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{{trope}}
[[File:Crouching_Moron_Hidden_Badass_1890Crouching Moron Hidden Badass 1890.jpg|link=Dragon Ball|frame|"[[Memetic Mutation|As soon as I find my pants, I'm going to kick your ass]]."]]
 
{{quote|'''Vlad Plasmius''': This can't be happening! You're an idiot! ''An idiot''!
'''Jack Fenton''': That may be, but I'm the idiot who beat ''you''.|''[[Danny Phantom]]'', "The Million Dollar Ghost"}}
 
At first glance, he's [[The Fool]]. She's [[The Ditz]]. And no, it's not [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] -- they—they're really like that.
 
Most of the time.
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If you push the [[Berserk Button|right button]] at the right time, things will suddenly change. The goofy smile disappears. [[Glowing Eyes of Doom|Their eyes start glowing.]] An [[Battle Aura|aura of energy]] surrounds them. [[Chunky Updraft|Little pieces of rock start floating up from the ground.]] Alternately, they may simply display a sudden leap in speed, strength, martial skill and weapon use.
 
After the dust settles, however, they're right back to smiling goofily, tripping over their own feet, and just generally acting like the [[Plucky Comic Relief]] -- while—while their teammates are rubbing their eyes, and trying to figure out what just happened. Often, the character doesn't actually know himself.
 
Basically, the individual has access to [[Stock Super Powers|superpowers]] of some sort -- couldsort—could be [[Psychic Powers|psionics]], could be [[Functional Magic]] or [[Applied Phlebotinum]], could be [[Nanomachines]] -- and—and they either don't know they have the power, or [[How Do I Shot Web?|don't know how to control it]]. Occasionally they have a [[Power Limiter]] that they are unaware of that will [[Sealed Badass in a Can|seal their strength until needed]].
 
Common triggers include a [[The Power of Friendship|friend]] or [[The Power of Love|loved one]] in danger (see [[Mama Bear]] and [[Papa Wolf]]), a [[Million-to-One Chance]] scenario, or just a "worthy cause." Sometimes, just getting 'em [[Unstoppable Rage|really, really pissed off]] will do the trick -- althoughtrick—although their easy-going personalities make that a rare occurrence.
 
The main point, however, is not the powers, but the radical change in personality that comes with them. The character may ordinarily be harmless, maybe even a [[Technical Pacifist]], but when in [[Badass]] mode, there's no mercy.
 
Sometimes, this can end up as a full-blown [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] or [[Jekyll and Hyde]] scenario, if the [[Badass]] side refuses to revert. In those cases, it might turn out that the individual was once aware of his powers and abilities, but somehow 'sealed' them -- consciouslythem—consciously or otherwise -- becauseotherwise—because he knew that [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]].
 
In most other cases, the character will gradually learn to control his power -- althoughpower—although he'll usually still need to [[Freak-Out]] a bit to use his ''full'' power -- andpower—and may evolve into an [[Idiot Hero]], or more rarely, a straight-up [[The Messiah|Messiah]].
 
In a few cases, things will go bad. The [[Badass]] powers are required too often, and they gradually take their toll on a previously cheerful individual. Usually results in an [[Emo]] or, in the case of females, an [[Emotionless Girl]]. Invariably results in her friends wondering if [[Saving the World]] was really worth the price.
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* In ''[[Highschool of the Dead]]'', Kohta Hirano at first seems like a typical fat, otaku nerd, but once the zombie apocalypse happens, he's quite deadly with firearms. In fact, his knowledge of how to use guns helps save people several times through the series.
* Keaton Taichi Hiiraga from ''[[Master Keaton]]''. At first glance he appears to be a bumbling part time lecturer with a keen interest in archeology. But he is actually an extremely competent ex-soldier with vast networks of important people (he is friends with a British prince!). When the situation calls he can even turns random items into deadly weapons or survival kit a la mcGuyver.
* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': Boss is the [[Butt Monkey]], [[Hopeless Suitor]] and [[Comic Relief]] [[Gonk]] character from this series and the sequel ''[[Great Mazinger]]''. He is mocked and ridiculized by his friends and belittled by the villains, and he gets beaten easily in each battle. Still, when he is angry he can get ''scarily'' competent and even [[Badass]]. He is [[Acrofatic]] and perfectly capable of holding his own on a fistfight, and although his [[Humongous Mecha]] is a pile of scrap gets destroyed in every fight, he has blown up some dangerous [[Robeast|Robeasts]]s and pulled off several awesome [[Big Damn Heroes]] moments. Also, threatening Kouji -his [[Vitriolic Best Buddies|vitriollic best buddy]]- or Sayaka -his crush- is a bad idea.
* ''[[The Slayers]]'' anime: Gourry Gabriev is a swordsman with extremely poor memory (often forgetting whoever he and his companions fought in the past) and a bumbling idiot who can't grasp onto any explanation, but if he's provoked enough, or if anyone, namely [[Redheaded Hero|Lina]], is in danger, he becomes an utterly badass swordsman and pushes the [[Badass Normal]] creed as far as it can go.
* ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]'' has Jean-Pierre Polnareff, a ladies' man who's normally dumb as a bag of hammers and repeatedly has bad encounters with foreign toilets. However, when the chips are down (like with his fight against Vanilla Ice), he turns badass, {{spoiler|accepting his death with a calmness that most would kill for.}}
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* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'': In earlier seasons, Psyduck tends to be rather useless and helpless, mainly during serious battles. That is, until his opponent induces a headache, resulting in a nasty psychic experience for the unfortunate victim. Psyduck loses any memory of these events though. Secondly, Togepi is generally considered an immature, coddled infant by Misty. Sometimes, however, when it looks like Team Rocket might succeed, it uses Metronome (a move that generates a random attack). Said random attack always blows the bad guys away. No one knows that Togepi does it.
** Except via tickle torture.
** For that matter, Ash himself in the earlier seasons. [[Idiot Hero]] to a tee, but every once in a while he [[Ass Pull|Ass Pulls]]s something genuinely brilliant (such as the aforementioned tickle torture).
** Cilan. Sure, he's a former Gym Leader, but he sparkles and "tastes" Pokémon. But when Cabernet shows up to wreak revenge upon him, he utterly destroys her two Pokémon in battle without any significant damage to his Pokémon. He pretty much had Pansage toy with Sawsbuck for the whole match.
** Wobbuffet of [[Goldfish Poop Gang|Team Rocket]]. Time and again, he's proven to be as powerful as his game counterpart, if only Jessie knows how to use him properly. Most of the time, Wobbuffet is just the [[Plucky Comic Relief]].
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* Having lived through death in his youth due to an accident, Tohno Shiki of ''[[Tsukihime]]'' appreciates life in general and tries to enjoy it as much as possible. That said, when threatened, he instinctively draws on his Nanaya abilities, which when combined with his [[Cursed with Awesome|Eyes]], can turn him into a formidable opponent. He also demonstrates [[Heroic Resolve]] quite often, especially in '' [[Melty Blood]]''.
** For that matter, a ''lot'' of people in ''[[Tsukihime]]'' show this: Arc speaks and acts like a spoiled child, spends more time smiling and cheering than anything else, and is generally a really pleasant girl to be around ([[Weirdness Magnet|if you don't mind getting into trouble]])...but [[Laser Guided Tykebomb|when faced with Apostles she reveals her true nature as the single most badass vampire in the world]]. Ciel is more the [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] type, but it's still significantly upsetting how one can be a pleasant, curry-obsessed high school student by day and a ruthless Church Assassin by night.
* When Mic Sounders XIII of ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'' was initially introduced, he was a childish, goofy robot who looked like the bastard child of a walkie-talkie and a Speak'n'Spell. However, he had an alternate mode -- amode—a rocker who could kick ass and energize teammates with the power of music. This mode was locked to ensure that the AI wouldn't abuse its power -- orpower—or, more specifically, so that he wouldn't accidentally ''destroy the world'' -- but—but came out on its own to protect Mic's friends (and in particular, the sister of the man his AI was based on). Later on, the limiter was released and Mic could change between modes at will.
* ''[[Ranma ½]]'''s Ryōga Hibiki and Kazuma Kuwabara of ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' are the same variant: When going up against the series protagonist, they're basically treated as [[Butt Monkey|buttmonkeys]]. But give them another opponent, and they can unleash a stunning amount of whoopass.
** 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's father Genma is usually portrayed as bumbling, lazy, cowardly, selfish, petty...you get the idea. However, he's one of the highest-level martial artists in the series, can still hand Ranma his ass in serious combat (that is, outside comedic, slapstick [[Megaton Punch|Megaton Punches]]es,) and devised two particular styles, the Yamasenken and Umisenken, that are unusually ''deadly'' for the ''Ranma ½' universe. Even the other characters were shocked with disbelief at discovering that the lazy slob had created such powerful schools.
** 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.
** Given the series' comedy origins, a lot of the characters have an element of this, especially Takeshi Yamamoto and Ryohei Sasagawa.
** Also Lambo. Idiot as a kid, still an idiot TYL but badass 20YL.
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*** 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—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]].
* Teletha Testarossa, a [[Genius Ditz]] teenage commander from ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'', despite usually being [[Dojikko|clumsy and tripping over her own feet]], when her subordinates are put in danger, can even recapture a submarine from a freak terrorist group. Also, her claims about not be able to use guns, turn out to be false at these moments.
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* Nathan Mahler from ''[[Blood Plus|Blood+]]'' seems like a putz at first. He spends the vast majority of his time flirting with his comrades and doesn't seem overly concerned about anything (plus, the fact that he dresses like a fashionatta and talks in a stereotypically homosexual voice doesn't help). Then, out of nowhere, he pulls out his scary voice, which can shatter glass and stop twelve foot bat monsters in their tracks. From then on he proceeds to establish himself as one of the show's most formidable bad guys (to the point where even [[The Dragon]]/[[The Man Behind the Man]] is afraid of him).
** {{spoiler|And he's the only one still standing ''after'' Saya rips him in two...}}
* The main character of ''[[Hades Project Zeorymer]]'', Masato, is mostly just an angsty teenage boy, who's still trying to wrap his head around how he went from being an [[Ordinary High School Student]] to piloting a [[Humongous Mecha]]. He doesn't want to hurt anybody, not even his enemies -- afterenemies—after all, they're still ''people'' -- and—and he DEFINITELY doesn't want any innocent bystanders getting hurt. However, when he's actually ''attacked''...he starts grinning like a loon, wielding his mecha like it's an extension of his body, trouncing the opposition without mercy, ignoring "Collateral Damage" completely, and just generally ''enjoying'' being the pilot of a walking WMD.
{{quote|'''Miku:''' Masato, we have to lead them towards the forest! Too many civilians are getting hurt!
'''Masato:''' To hell with them! Let THEM worry about the civvies and trip themselves up! }}
** Though like Yugi above, it's actually a [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] -- in—in his case, {{spoiler|the [[Magnificent Bastard]] of ''Zeorymer'', Kihara Masaki}}.
* Highly similar to Takashi Kawamura from ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]'', is Ippo Makunouchi from ''[[Hajime no Ippo]]''. Generally, he's a shy, awkward, overly-polite mama's boy...but once he steps into the boxing-ring, he becomes an intense and unstoppable fighter with a Dynamite Punch that can shatter bones, and an invincible stamina that allows him to keep coming back no matter how many times he's knocked down. It's not uncommon for people who've seen him in the ring, to completely fail to recognize him outside of it. Several times, this has worked to his advantage, since any opponent who've met him outside the ring is bound to underestimate the level of brutality he can unleash inside of it.
* Goku from ''[[Saiyuki]]'' can turn from kid who only thinks about food and fighting to a rampaging, unstoppable demon when his limiter is broken. Usually breaks if [[Ho Yay|Sanzo is in trouble]]. Basically, he's [[GetBackers|Ginji Amano]] but [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]].
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* On the Kinda Sorta Maybe Hero side (a.k.a. ''[[Gundam Wing]]''), there's Une. Her [[Alter Ego]] is even more of a pacifist and stooge of Oz (and her military side) than "Queen" Relena turned out to be, despite being a good enough arguer to seriously talk down the most distrusting of souls. As for the Oz side of Une, this is the woman who cold-bloodedly assassinated Relena's foster father (Ambassador Dorlian) and pushed a no longer useful tool of a man out the back of an airplane, shooting him as he fell. It's no wonder she was semi-suicidal on the integration of those personas, the death of Trieze aside.
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'':
** The Baka Rangers are probably some of the biggest [[Badass|Badasses]]es in the story, but while they're [[Book Dumb]], the only one that really fits this trope is [[Badass Normal]] Makie Sasaki, who can pull off impossible feats with ''[[Improbable Weapon User|a rhythmic gymnastics ribbon]]'' and also somehow managed to maintain some subconscious memory of being under Evangeline's control. The main [[The Ditz|Ditz]] of the staring [[True Companions]] is incredibly powerful, but doesn't qualify due to being [[The Medic]].
** [[Obfuscating Stupidity|Jack Rakan]], though he is ''always'' badass. I pity the poor fool who thinks that they can outsmart him easily.
* ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'':
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* In ''[[Demon Diary]]'', Raenef Demon-Lord-in-training is a hopeless idiot who can't remember his lessons and is scared of his own magic. But if you get him scared, angry or upset you will suddenly realise that there is a very very good reason why he's the successor of one of the most powerful demon lords who ever existed. Same goes for Chris. He's an egocentric idiot who can't remember an incantation. However, he draws his powers from a ''god''.
* Any of the main characters of the manga ''Category Freaks''. They may lay around, be lazy, be klutzes, be sex-crazed, have issues with self-esteem, or have the mind of a child...but don't piss ''any'' of them off. If you get entangled with just one, you'll probably end up dead. You don't want to see what will happen when you get the entire group involved.
* ''[[Diebuster]]'': Nono is happy, friendly and goofy most of the time. When she "stops" being happy, friendly and goofy, {{spoiler|[[Earthshattering Kaboom|property values on Titan start falling in a hurry. ]] }}
* Mikado Ryugamine of ''[[Durarara!!]]'' is a shy and meek [[Naive Newcomer]] who gets overshadowed by his [[Keet]] best friend. He spends the first several episodes poking around and asking questions about the Dollars, a large and mysterious gang in the area. But when push comes to shove, Mikado reveals that he's got a few secrets up his sleeve: namely, that {{spoiler|''he is'' the leader of the Dollars.}}
** Kida Masaomi and Sonohara Anri also counts. Kida's the playboy who simply knows his way around Ikebukuro - and it's most eccentric inhabitants - really, really well. Anri's the quiet [[Meganekko]] who has a nice rack and is the victim of sexual harassment by a teacher, who is worried about a missing "friend". It turns out that {{spoiler|Kida is the founder and former leader of the Koukinzoku, until it got too violent for him, and Anri is the true user of the Demon Sword Saika}}.
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* Played around with in ''[[Samurai Deeper Kyo]]''. Kyoshiro seems to have this going on, being a kindly [[Lovable Coward]] and perverted medicine seller with Kyo as a [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] that comes out when he's forced to draw his sword. However, this gets subverted when fairly early in the manga, Kyo [[Split Personality Takeover|takes over full time]]. There is an even greater subversion later {{spoiler|namely, that Kyo and Kyoshiro actually are two separate people and while Kyo has killed plenty of people, the whole "killing a thousand people" reputation was something Kyoshiro did, and his bumbling was really [[Obfuscating Stupidity]].}}
** While Benitora really IS a idiot who is head over heels for Yuya. He doesn't really want to become the {{spoiler|Shogun}} like his Dad wants him to. (Yukimura is probably more Obfuscating Stupidity than this trope, though.)
** Bontenmaru is a [[Boisterous Bruiser]] and only came to the Forest because he heard that a group of [[Hot Amazon|Hot Amazons]]s had gone to defeat {{spoiler|Nobunaga}}. What he found disappointed him greatly, except for Okuni. Then again, he IS the famed Dokuganryuu AND a {{spoiler|former member of the Shiseiten}}...
** Really, all of the Shiseiten fits this trope - except probably Akira.
* The entire premise of ''[[Rune Soldier]]''. The better part of the show is about priestess Melissa who has been given a mission by her god to support apprentice mage Louie to become a "Valiant Champion", for which he seems to be completely unfit. Instead of using his magic in combat, he rather punches monster in the face with his fists and when told to use his magic wand, he breaks it by whacking it over a monsters head. But with Melissa's guidance and combat training by Genie, he becomes a much better fighter and shows to be a genuinely good person who never gives up helping people in need.
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* ''[[Kaiji]]'': in the series of the same name. In the first episode he's so paranoid that he reveals that he committed a crime the affected didn't even suspected him from, in the second episode he gets raped in the ass and even needed someone to explain to him what happened, midway through the series he's betrayed (twice) by a fat asshole, but then he gets into serious mode and gets revenge on everyone, he once went as far as to {{spoiler|cut off his own ear}} to fool his opponent into believing that he was calm because {{spoiler|He had device that monitored his cardiac rhythm which gave info to said opponent}} and thus making wrong decisions which led into his victory {{spoiler|Then he returns to retard mode and loses everything}}.
* In the manhwa ''[[Dorothy of Oz (manhwa)|Dorothy of Oz]]'', Abee at first appears to be a perfectly harmless amnesiac who hilariously mixes up his words in the most awkward way possible. He also happens to be an ''incredibly'' powerful telekinetic, and will not hesitate to throw someone off a cliff for threatening his best friend.
* Rio from ''[[Spiral]]'' is a cutesy [[Dojikko]] who loves melons and cute things, but is [[Fear of Thunder|scared of thunder]]. Cross her, however, and she'll reveal her true self, as one of the 'Blade Children' - a ruthless, calculating murderess with a degree in [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent Bastardry]]ry. Indeed, it initially seems like her [[Cute Clumsy Girl]] personality is just [[Obfuscating Stupidity]], but she still acts the same way when alone, or hanging around her fellow Blade Children...
* ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'':
** While not as [[Badass]] as some, Fumi has proven herself to be extremely capable in certain subjects, her first appearance has her doing a complicated math problem in her head, but nearly overshadows Isumi when it comes to [[Cloudcuckoolander]] status in other departments. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like she'd be a badass [[Student Council President]] -- yet—yet.
** Isumi is also a [[Cloudcuckoolander]], plus she has [[No Sense of Direction]], but give her a demon to clean up, and she's one of the most powerful spiritual fighters in generations and is actually called out by a chapter title and a powerful character herself to possibly be the most powerful character in the story.
* Sakura Kinomoto/Avalon of ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]'' is a blissfully naive cutie, often acting rather childish and ''extremely'' oblivious to the obvious (most notably to the extreme infatuation she receives from ''both'' of her best friends), however she is often proved to be highly resourceful and formidable in the use of the Clow Cards.
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== Film -- Live Action ==
* ''[[Kung Fu Hustle]]'':
** Sing, the hapless hero, starts off as a complete failure of a small-time street crook. Then he double-crosses the Axe Gang, gets beaten into a bloody pile of meat -- andmeat—and wakes up as an indestructible kung fu god.
** Just about the entire cast fits this trope. Ranging from the pervy landlord and bitchy landlady, to a secretary geek wearing golden glasses kicking both Sing and his partner's arse, and the farmer lady who managed to make Sing vomit blood with a punch -- therepunch—there are ''loads'' more.
* ''[[Police Academy|Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach]]'' had Commendant Lassard being kidnapped and held hostage by the [[Big Bad]]. He mistakenly thinks it's all a game being put on for the media, and when someone points out that it's not, he rather quickly frees himself without breaking a sweat.
* ''[[Get Smart (film)|Get Smart]]'': Maxwell Smart is ridiculously skilled and resourceful, an excellent marksman, and really damn lucky. Except for when it's [[Rule of Funny|funny]] for him to be an idiot.
* Loren Visser, the private detective in ''[[Blood Simple]]'', comes across as a goofy, loudmouthed, dumbass joke at the start of the movie...{{spoiler|until he shoots Julian, the man who hired him.}} From then on, he's a nigh-unstoppable killer.
* In ''[[Galaxy Quest]]'', Sir Alexander Dane spends most of his time [[Deadpan Snarker|complaining]], about the degeneration of his career from classically trained Shakespearean actor to being most famous for his role as the token alien in a cheesy space opera. But then an alien trooper shoots his biggest fan, the character dies in his arms while saying that he always thought of Dane's character as a father figure. Dane then utters the alien vow his character is known for, which he had utterly hated up to this point, swearing vengeance, and ''lunges'' out of cover. The alien trooper takes aim at him but he charges, bare-handed. The alien's gun fails just in time for Dane to leap on top of him and start beating him to death bare-handed--whichhanded—which in turn gives the rest of the Thermians the courage to join in the fight.
* Elle Woods from ''[[Legally Blonde]]''. She starts out appearing to be [[The Ditz]], but apparently superior knowledge of fashion and haircare do not preclude intelligence.
* The Mad Hatter in [[Tim Burton]]'s ''[[Alice in Wonderland (film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' is a [[Cloudcuckoolander]] with a side order of [[The Woobie]]. However, he doesn't hesitate to put himself in danger to save Alice, or the White Queen. {{spoiler|Not to mention fighting the Knave of Hearts, [[The Dragon]] of the Red Queen, and ''kicking his ass''.}}
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* Kwan-Yin from the ''[[Journey to the West]]'' TV film kicked demon ass without breaking her Goddess hand gesture.
* ''[[Mystery Men]]'''s Mr. Furious, when his love interest was threatened, wiped the floor with Casanova Frankenstein.
* In the 1986 film ''[[Alien (franchise)|Aliens]]'' Private Hudson (Bill Paxton) would like to be viewed as a badass but is constantly slapped down by his more-badass companions and spends much of the film whining and complaining -- untilcomplaining—until the chips are down, when he goes into full badass mode and mows down countless aliens before falling.
{{quote|"Oh you want some of this to? Come get it!"}}
* Wikus van de Merwe of ''[[District 9]]'' is a sniveling, naive corporate pencil-pusher with a silly mustache - and when the chips are down, he {{spoiler|climbs into a suit of alien [[Powered Armor]] and proceeds to vaporize the local voodoo gang as well as the psycho PMC troops sent to retrieve him}}.
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== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[Redwall]]'': King Bull Sparra does this really well. Maybe a little too well...
* The character of Alfred from ''[[The Death Gate Cycle]]'', written by Weis & Hickman, is an over the top example of this trope. He first appears as a stumbling, clumsy butler, but in dire circumstances, at times off-screen, he is the pinnacle of his wizarding tradition and can perform miracles in [[Functional Magic]] up to and including resurrecting the dead, the ''right'' way, whereas other mages can do so only by draining the life of another being of the same race, somewhere in the multiverse. Of course, a lot of people want to get hold of Alfred for his magical prowess. Problem is, ''he doesn't remember how he pulls his magic off'', pulling a complete black-out, more than often enough accompanied by an undignified fainting. It eventually turns out that he originally just used [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] to avoid revealing his powers to the world -- butworld—but over time, it became so in-grown that he practically forgot how to use his powers at all.
** In the same series, a character named Zifnab appears to be a senile old man who can't remember the color of his own robe. He is later discovered to be one of the oldest living beings in the universe. Although he is afflicted with Alzheimer's, he is questionably the most powerful magician in the series, complete with his own pet dragon.
*** I always thought it was less Alzheimer's and more way too many bad memories from when the world as we knew it was broken asunder and billions died. You go around with that mucking up your head and you would be daffy yourself.
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* In [[Raymond E. Feist]]'s ''[[The Riftwar Cycle|Riftwar Cycle]]'', a gibbering, mindless beggar barely capable of feeding himself is later revealed to be the mortal shell of {{spoiler|Macros the Black, the most powerful sorcerer in the world.}} His mind was not in his body, until suddenly it was imperative for him to be present to fight the darkness and chaos.
** And then there's Nakor, a wandering con man and chronic goof-off who just happens to know more about magic, the nature of the multiverse, and beating down evil than anyone else in the series, with the possible exception of Pug.
* Alan Dean Foster's ''[[Spellsinger]]'' series has JonTom Merryweather, the spellsinger of the title. A [[Fish Out of Water|modern human]] in an alternate, [[The Dung Ages|medieval-equivalent]] universe filled with [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s, who is pretty much useless in a fight, at least in the first few books...except for his spellsinging, which is the ultimate wild card and capable of doing anything he can sing about. The only trouble is that 1.) he has to know the ''right'' song, 2.) sometimes nothing happens, and 3.) even he's not sure what's going to happen when he starts. It's done everything from switching the entire party's genders, to changing a wizard's apprentice {{spoiler|into a phoenix}}, to ''summoning a god''.
* While this editor isn't sure how much this is true of the character in actual mythology, some stories of Ganesha present the jolly [[Big Eater]] god as equal in power to his fearsome father Shiva, capable of stopping the sun and destroying the world, but luckily [[Gentle Giant|too nice to do so]].
* The novel ''Armor'' by [[John Steakley]] follows two storylines set about five years apart, with the earlier one framed by the discovery of the [[Powered Armor]] used by the earlier protagonist on a distant, non-wartorn colony in a crashed escape pod. The armor's owner, Felix, is quite literally an unstoppable killing machine: in a war where no one has survived more than ten major missions, armor notwithstanding, Felix makes it through over twenty before {{spoiler|being killed by another human soldier}}. Meanwhile, in the present-day, a rebellion is brewing right underneath the nose of the colony's drunken, dimwitted owner, Lewis, causing great consternation to the present-day protagonist...especially when it breaks into open war and a nearby space pirate decides to capitalize on the situation. With a military grade dreadnought. {{spoiler|Fortunately, Lewis ''is'' Felix, lying low and enjoying life. At least, until he decides to save his colony by putting his armor back on, slaughtering an army's worth of pirates, and then ''takes down the dreadnought with his bare damn hands.''}}
* Neville Longbottom of ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'', although he worked hard to achieve the Badass designation from the Moron.
** Notable in that [[Took a Level In Badass|badassery level only rises with every challenge; it ]]''[[Took a Level In Badass|doesn't]]'' [[Took a Level In Badass|revert. Ever]].
** Culminates in a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]. Consider also that the prophesy nominating Harry as "the chosen one" easily applied to Neville as well. The fan meme is, "Neville is the Boy-That-Could-Have-Been-But-Did-Anyway."
** Let's face it; this trope could easily be renamed "The Neville."
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** Perhaps even more aptly: Samwise Gamgee. His name roughly translates to "halfwit", and it applies. He's overweight, easily frightened, and not very bright. He also [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|beat a man-eating giant spider demi-god in single combat,]] single-handedly [[Storming the Castle|stormed a tower full of hostile orcs]] [[No One Gets Left Behind|to save his friend's life]], was the only Ringbearer to steadfastly resist the temptation of the [[Artifact of Doom|One Ring,]] and literally carried another man up the side of a volcano for the fate of the world while starving and suffering from dehydration. There's a reason Tolkien considered him the true hero of the story.
** This is a characteristic of Hobbits as a whole. As a race, they spend most of their time eating, drinking and making sure they have enough to eat and drink (the only function of their police force -the Sherrifs - is to chase of wild animals). Yet as Wolves, Orcs and Saruman have found out, there's only ''so'' far you can push them.
** The Ents are an entire species of Hidden Badasses. At first glance, they look like a race of [[Gentle Giant|Gentle Giants]]s who just want to hide in their forest and wait for the danger to go away, so much so, that [[Big Bad Wannabe|Saruman]] [[What an Idiot!|doesn't even consider them a threat]]. However, when Saruman [[It's Personal|starts invading their forest and chopping down their trees]], they decide enough is enough, [[Curb Stomp Battle|take the fight to him]], and [[When Trees Attack|send their trees]] after his [[Elite Mooks|Uruk-Hai]], pretty much ending the war in the Rohan all on their own.
*** That wizard REALLY should have known better, but it should be noted that where Sarumon is concerned, it was more of a case of karma; the Ents attacked almost ''right'' after Sarumon sent his entire army off to Helm's Deep, leaving only a handful of Orcs to guard against an army of trees.
* From L.J. Smith's ''[[Night World]]'' series, Iliana Dominick spends most of the story as [[The Load]] and [[The Ditz]], but when her friends and bodyguards are threatened at the end of the book, she finally unleashes the magic in her blood that she's been denying her entire life.
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** {{spoiler|It helps that due to a certain incident he gains the memories and battle experience of [[Past Life Memories|thousands of generals and soldiers throughout history]], effectively turning him into the greatest battle tactician known in the world.}}
* Those who grew up reading the books of [[Lloyd Alexander]] will remember the bard and minor king Fflewddur Fflam, who at first seems like only a half-trained musician with a gift for exaggeration and a magic harp that calls him on it every time. But drop him in a fight with something important at stake and you realize he's also a capable and dangerous warrior...though still one with his heart in his mouth until the battle is over.
* [[Stephen King]] and Peter Straub's collaborative book ''[[The Talisman]]'' has Wolf-- aWolf—a lovable, simple-minded [[Gentle Giant]] who serves as a shepherd in an [[Alternate Dimension|alternate Earth]] and tags along with Jack in his quest to save his mother. He's also that dimension's version of a werewolf. And has adopted Jack as his new "herd". And is impossibly strong even when he isn't transformed. Which means that you really, ''really'' want to think twice about hurting Jack.
* [[Jack the Ripper]] in ''[[Time Scout]]'' forms a rare duo. {{spoiler|He's two people, one a patsy being hypnotically controlled and turned into a weapon by the mastermind.}}
* The Clutch Turtles from Sharon Lee & Steve Miller's [[Liaden Universe]] aren't really ''morons per se'', so much as they ''appear to be'' large and slow, with a child-like innocent naivety regarding human culture. But those who get on their bad side discover, very briefly, the error of their ways.
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** He also happens to be an amateur astronomer (a single comment about an accretion disc results in Daniel hitting a figurative brick wall while talking). When he's not using the telescope on his roof to spy on neighbors, that is.
* HM "Howling Mad" Murdock from ''[[The A-Team]]''. He seems like just another comic relief moron, right? ''Wrong''. If it's got wings, he's flown it; if it's got wheels, he's driven it. {{spoiler|And he worked for the CIA!}}
* Adrian [[Monk]]: Socially inept, obsessive-compulsive and afraid of everything. But he manages to solve the most baffling crimes and he can hold his own in a fight -- hefight—he was a cop once, remember. And if you even so much as ''insult'' Trudy, [[Berserk Button|he will hand you your ass]].
** Also, in the episode where the suspect was a marathon runner, who grabs the key piece of evidence and takes off on foot. Monk proves that he used to be a great runner in school by giving chase (especially in his new sneakers which he got from his idol).
* 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—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]]''.
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* Companion [[Doctor Who|Rory Pond]] is clumsy, awkward, useless in a fight, has a serious inferiority complex concerning the fact that his wife to be seems to love her imaginary friend more than him, and generally is mostly only on board the TARDIS for her. But he will ''not'' take crap if someone is in trouble and by the end of the series has become a major mythical figure and badass fighter. Even after the timelines are reset he remembers living for 2000 years guarding his wife inside Pandora's box, and is an extremely competent fighter, able to face down an army of Cybermen if nessecary. River had to get those genes from somewhere, I suppose...
{{quote|'''Amy Pond:''' (to her infant daughter, Melody, as both are being held prisoner by The Silence) "I wish I could tell you that you'll be loved. That you'll be safe and cared for and protected. But this isn't the time for lies. What you are going to be, Melody, is very very brave. But not as brave as they [The Silence] all have to be. Because there's somebody coming. I don't know where he is, or what he's doing, but trust me. He's on his way. He's the last of his kind. He looks young but he's lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. And wherever they take you, Melody, however scared you are, I promise you, you will never be alone. Because '''''this man is your father'''''. He has a name, but the people of our world know him better... as the last Centurion."}}
* Vir from ''[[Babylon 5]]'' is introduced as a timid and shy comic relief, used to being pushed around by his boss Londo. However as the show goes on he gradually shows more and more backbone, first by not backing from a huge monster (a hologram, but he didn't know that) when sent to deliver a message to technomages, then by telling off an emissary of [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]]s in the most awesome way, and finally by retorting to an insult and a spying attempt by borrowing his Londo's duel sword and trashing the offender's stall and forcing him to confess at swordpoint.
** There's also the small part about him becoming Emperor.
* [[Ashes to Ashes|WPC Shaz Granger]] is hardly a moron, she's just sweet and isn't as badass as the rest of CID. It's kind of hard when you're a plonk in your mid-twenties, trying to live up to the examples of Gene Hunt and Alex Drake. Even Ray and Chris are pretty badass, holding their own in gunfights and having multiple [[Big Damn Heroes]] moments - Shaz doesn't even ''carry'' a gun. And then 2.08 hits, where {{spoiler|a bent copper is holding Chris hostage, about to shoot him. A gunshot sounds, and it's Shaz, holding a smoking gun and wearing her wedding dress. To cap it all off, she quips "How you doing, baby?" to Chris.}}
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** 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]]s, 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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* In ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'', we are introduced once more to Johnny Sasaki, who had spent a majority of the earlier games on the toilet. This time around, however, {{spoiler|his cowardice proves to be a hidden strength, as his [[Afraid of Needles|fear of needles]] leaves him without nanomachines, making him immune to the [[Big Bad]]'s trump card. Along with [[The Power of Love]], this leads him to develop [[The Gunslinger|amazing Gun Fu and sniping skills]].}}
** And turned right back around for comedic effect in multiplayer, where Johnny's lack of nanomachines robs him of SOP-linking and the benefits it provides; if you try to link while standing still, he does an anime pose, and if you try while running, he does a ''Rainbow Six''-esque hand signal. He also can't do CQC and will flail hilariously if you try. His diarrhea, however, turns him into a ''walking gas grenade'' as it will incapacitate anyone he runs by.
* A less specific example would be RPG characters with a [[Limit Break]]. Your reg'lar everyday [[Designated Hero]] suddenly wipes the floor with every single one of those [[Goddamned Bats]]. The one that springs to mind is Selphie Tilmitt in ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'', who is essentially a [[The Ditz|young blonde airhead]], but can pull an attack that instantly defeats anything. Yes, anything. Armoured Slimes, [[Goddamned Bats]], [[That One Boss]], the ''[[Big Bad]] of the entire game'' -- you—you name it, The End kills it. [[Beware the Nice Ones|Suddenly Selphie doesn't seem so innocent...]]
** What's more is that the attack (like her personality) seems pretty innocent. How you say? It's a beautiful field of flowers that appears on screen, that's it.
* In ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers]] of Time/Darkness'', Wigglytuff seems to be nothing more than a simple, Perfect Apple-loving, uber-happy goof of a Pokémon. But if he gets upset, you'll find out exactly why Chatot seems to fear his temper.
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* In Pokemon, at first Whitney seems like a generic teenage girl, with some [[Genki Girl]] mixed in. However she's renowned by the fanbase as being one of the hardest gym leaders in the games due to her Milktank.
* Grit from ''[[Nintendo Wars|Advance Wars]]'' is a top-notch distance weapons specialist (And considered an overpowered CO in earlier games by the players), but he hardly ever shows it due to his incredibly laid-back, agreeable demeanor.
* ''[[Touhou Project]]'' is positively ''brimming'' with examples of this trope. Shall we start with [[Brilliant but Lazy|Yukari]] [[Heavy Sleeper|Yakumo]] herself, wielder of powers [[Reality Warper|far beyond godly]] who nonetheless prefers to spend her time [[Immortal Immaturity|goofing around]], [[Trickster Mentor|bothering Reimu]], and generally acting like a little trickster imp? Or [[Cute Ghost Girl|Yuyuko]] [[Big Eater|Saigyouji]], who ''is'' genuinely amiable and nice and enjoys a good meal and sake under the cherry blossoms far more than anything else in the world, but who has been heavily implied by the author [[Obfuscating Stupidity|to know a lot more than she lets on]], being able to keep up with aforementioned Yukari? (Not to mention her power is to ''cause the death in anything that can die''.) Maybe Komachi Onozuka, who is a God of Death and the Ferryman of the Dead -- andDead—and also a complete slacker who runs low on her quota of souls ferried because she prefers to lay down near the Styx and catch a shuteye or twenty? Or Suika Ibuki, a little girl who looks like a perpetually-tanked seven year old with horns and an unquenchable thirst for parties -- ''[[Cute Bruiser|and can also bench-press a mountain]]''? All in all, when you're in Gensokyo it certainly pays to not underestimate whatever little girls you may find.
** Conversely, Rumia, the youkai ''of Darkness''. She consistently walks into trees (the powers ''of Darkness'' rendering her blind), is nearly harmless, and is sought out by people hoping to evade the sun on hot summer days.
*** However, ever since ''[[All There in the Manual|Perfect Memento in Strictest Sense]]'' announces that her ribbon is an amulet that she can't remove on her own free will, the fans [[Wild Mass Guessing|wonder]] what may happen if it's taken off, the most popular [[Epileptic Trees|theory]] being "[[True Final Boss|EX-]]Rumia".
** Also, Flandre Scarlet, an eternal (literally) [[Cheerful Child]] who loves to play with the humans who visit her home, and has [[Does Not Know His Own Strength|absolutely no control]] over her [[Person of Mass Destruction|ridonkulous levels of magical power]]. Even Marisa, who has faced all of those mentioned above and then some, makes it a point to avoid ever meeting Flandre whenever she goes to the Scarlet Mansion to [[Kleptomaniac Hero|steal books]], not-so-subtly implying that she scares the crap out of her.
** Also deserving of her own bullet-point is Cirno after starring in her own [[Gaiden Game]], ''Great Fairy Wars''. For all that she's rightfully regarded as the [[Ted Baxter|series]] [[Baka|dumb]][[The Ditz|ass]], she shows the near-unique ability to destroy enemy projectiles in flight without using a spellcard.<ref>Only above-mentioned Youmu has shown a similar skill, in a much more restricted way</ref>. Also, unlike every other PC, who only get knocked around when they lose a life until they take enough minor injuries/ClothingDamage to have lost a fight, Cirno out and out ''dies'' every time she gets hit, letting her fairy-issue resurrective [[Immortality]] take over before flying back onto the field, unfazed.
* The Black Baron of ''[[MadWorld]]''. An [[Uncle Tomfoolery]] who is constantly killed by his own deathtraps and girlfriend, it's hard to believe he poses any real threat, even when {{spoiler|he turns out to be the final boss. Most players saw an easy fight...and then he goes Super Saiyan, kicks at you with lightning and punches you with a black hole.}} Sadly, when he meets his final end, he's reverted back to his moron stage.
* In one instance of ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'', Radagast the Brown walks through a wight-infested swamp talking to little animals while the players have to fight all around him. In the end, he incapacitates who seems to be the endboss with a single hit, saving the players.
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** {{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--includingthere—including one who had not lost a single case in forty years of practicing law.
** And the head of the State Police force, and a man who can blackmail Presidents.
* {{spoiler|Missile}} in ''[[Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective|Ghost Trick]]''.
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* Laguna is this in ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' and ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy Duodecim]]''. In the original game he's a goofy, laidback soldier with a terrible sense of direction who {{spoiler|becomes the head of a rebellion to overthrow a sorceress and then the leader of the world's largest and most advanced nation.}} In Dissidia, he's as goofy and directionless as ever, is the only character to have no magic but still stands up to world destroying demi-gods like Sephiroth, Kefka and Exdeath. His boss is Cloud of Darkness, who is literally the personification of darkness itself.
** If not even Vaan takes your directions seriously, then you go ahead and snipe Chaos you're probably this.
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass]]'': Link probably qualifies. Tropers have already come to a consensus that he's all kinds of [[Badass]]-- [[Badass Adorable|adorable]], [[Badass Normal|normal]] and [[Badass Abnormal|abnormal]] among them-- butthem—but he also happens to be, quite possibly, the most laid-back of his ilk, hero-wise. The beginning of Wind Waker also makes him the designated [[Butt Monkey]]. This culminates in a [[Keet|sweet, goofy]] protagonist who [[Berserk Button|will rip you limb from limb]] [[Knight Templar Big Brother|if you even look at his sister the wrong way]].
** The manga adapation of ''Ocarina of Time'' seems to interpret Link this way, in contrast to his very serious and stoic appearance in the game. He's very sweetly boyish and mischievous, at times outright silly and clumsy, up through a large part of the manga - at least until the [[Bad Future]] elements of the adult section start to sink in.
* ''[[Skyrim]]'': Cicero the jester. He's a crazy loon dressed up like a complete idiot. He's also the Keeper of the Night Mother (meaning he was chosen by the Void to be the Night Mother's protector) and a deadly knife fighter. When he snaps after Astrid dismisses the Night Mother one time too many, he nearly kills the entire Dark Brotherhood in his fury. The guy who pursues him -- ahim—a ''werewolf'' -- nearly—nearly gets gutted for his troubles, {{spoiler|while Cicero is apparently unharmed though he plays possum.}}
* The shopkeeper from the ''[[Fantasy Quest]]'' turns out rather more adept that his demeanor suggests.
* Valvatorez from ''[[Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten]]'' is a gullible space-case Prinny Instructor that's more than a little bit preoccupied with sardines. He is ''also'' the only demon [[Makai Kingdom|The Most Badass Frickin' Overlord in All the Cosmos]] considers a [[Worthy Opponent]] -- [[Brought Down to Badass|and this is after he's been]] ''[[De-Power|depowered]]''.
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'''Torg:''' But I ''so'' want to teach one! }}
** Riff is a milder (or more complicated) example. He's superficially cool much of the time, but under that "strong and silent" act he rivals Torg in stereotypic male dumbness (and beats him in insensitivity); in the presence of the opposite sex, whenever he tries to do anything but look cool, he puts his foot in his mouth and becomes a total fool. However, he's right at home being a [[Badass]] action hero or heroic leader when the right opportunity arises. So in this case you might actually miss the "moron" part of the trope if you only saw the superficial everyday coolness and the hero mode.
* Daniel "Dan" Ti'Fiona of ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'' is technically a hero -- graduatedhero—graduated from Adventuring School and with [http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_127.php titles to match]. His friends, however, doesn't really take it seriously, what with him usually being bungling, lazy, caught up in romantic mishaps, and getting [[Gender Bender|transformed into a woman]]. However, when faced with old enemies, he'll usually [[Shirtless Scene|lose his shirt]], narrow his eyes, and demonstrate that he IS, in fact, [http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_154.php worthy of those titles]. With the later addition of Cubi powers, this transformation has reached the level of '[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_973.php make a demon piss her pants and run like hell]'.
** Dan's best friend, and the other half of the title, Mab, also qualifies, though for different reasons. She generally seems innocent-to-downright-nuts, with her main hobby being 'hugging things', feared mostly for her nightmare-inducing brownies...however, she IS a Fae, and resultingly, has god-level magical abilities - and when forced to use them, she can frighten ANYONE into submission - and then go right back to her perky, airheaded self again. {{spoiler|Also, it turns out she's actually a [[Magnificent Bastard]] above all other [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent Bastards]]s, plotting out everything, including the path that the [[Omniscient Council of Vagueness]] will take, in order to create the best possible future. She knows who will live and who will die.}} She just doesn't know how to bake.
*** By extension, this applies to pretty much the entire Fae race - Mab is merely the one most often found mixed up in the main plot. Being superdimentional beings of pure magic and/or insanity will do that to a race.
* Subverted in ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'' as he is more of a [http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=30&issue=11 Crouching Badass Hidden Moron].
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* [[Cloudcuckoolander|Eddie]] from [[Emergency Exit]], if [http://eecomics.net/?strip_id=998 hit] [http://eecomics.net/?strip_id=999 in] [http://eecomics.net/?strip_id=1004 the] [http://eecomics.net/?strip_id=1005 head.]
* Gregory of [[Dominic Deegan]]. Loves making couch forts. Can take on about a dozen members of [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|the Chosen]] by himself.
** May run in the family. Consider Donovan--aDonovan—a bard, prone to bad jokes and worse puns, horrendous at speaking Orcish (Or is he?), and by all appearances an utter goofball. He is ''also'' a world-class swordsman, helped save the world from a demonic invasion, and was one of the few humans to receive a tattoo from the orcs that basically translates as "The dude wearing this is freaking awesome."
* Dave from ''[[Narbonic]]'' is the [[Butt Monkey]] and [[Unlucky Everydude]] for most of the strip's run, until the final few chapters where {{spoiler|it's revealed that he's the most powerful and dangerous character in the whole series.}}
* Tip from ''[[Skin Horse]]'' is generally considered the laughingstock of the eponymous organization - even next to a talking Canadian dog and a sociopathic zombie girl. Then he turns out to have gone through Afghanistan and have rescued three fellow soldiers from a burning humvee.
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== Web Original ==
* Subverted with {{spoiler|Arthur Williams}} in ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'', who shoves aside his shyness and fear, charging an armed player in order to save a hostage, and gets shot in the face for his trouble. Paul Smith, also from ''Survival of the Fittest'' is usually a [[Chivalrous Pervert]], pretty goofy and laid back -- veryback—very much a comic relief character. However, from time to time, he almost seems to "switch on" and become one hell of a lot more dangerous. And try ''lethally'' dangerous.
* Essentially the entire core cast of ''[[Mega 64]]'', but special mention should go to Sean and Horatio. Do ''not'' make them mad.
* In ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'' Caboose is usually a complete idiot who loads his gun with crayons and keeps killing his teammates, however in episode 40 Caboose thought about everything that made him angry (spiky kittens, Red bull and Babies) and was able to kill every single one of the flag obsessed zealots in about 10 seconds.
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** Harold fits this even better. He's ''Total Drama's'' "The Deluded Dork" and "The Geek", but once [[Total Drama Island/Awesome|punched Bad Boy Duncan across the face and completely knocked him out]] when he insults LeShawna.
** {{spoiler|Cody again when he knocked out Duncan in ''Total Drama World Tour'' when he finds out that Duncan kissed Gwen the goth girl he has a crush on}}.
* Maggie from ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has her moments. She has shot people on two occasions -- theoccasions—the first appeared to be an accident, but the second portrays her as a full-blown sniper.
** She also saved Homer from drowning in one episode.
** Or Homer himself; normally and idiot and a jerkass, he will frequently slip into a state of hypercompetency to solve the situation at hand.
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* [[Inspector Gadget]], of all people, occasionally demonstrated this. When Penny and Brain were in real danger from Dr. Claw's traps in one or two episodes, the normally [[Too Dumb to Live]] Inspector would [[Let's Get Dangerous|skilfully use his gadgets to save them.]]
* On ''[[South Park]]'', Pip becomes a super dodgeball player after being repeatedly insulted.
* Captain Fanzone of ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' is often portrayed as the bumbling, technologically inept Comic Relief -- althoughRelief—although he's hardly [[Plucky Comic Relief|Plucky]]. However...when it comes down to it, he shows remarkable resourcefulness and fairly good combat skills -- inskills—in the episode "Survival of the Fittest", he manages to knock a monster ''twice his size'' to the floor with ''one punch''.
** And in "This Is Why I Hate Machines" he proves himself to be a damn fine cop, using the Autobots on Cybertron's apparent fear of organics to get information, as well as {{spoiler|easily realizing he and Ratchet were being tailed by Jazz, and that he was on their side.}}
* ''[[The Venture Bros]]'': Dean Venture snaps and beats the crap out of Dermott, a kid twice his size, after Dermot insults [[Perky Goth|Triana]].
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** The Box Ghost becomes appropriate for this trope near the end of the series, when he decides to finally get his due by utilizing [[Sealed Evil in a Can|Pandora's Box]].
* The eponymous character from ''[[Martin Mystery]]''. Normally he's a lazy goofball who Diana has to kick into line. Mess with Diana, Java, or the Center (something that happens nearly every episode), and he WILL make you regret it.
* Fry from ''[[Futurama]]''. Not only is he a [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]], but he's exactly the right ''kind'' of moron, as he {{spoiler|lacks the Delta Brainwave, allowing him to infiltrate the Infosphere and save the universe from the Brainspawn.}}
** Fry has also saved the universe on several occasions. This is always due to his lack of the delta brainwave. Fry is a badass BECAUSE he is a moron.
* 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.
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