, but he often exhibits the bravery necessary to charge at baddies who give [[Captain America (comics)]] pause nonetheless.
* The entire population of [[Superman|Metropolis]] is pretty much this trope. Of course, when you've [[Seen It All]] the way they have, it's taken for granted that you should look both ways for [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|invading nuclear fission-powered nazi clone armies]] before crossing the street, and be handy with a crowbar so you don't have to [[Hundred-Percent Heroism Rating|bother that good ol' boy Superman with all your problems.]] [[Heroic Bystander|Isn't it YOUR turn to give back to the community?]]
* [[Plastic Man]] has been largely considered this due to the non-serious nature of most of his appearances. One must not forget that he is a trained CIA operative, can go toe-to-toe with many other big names in the DCAU (he can take punches from SUPERMAN without so much as batting an eye!) and survived dismemberment for thousands of years.
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* Both Scooby Doo AND Shaggy step it up at the end of ''[[Scooby Doo]] 2: Monsters Unleashed'', although they tried (and failed) throughout most of the movie.
* The eponymous ''[[Mystery Team]]'' takes a level in Badass by the end of the movie.
* Sergeant Gerry Boyle from ''[[The Guard]]''.
* Adam Sandler's eponymous hero in "The Water Boy" looks like the poster child for the trope.
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* [[Dresden Files|Harry Dresden]], to those who do not know who he is and what he is capable of. He tends to utilise this and a constant stream of sarcasm to pull [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] on his opponents, many of whom are in strict terms far out of his weight class.
** People consistently underestimate him, or are utterly terrified of him. You steal his girlfriend, he'll destroy you and your servants horribly, starting a war in the process. Take {{spoiler|his daughter, and [[Papa Wolf|he will commit genocide]] }}.
** Listens-to-Wind seems to be a quiet, benevolent, animal loving healer. Then he sends a demi god of imaginative sadism running with its tail between its legs in a full on [[Shapeshifter Showdown]]. Harry later refers to Listens-to-Winds expression when he realises how the traitor was manipulating the Senior council, as 'preparing to adjust another ass to ears ratio'. Listens-to-Wind had said this earlier in the aforementioned fight.
** Ebenezar [[McCoy]], old wizard, benevolent mentor and, when possible, consummate avoider of politics. Then he {{spoiler|reveals himself as the Blackstaff, the White Councils wetworks man and becomes a member of the Senior Council, the 7 oldest and most powerful wizards alive. Also master of the [[Colony Drop]]. Using an old satellite. He is also [[Papa Wolf]] to Harry, being his mentor and grandfather.}}
** {{spoiler|From what we hear about Harry's mother, she was just as dangerous as her son and father.}}
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* Otoya Kurenai from ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'', who at first blush seems to be nothing more than a [[Ted Baxter|foolishly self-absorbed]] [[Casanova]] who doesn't have a serious bone in his body. But then he starts pulling [[Batman Gambit]] after [[Batman Gambit]], demonstrating an incredible degree of character judgement, and kicking monster butt with an experimental [[Powered Armor]] -- typically stolen from its intended user as part of said [[Batman Gambit]]. It's no wonder that near the end of the series, {{spoiler|the Fangire Queen, normally tasked with killing "race traitors" who fall in love with humans, has herself fallen for Otoya and would go on to bear their child, the show's protagonist Wataru.}}
** Kagami Arata from [[Kamen Rider Kabuto]]. He's pretty much [[Good Is Dumb]], esepcially compare to the show's protagonist [[Insufferable Genius|Tendo Souji]]. Doesn't stop him from kicking ass, especially after becoming Gatack
* Jackie Burkhart serves [[The Ditz]] with a [[Hair-Trigger Temper]] on ''[[That '70s Show]]''.
* Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza of ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'' fits the trope quite well. Most of the time, he's just screwing around and [[All ST Ds Are AIDS|too busy having random rashes.]] But in the cockpit, he's more than competent.
** By the end of the series, most characters who weren't introduced as straight-up badasses (and are still alive) have turned out to fit this trope. Off the top of my head I can think of {{spoiler|Felix Gaeta's leading an armed mutiny, Laura Roslin's raging refusal to surrender when it appears that said mutiny has succeeded, Romo Lampkin's escaping from a marine who had a gun to his head by stabbing the guy's jugular with a pen, and Gaius Baltar going all Rambo on the enemy Cylons during the battle in the Series Finale}}.
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* ''[[Highlander (TV series)|Highlander]]'s Methos poses as a mild-mannered, sheltered scholar with the Watchers; even with his friends who know he's the oldest living Immortal, he'd rather lounge around drinking beer than accept a challenge. And he would just as soon not talk about how he {{spoiler|used to be Death of the Four Horsemen}}.
* [[Sledge Hammer]]; his [[Catch Phrase]], "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." is a [[Blatant Lies]], but when the chips are down, his [[Crazy Awesome|crazy awesomeness]] kicks in.
* In social game shows like ''[[Survivor]]'' and the American ''[[Big Brother]]'', a good (albeit boring) strat is to make everyone think you're not a threat to them, so they won't target you for eliminations. Then, you start playing much harder and make them regret not taking you out in hindsight.
** Perhaps the most triumphant example in ''[[Survivor]]'' was Fabio. His entire strategy was basically him flanderizing his [[Dumb Blonde|himbo]] personality and flying under the radar while the alliances pick off at people perceived to be bigger targets. Then when he was the only target in between the [[The Load|easily beaten Dan]], he finally started to win immunity, and then [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|tricked Chase and Sash into telling Jane they were voting her out TO HER FACE!]] He then chain-won immunity all the way into the final three, making Chase and Sash both think "[[Oh Crap]]".
** Attempted but failed with Brett and Ashley. Both Brett and Ashley just kept their mouths shut and hid behind numbers so they wouldn't be targeted. Then all of a sudden, they start competing well in challenges and force the dominant alliance to vote each other out first. Immediately the person in charge of the game thinks [[Oh Crap]] because this person they perceived to be a nothing is actually not bad at the game. Unfortunately; Brett & Ashley both failed to win the final immunity and were therefore the final member of the jury.
** Before either of those three, we had Lillian Morris. She was very emotional and would cry at the drop of a hat...and became Fairplay's personal [[Butt Monkey]]. After a bit of [[Fridge Brilliance]] where he avoided elimination at the final four and had to face two people who weren't good competitors, Lil ''immediately'' takes to the final immunity challenge and doesn't move a ''muscle'', while Fairplay starts trying to cut a deal, only for Lil to constantly shoot him down and taunt him to break down his spirit.
* Hiro of ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' is a [[Wrong Genre Savvy]] [[Otaku]] who spends most of each season suffering from severe [[Plot Induced Stupidity]]. But when he gets his act together and wades into the fight, he will ''own'' you. He has basically singlehandedly defeated [[Arch Enemy|Sylar]] (a couple of times), two seasonal [[Big Bad|Big Bads]], and an entire government black ops ''agency''. The only villain on the show who was ever any match for him was Arthur Petrelli, who had his same power ([[All Your Powers Combined|among many others]]).
* Walter Sherman of ''[[The Finder]]'' seems a harmless, goofy man who's just two steps short of an institution. It's not until he's strung out from a bad Find and faced with three bad guys that we're reminded he was an Iraq veteran. He does so by killing two of them with their own guns before snapping the last one's neck.
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* [[Shrinking Violet|Emil Castagnier]] from ''[[Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World]]'' might qualify, as he becomes [[Super-Powered Evil Side|much stronger in battle.]] {{spoiler|At least, in the beginning. As the game progresses, this 'Ratatosk Mode' seems to appear more often, usually when Marta is in trouble.}}
** In this case, Emil seems to take a leaflet out of [[Harry Potter (novel)|Neville's]] book here; over time, Emil loses the coward part of himself, even pulling a few moments of role reversal on Marta when the latter isn't up to her best (the pair [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshade]] this in an [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|aptly named]] skit named "Role Reversal"). {{spoiler|In fact, in the very last chapter of the game, he out and out ''seals away the Ratatosk side of his personality'', and you get to play as ''Emil himself'' in battles from that point onward.}}
* [[Damsel in Distress|Princess Peach]] from ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', when she [[Let's Get Dangerous|decides to fight]]. Especially her ''[[Super Smash Bros.]] Brawl'' incarnation.
** Even more so in the "Super Mario Adventures" comics where, after being kidnapped by Bowser, she easily breaks herself out, finds out Mario has been captured trying to rescue ''her'' and proceeds to break back in and rescue Mario.
** [[Cowardly Lion|Luigi]] is a better known example.
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** Gumshoe has fought of members of both a Yakuza crime boss and a group of Mafia thugs, showing up the next day completely uninjured.
** In the third case ''Investigations'' he repeatedly breaks away from Lang's men in order to give Edgeworth an important piece of information and in the fourth {{spoiler|he actually pulls out a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment. Though to be fair [[Running Gag|everyone was doing it by that point.]]}}
** {{spoiler|He was also part of an investigation where armed SWAT teams tracked an assassin, lead them to his hideout and steal vital evidence from the hideout while there was a firefight going on, then driving top speed to the courtroom through the busy LA streets, only stopping when he crashed, and even then, he was conscious and determined to keep going for a few seconds. He later turned up with little more than a bandaged head.}} Why did he do all this? His friend was in danger.
** While you don't see it onscreen, {{spoiler|1=the wimpy and easily-ignored Ron DeLite is also the [[Gentleman Thief]] Mask DeMasque.}}
** Heck, Phoenix Wright himself. He's the world's [[Straight Man]]/[[Butt Monkey]] and often behest to the whims of his immature sidekicks, and in the first two years of his career defeated three of the best prosecutors out there--including one who had not lost a single case in forty years of practicing law.
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* [[Dragon Age|"Enchantment!"]] That's right: do ''not'' piss off Sandal.
** Hordes of hundreds of dead darkspawn did nothing more than get some blood on him. In the sequel, he freezes an Ogre solid and wipes out dozens of demons, up to and including a Pride Demon.
* The Khajiit race in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' series come across as quite thick. But just ask the wood-elves how their border-disputes with the Khajiit are going, the phrases 'vertical ambush' and 'terrifying humanoid lions' will probably come up.
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'': Big the Cat. He was originally voiced by [[Duke Nukem|Jon St. John]], is now voiced by [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann|Kamina]], then [[Took a Level In Badass]] in ''Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood'', when he started acting like a smart-ass. Now he can catch bullets out of mid-air and lift cars. He uses his fishing rod as flaming projectile and is capable of swinging it like a ball on a chain, usually taking out any enemy on screen. Oh and as mellow as he is, [[Berserk Button|don't threaten one of his friends]], especially [[Papa Wolf|Froggy]] or [[Big Brother Instinct|Cream]].
* Katze Kotolnos from ''[[Endless Frontier]]'' is a [[Camp Gay]] cat person who is constantly making passes at protagonist Haken Browning. Then there comes a point where you have to fight him and he proceeds to kick your ass with his hands in his pockets. When you first fight him, he fights alongside Ezel, who you've been chasing for a while, and who wears an intimidating skull helmet and looks like a total [[Badass]]. ''Katze'' is the more dangerous of the two.
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== Web Comics ==
* Skull the Troll from ''[[Pv P Online]]'' is a textbook case. Normally child-like, naive, and harmless, but deep down he is still a fierce mythical beast, whose more than capable of holding his own in an [http://www.pvponline.com/1999/10/14/thu-oct-14/ epic battle scene].
** He's such a crouching moron, that while he's fighitng the [[Big Bad]], his own teamates assume he has run and hid.
** Also [http://www.pvponline.com/2011/10/26/swing-and-a-prayer/ more recently], he's shown catching a war hammer in one hand.
* {{spoiler|Gamzee Makara}} from ''[[Homestuck]]''. He starts being introduced as the most useless of the trolls. But we later find out from references that in the trolls' final battle in their session, {{spoiler|Gamzee}} did more damage to the Black King than anybody else, which shocked his teammates and their opponent. {{spoiler|When [[Suddenly Sober|he's cut off from his mind-rotting sopor pies]], he also becomes sadistic, competent and utterly terrifying as he [[Hero-Killer|declares he will murder all his friends]]. He's off to a good start.}}
** Also John, who is by now {{spoiler|the most powerful out of his group of friends, being the only one to have reached his God Tiers so far}} despite being the most "average kid-like" out of all of them. He's also managed to masterfully counter-[[Troll]] Karkat despite apparently being the most naive and innocent of them all (with the possible exception of Jade).
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* Mega Man in ''[[Bob and George]]''. Ordinarily he's a complete buffoon. But when he goes into battle, particularly against the Robot Masters, he becomes [[Badass]], often coming up with clever ways to defeat them. The fans figured out a reason for this, and the author said "[[Sure Why Not]]": In one of the early comics, the punchline is that Mega Man was accidentally programmed first to defeat evil robots, and second to be an idiot. He later retconned that this was the reason Mega Man was a default moron whenever there wasn't evil around, but when a bad guy shows up, he becomes an instant badass for the duration of the crisis.
* Lemmy in ''[http://www.fanboys-online.com/ F@nboy$]''. Normally he's a timid, goofy Nintendo fanatic. However, should anyone ever accuse Nintendo of being "kiddy" within his vicinity, [[Berserk Button|he literally phases out into a trance and turns into a rampaging lunatic, with little to no memory of what he has done afterwards]]. This may also be triggered by getting hit in the head, or more precisely, accidentally hitting other things with his face.
* Fighter of ''[[8-Bit Theater
{{quote|'''Fighter:''' Cool. Because friends look out for one another and '''we're''' friends, but Black Mage is my '''best''' friend. Also, I can block any attack and kill '''anything''' that bleeds. '''Hint'''.}}
** He once used his swords as chainsaws to destroy an entire flight of unstoppable dragons just because he was too stupid to realize said action was impossible.
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* Sterling Archer, title character of the series ''[[Archer]]'' is the world's dumbest secret agent. But he is a secret agent, and can dole out a secret agent level ass whooping when the need arises.
* ''Johnny'' of ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]'', in the Big Picture Show. Several others as well, but particularly Johnny.
** ''Ed'' deserves to be notably mentioned, as at one episode, he went into a nasty mood to a point where he proved he could even intimidate [[Bratty Half-Pint|his bratty]] [[Karma Houdini|little sister Sarah]].
* In ''[[Scooby Doo Mystery Inc]]'', Scooby may be the same lovable goof he always is, but when a robotic dog actually tries to kill the gang (as opposed to just scaring them), Scooby steps up, {{spoiler|fights and destroys it with a forklift}}, and manages to dish out some really [[Badass]] [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner|Pre Ass Kicking One Liners]] while doing so. Both a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment and a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].
* [[Goofy]] of [[Walt Disney]] fame is pretty much a gangly, clumsy hayseed, but there has been more than one occasion where he's become [[Let's Get Dangerous|scary focused]] on what he needs to do and manages to pull it off, as unorthodox as it may be.
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