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Heroes who make a habit of doing this may boast that [[We Do the Impossible]].
{{examples}}
== Myth And Legend ==
* The [[Ur Example]] and [[Trope Namer]] was the mythical, impossibly complex [[wikipedia:Gordian knot|Gordian knot]] that, the oracles predicted, could only be untied by the future king of Asia. Alexander the Great tried in vain to untie it and then, when that didn't work, simply drew his sword and sliced it in two. Other versions of the story are the exact opposite of the trope, however, with Alexander finding a clever way to untie the knot without cutting it, like where he basically removes the main object that the knot was apparently wrapped around, thus loosening its entire structure; the equivalent of leveling a building by removing its foundation.
**In any event the Priests of Gordium were [[Might Makes Right|not going to argue]] were they?
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]''
** In one episode where the main characters are doing the [[Indy Escape]]. When they run out of places to... well, run, Honda turns around and punches the boulder as it's about to crush them. It pops. Turns out it was a balloon with a speaker inside.
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* ''[[The Big O]]''
** In one episode, Roger is about to open a door using a high-tech device that would form the key for a lock when inserted, just before Dorothy just breaks the door open. ...with a one-handed push.
** In the last episode Roger [[
* In ''[[Mouse]]'', one ancient challenge was to figure out how to untie this extremely hard knot. Alexander the Great solved it by simply cutting it. So to make the next one more challenging, they made the second knot out of metal chains.
* In ''[[Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle|Phi Brain Kami no Puzzle]]'', [[The Protagonist|Daimon Kaito]] is trapped in a [[Death Trap|Fool's Puzzle]] in the form of a burning tower. Ideally, he would use a maze of elevators to reach the top where the goal is, but the flames have risen high enough to block the route. His solution is to break off the door of one of the elevators so that he can jump off when it passes a floor that ''will'' let him take the route to the goal.
==
* The first arc of ''[[The Losers]]'' has team tech Jensen having to copy the secure hard drives of Goliath, an oil company. When security finds out about the operation and exchange fire with his friends, he hacks the outer casing with an axe and pries the thing out whole.▼
* Notable ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' player Zvi Mowshowitz used the line "If brute force doesn't solve your problem, you're not using enough. Why not use more?" in [http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/zm41 a column on proper Magic strategy].▼
** Even more so recently, because contrary to his original "famous" deck, [[Turbo Lands]], his recent decks in the past season have all been super-aggressive aggro decks, with some of them winning on turn 3 or 4.▼
▲* The first arc of [[The Losers]] has team tech Jensen having to copy the secure hard drives of Goliath, an oil company. When security finds out about the operation and exchange fire with his friends, he hacks the outer casing with an axe and pries the thing out whole.
* ''[[Watchmen]]'' features the Gordian Knot Lock Company (one of many companies owned by Ozymandias, who fancies himself a new Alexander the Great). Rorschach breaks the door down. [[Running Gag|Several times.]] {{spoiler|This is actually a clue as to Ozymandias' endgame: the U.S. and Soviet Union are on the verge of nuclear war, and have been at each other's throats for so long that it has become impossible to untangle them from their conflict. So he plans to cut the knot by introducing a third side for them to unite themselves against--an genetically engineered monster that he teleports to New York, killing half the city. What's frightening is that--at least initially--it ''works''.}}
** {{spoiler|A case of [[Enemy Mine]], if you think about it. Long ago, [[Nazi Germany]] united both sides as a target to destroy. Oz' simply invents a "knot-cutting sword" that they won't learn is nonexistent, at least until peaceful coexistence is already a reality. The only [[Epic Fail]] in reasoning here is the assumption that [[The Great Politics Mess-Up|both sides will automatically endure as political entities]].}}
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** He has a similar reaction to cursed swords with the equivalent of [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything]].
* Whenever [[Batman]] battles The Riddler, he'll often beat his riddles using either this Trope or [[Take a Third Option]], essentially bypassing various [[Xanatos Gambit]]s by winning in ways his enemy didn't expect.
* The section of ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)|Preacher]]'' that shows [[Big Bad|Herr Starr's]] background and [[Start of Darkness|turn to villainy]] includes a bit where, as part of his training in [[wikipedia:GSG 9|GSG 9]], Starr is confronted a [[Sadist Teacher|sadistic unarmed combat instructor]] known for beating new recruits viciously. In front of the class, the instructor demands to know how Starr would defeat him in hand to hand combat as an obvious prelude to inflicting such a beating on Starr. Starr responds by [[Combat Pragmatist|shooting the instructor in the leg]] and saying that he never intends to be unarmed. GSG decided that it showed [[Crazy Awesome|innovation]], and it was one of the things that caught [[Ancient Conspiracy|The Grail's]] eye.
== Film ==
* In the film ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]'', J is taking a test with several other potential MIB candidates. The written part of the test is administered in a room with a large table surrounded by several egg-shaped chairs, although the table is out of reach. J is the only one to think of pulling the table closer to him so he can use it.
* In the new ''[[Casino Royale]]'', [[James Bond]] pursues a [[Le Parkour|freerunning]] enemy who nimbly scales obstacles and slips through narrow gaps. Bond finds more simple but equally effective means of traversing obstacles, such as running straight through a plaster wall.
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* In the film of ''[[The Bourne Series (film)|The Bourne Identity]]'', both Jason and Marie get in on this. Jason makes a complicated plan to get some information on one of his other identities from a hotel, but Marie simply walks up to the hotel manager, introduces herself as the personal assistant to "John Michael Kane", and asks for a photocopy of his hotel bill. Later, Marie and Jason are trying to get into Marie's cousin's house to hide. Marie starts looking for the spare key, but Jason rams the door open with his shoulder.
* Played with in ''[[Blue Streak]]''. [[Martin Lawrence]]'s character is a professional jewel thief, trying to steal a large diamond under heavy security. Him and his apprentice get to the safe. The pro asks the rookie (in a quiz-like fashion) how to open the safe. The rookie starts rattling off the procedure. The pro stops him and tells him that step one is to check if the door is open. Naturally, he's just kidding. The safe is locked.
== Literature ==
* In the [[Artemis Fowl]] series, Holly had to defeat a number of projected holographic opponents as part of her entrance exam to the LEP. Rather than fight with all of the holograms, she simply shot the projector. They had to pass her because she technically defeated every single opponent.
* [[Discworld]]:
*
*** According to Norwegian folklore, King Olaf did the same thing, thereby winning an island from the king of Sweden.
*** It should be noted that none of Cohen's barbarian horde were very impressed by the story, feeling that cutting it was rather a cheap move.
** Another time Granny Weatherwax challenges three prospective witches to knock her hat off. Two of them decline to attempt, one concentrates and fails to do anything. She then asks Nanny Ogg to demonstrate, who then throws a stick at her head.
{{quote|'''Girl:''' Any of us could have done that!
'''Granny:''' But you didn't. }}
*** This is a running theme in that particular book; the younger witches think witchcraft is about magic, while the older ones ''know'' that witchcraft is about having the capacity to think sensibly for three seconds in a row. When the younger witches still complain, Granny gets frustrated and obliges them by using magic to blow up Nanny's hat.
** Also, apparently in the early days of the Watch, they had a sledgehammer that they referred to as "the search warrant." As in, "We're going to need to check his house for evidence. Don't forget to bring the search warrant."
* Speaking of Olaf, or in this case Captain Sham, this is employed in book the third of ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' to reveal Count Olaf's disguise to authority figures, with the author explaining the concept by name (Gordian Knot) immediately beforehand.
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* Averted in-universe in [[Tortall Universe|Bloodhound,]] where Beka is given a briefcase charmed for protection before setting out to Port Caynn. The spell is on the whole case, "none of this spelled-the-buckle-so-cut-the-leather nonsense."
▲== Live Action TV ==
* In the ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' episode "Full Circle", Carter, Jonas Quinn and the ascended Daniel are trying to find the Eye of Ra. They decipher ''where'' it is, but can't figure out how to open the compartment...until Carter, noting that they don't have much time, tells the other two to stand back, and shoots it open with her P90.
** And much earlier, as Bra'tac is telling SG-1 of the convoluted series of tasks they have to do to destroy the shield generators, O'Neill busies himself with pulling the pins on a pair of frag grenades and dropping them down the hole.
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== Machinima ==
* ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'': Church is implanted with ten megaton bomb which proceeds to destroy the present and send everyone into the future, except for himself who instead gets sent into the past (don't ask). After returning to the present, Church makes several attempts to disarm the bomb in his former self only to be constantly met with failure, including making several copies of himself. At one point, his plan is as follows:
{{quote|'''Church:''' And then I teleported back and just decided to kill everybody that I could see.
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** Sarge uses his contingency plan when their attempt to bluff their way past the computer failed. The contingency plan being a shot gun.
==
=== Card Games ===
▲* Notable ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' player Zvi Mowshowitz used the line "If brute force doesn't solve your problem, you're not using enough. Why not use more?" in [http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/zm41 a column on proper Magic strategy].
▲** Even more so recently, because contrary to his original "famous" deck, [[Turbo Lands]], his recent decks in the past season have all been super-aggressive aggro decks, with some of them winning on turn 3 or 4.
=== Tabletop RPG ===
* In [[Tabletop RPG]]s, players going [[Off the Rails]] frequently do this, much to the horror of the GM.
** A hilarious example is seen in [http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=680 this] ''[[DM of the Rings]]'' strip, where the players come across the doors to the Mines of Moria, completely ignore the riddle and instead rattle off several increasingly ludicrous ways of Cutting the Knot (picking the hinges, bashing the lock, breaking down the door, pouring water in the cracks to crack the door when it freezes, etc), culminating in the players getting ready to build a ''battering ram'' until the DM screams the answer in frustration.
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== Video Games ==
* In ''[[Portal 2]]'', there is a point in which Wheatley must "hack" open a door. He tells you to turn around, then smashes the window, allowing Chell to portal herself into there.
** He does the same thing when attempting a "manual override" on a wall.
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* In ''[[Deus Ex]]'', doors had both a lock strength and physical strength. You can break any door with the right firepower provided its strength was not infinite. They took this out in subsequent games.
* In ''[[Call of Duty]] 2'', during the Battle of Stalingrad campaign, you get a bunch of Germans barricade themselves in a building. Instead of trying to talk them into surrendering or trying to beat down the door, the commander simply orders you to place charges on the building supports. As the building collapses, he screams: "This is how you negotiate with fascists!"
== Web Comics ==
* In ''[[8-Bit
▲* In ''[[8-Bit Theater|8-bit Theater]]'', in a mystic castle, Fighter is subjected to the trial of sloth, wherein the trial monster attempts to get Fighter to overcome his reliance on stagnant sword skills, and instead use his brain in combat for once. Fighter promptly slaughters the monster, stating that his brain told him that it was faster that way.
** [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2003/12/04/episode-359-flawless-victories/ Obstacle course? Mo' like ka-boom course.]
** Black Mage makes a reference to the [[Trope Namer]] when confronted with a sealed, metal door with a confusing riddle on it.
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** ''Silent Hill: Dead/Alive'': There's a paper bag in front of his door that can't be moved without "something needlessly complex and crafted from several parts"? Screw that, he's just going to shoot it.
** By the point of ''Silent Hill: The Grinning Man'', the soup cans have gotten wise. Linkara finds boxes blocking his door and threatens to turn them to ashes if they don't move—and they promptly fall over, out of the way.
== Western Animation ==
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* A [[Monster of the Week|Supervillain of the Week]] on one episode of ''[[The Batman]]'' had Bats and four scientists tied up in a sort of game show, whose object was to stump the supervillain or get dumped into acid. The scientists ask difficult science and math questions; the supervillain answered them all easily. When it was Batman's turn, he simply asked the supervillain "What is the true identity of the Batman?" Apparently the supervillain never thought to take Batman's costume off.
** That part would require him to actually grab Batman, and we all know how hard [[Badass Normal|that would be]].
== Real Life ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]
[[Category:Plots]]
▲[[Category:Cutting the Knot]]
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