Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Difference between revisions

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* 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 [[MacGyver]].

* [[Deadpool]] sometimes slips into this, [[Depending on the Writer]]. His [[Cloudcuckoolander]] tendencies and ability to both shake off bodily harm and make a joke of it tend to obscure the fact that he is an immortal, unstoppable, superhuman killing-machine with a penchant for inventively torturing and/or brutally slaughtering anyone who manages to get on his bad side.

 

* Takato and {{spoiler|Terriermon}} from Daneel Rush's ''[[Tamers Forever Series]]''.

* Wheatley in the ''[[Portal 2]]'' fic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6953776/1/Test_Of_Humanity Test Of Humanity]''. He's normally a dim-witted [[Gentle Giant]]. But, push him too far, and he won't hesitate to punch you in the eye. {{spoiler|[[GLaDOS]]}} found this out the hard way.

** Also the above is very possible. Old mills have a tendency to explode when too much dust is in the air and something sparks it. Though it's really hard to get the fuel-air ratio right, especially while your father and his friend are fending off a dozen Youma.

 

* ''[[The Incredibles]]'': Jack-Jack (not a moron, but a baby) demonstrates a startling array of powers (which, by most reckonings, are probably more [[Badass]] than those of the rest of the cast) when threatened by the [[Big Bad]], Syndrome.

** Or the babysitter. In the fairly amusing short packaged with the DVD of ''[[The Incredibles]]'', ''Jack Jack Attack'', Jack-Jack reduces the babysitter to a [[Badly-Battered Babysitter|stress-overloaded wreck]] by spontaneously generating anti-gravity powers, teleportation, the ability to shoot [[Eye Beams]], and Human-Torch-esque flame powers. Since the whole ''The Incredibles'' seems to be a [[Homage]] to [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|The Fantastic Four]], he might be a sly reference to the fifth Fantastic: [[Goo-Goo Godlike|Franklin]]. The writers, for their part, note that the reason they gave him so many powers he flips through like he's channel surfing is because he's a baby: he hasn't defined himself yet. What this means for the world of ''[[The Incredibles]]'' as far as power development goes...

* Po from ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]''. While not totally inept, he's a bumbler and a daydreamer. After some focus and hardcore training, however, he not only managed to take down the [[Big Bad]], but {{spoiler|his idols are so impressed, they kneel before him}}.

* ''[[Cars 2]]'': Mater, oh excuse me Sir Tow Mater. He spends most of the movie being his lovable bumbling self. Then he finds out Lightning McQueen is in trouble, lesson when dealing with Mater, NEVER threaten his friends, just ask {{spoiler|the three or four bad guys he took BY HIMSELF.}}

 

== Film -- Live Action ==

* Sergeant Gerry Boyle from ''[[The Guard]]''.

* Adam Sandler's eponymous hero in "The Water Boy" looks like the poster child for the trope.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* Lieutenant Panga in ''[[Someone Else's War|Someone Elses War]]''.

 

* ''[[iCarly]]'': Gibby. If you are a friend, but betray his trust, or someone who dares kidnaps his friends, he won't think twice about beating the fudge out of you.

** T-Bo, a background character who runs the Goovy Smoothy and is normally seen just putting random items on sticks to sell and being wierd, reveals himself to be one in ''iStill Psycho'' when he helps [[Mama Bear|Mrs. Benson]] [[Big Damn Heroes|rescue the iCarly gang]] from [[Ax Crazy|Nora]] and her equally insane family. Not only does he kick down the basement door so Carly can rescue Spenser, he singlehandedly takes down Nora's father.

* 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]]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.

 

== [[Music]] ==

** This is especially evident in Gackt's later "Platinum Box" DVDs. No matter how hard he tries to remain serious and stoic, his bandmates will always reduce him to hysterics with their shenanigans, shattering his well-practiced persona.

 

* In an early ''[[Bloom County]]'' strip, Opus serves as the bouncer at a New Years Eve party. Seems pretty stupid, until he drags a particularly large, menacing looking guy down under the bar, then asks for some rope.

** And if you are a mime, do not taunt Opus or he will beat you down. With a salami!

* Satchel from ''[[Get Fuzzy]]''. The guy has about half the IQ of a rock, but as Bucky is often reminded, pushing Satchel too far is a very bad idea.

 

* WWE worker Festus has this as his entire gimmick. Most of the time, he was little short of catatonic, staring blankly into space with his tongue hanging out as his tag team partner Jesse dragged him around. However, when the ring bell rang, he would wake up and destroy all of his opponents, and would not let up until the bell sounded the end of the match.

** Unfortunately for Festus, several of his opponents (notably [[The Miz]] and [[John Morrison]]) have shown themselves to be fairly [[Genre Savvy]] in using this against him.

* The Autistic Psychic Savant class in Palladium's ''Beyond The Supernatural'' game pretty much has to be this trope. Most of the time, they can barely communicate, but in the presence of supernatural evil they prove to be smarter and more powerful than anyone else.

* Jerry-R-Igg, one of the characters in the ''[[Paranoia]]'' Second Edition sample adventure, is a total coward, constantly freaking out at the slightest thing...while anyone's looking. Truth is, all of that's a front. As soon as he's sure nobody can report it back to the Computer, he becomes Captain X-Cess, standout in Deth Leopard and lover of [[Stuff Blowing Up]] (one of his possessions is a set of explosives disguised as snack food).

 

== [[Theater]] ==

* Leaf Coneybear from ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is an airhead until he is asked to spell a word, at which point he turns into a scary blinking robot and gives the right answer.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Wheatley from ''Portal 2''. The "moron" is intentional as he's "the product of the greatest minds of a generation working together with the express purpose of building the dumbest moron who ever lived." This, however, precludes the fact that he was the person who woke Chell in the first place, willingly performed a series of personal efforts that he had been told would kill him, came up with the plan to {{spoiler|sabotage [[GLaDOS]]'s turret production and neurotoxin production}}, sprung a well-played trap, and demonstrated an incredible amount of foresight when it came time for the final battle. {{spoiler|In the last case, [[Cutscene Power to the Max]] is the only reason Chell survives; without that, Wheatley would have succeed where [[GLaDOS]] failed}}.

 

** He's such a crouching moron, that while he's fighitng the [[Big Bad]], his own teamates assume he has run and hid.

** Also [https://web.archive.org/web/20120220063506/http://www.pvponline.com/2011/10/26/swing-and-a-prayer/ more recently], he's shown catching a war hammer in one hand.

{{quote|'''Jared:''' I didn't know... I didn't know he was a laser fish.}}

 

* 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—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.

* Linkara from ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'' is a nerd who reviews comic books for a living. He also has the power to manifest, invent, or contact any fictional person or thing. His standard weapon is his magic gun, but he's also found often using his [[Power Rangers]] Morpher, a ''[[Star Trek]]'' phaser, the giant robot death machine Neutro, a Pokéball [[Silent Hill|with Pyramid Head in it]], and several other things. He has used this to defeat Vyse, a [[Multiversal Conqueror]], amongst other enemies.

* Paul of ''[[Loading Ready Run]]''. Ridiculously techy, he can make anything from time machines to nerf rocket launchers from the junk in his garage.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:More Than Meets the Eye]]

[[Category:Stock Characters]]

[[Category:You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry]]